Caregiving After the Surgery

Have you ever thought about caring for a family member who has become ill or has had major surgery? Do you think that it will be easy? Do you have others who will give you support? Are you capable of juggling your life as well as the ailing family member? Do you comprehend the responsibilities that you will face? Read on to experience my adventure with care giving and decide for yourself if you have what it takes.

Being placed into the position of a care giver can be caused by many types of situations. They can range from sitting for the grandchildren to caring for the elderly but all of them take strength, courage, persistence, understanding, and a lot of commitment. My experience first began when my fiancé had his knee replaced and has been continued by his back surgery.

The reasons behind the knee replacement started from a terrible car accident which completely mangled Jim's right leg. He was in a coma for many months and had to be placed in a cast for nearly a year. He finally recovered and eventually became a paramedic and, while he loved this job, the intensity of the physical ability it took weakened his body. The doctor finally decided to replace his right knee and also had to remove bone from his left knee. He was out of work for quite some time and needed a lot of physical therapy. But, I was there for him and he soon was walking without his cane.

The care he needed during this time of recovery seemed difficult but it was manageable. Little did I know that right around the corner a nightmare was about to unfold.

Only a week after returning to work Jim had to have major back surgery which included four discs being fused and a vertebrate being caged. The doctor informed us that his back had weakened due to his previous physical labor as a paramedic as well as the straightening of his leg caused from the knee replacement. I wasn't ready to be the care giver again but with no one else available I stepped up to the plate.