When we were married, it never occurred to me that one day I would be his caregiver!

We were married late in life.  Chris worked in sales, had three children and I was a twice-divorced single mom with three teenagers.  I worked as a dispatcher in Cablevision, making union wages.

Over the years we changed residences and jobs often.  The kids flowed between parents and our lives were fairly chaotic.

In 1991, Chris was diagnosed with diabetes.  We had our own businesses then, but it became obvious a change was needed.  I went to work for the government in Vancouver.

In 1993, still in sales, he had his first heart attack.  He’s had angioplasties almost every year since.

In 2000, Chris started a painting business.  In 2004 the business was booming and we bought a big old house on half an acre on Surrey’s Panorama Ridge.

In 2006 he had open heart surgery.  In 2012 after a brief road trip he had two heart attacks in less than thirty days.  An experimental bypass followed four months later.

The stripping of veins from his legs to use for the bypass set Chris back a lot.  Walking continued to be painful making it difficult and then impossible for him to assess and negotiate jobs with prospective clients.

We downsized again to a small apartment close to all amenities.  In mere months our annual gross income plummeted.  Like many other people who are struck by disease or disaster, we face new challenges every day.

This blog is about how we choose to face those challenges.

Yours truly,

Margaret Jean.