Stages of Decline Outline: Ninth Installment
- We came up with means for Cindy to be mobile outside.
- Friends and family provided a supportive network.
- I always could make Cindy smile.
- Cindy’s mind stayed in the present.
- I was able to manage our finances.
- I researched and practiced good brain health habits.
- I kept my blood pressure down through lifestyle factors only.
The lesson to be learned here is another life lesson which can be broadly applied. Perseverance and an active, positive social network are the keys to any kind of success, including caregiving. In particular, a caregiver needs to persevere with creative problem solving for ever changing conditions, often with the necessary assistance of supportive friends and family.
If you can do that; if you can persevere with the help of others to find new ways to live well in the face of adversity, then you can experience Triumphs even during this tragic period of decline. However, the decline will continue as you enter a final stage.
That will be the topic of the next installment: Emotional Decline – The Trials.
