Tuesday, January 15, 2008

This is an interesting quote that I found on the Mayo Clinic ALZ blog:

"You (caregiver) do not suffer because of them (person with a dementia). They have a disease, a neurological illness, that's a fact. But that's not why you suffer.

You suffer because you love. If you did not love, you would not suffer. And the more you love, the more you suffer. Problem is, when you try to do something you cannot do, or be something you cannot be, the guilt, shame, anxiety and fear makes the love go underground ... and you can't feel the love anymore. Love is learning to live with your helplessness in the face of your loved one's suffering." --Dr. Dan Gottlieb

3 comments:

Joanne said...

Wow! Just Wow! How true that is that the more we love, the more we suffer. I think I'm still learning to live with the helplessness. It's not easy. ((hugs)) to you, Robyn.

nancy said...

wow is right. thanks for sharing robyn. hope you're hanging in there.

~Betsy said...

Great quote! Thanks for sharing.

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