Hi, I’m Margaret Jean, a wife, writer and caregiver.  When I met my husband Chris (I was 38, he was 42) he told me he’d be dead by the time he was fifty.

Chris did have his first heart attack at age 50, but thankfully we got him to the hospital in time.  In the next 22 years, after being subjected to a triple by-pass surgery, twelve stent placements and numberous angiograms and angioplastys, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  In March of 2015, he died at home.  It was my privilege to care for him in the last few months of his life.

This blog is about being his caregiver.  About the emotions and issues that go with that territory; the good days and the bad days, the inspirations and the despair.  It’s about the reality of loving someone and watching them slowly leave you.

I also had the privilege of caring for my mother for two years when she was suffering the early stages of dementia.  This was in the mid-years of my husband’s heart condition and diabetes.

I am grateful to my husband who never ‘became’ his disease.  He was brave, always seeking to cheer and comfort those who came to comfort him.  He was courageous and loving to the very end of his life.

I look forward to hearing from you–others who like me, have been thrust into a position not of their own making, and who bravely and lovingly go forward on that journey. To do so, please email me at margaretjean64@gmail.com.

Yours truly,

Margaret Jean