Need special poem etc for caregiver of dying person...

[Catty1]

...the person is Joe, who I have mentioned before.

My best friend had another friend who was more than happy to pay for a helicopter ride - one thing Joe really wanted. My BF called a helicopter company, and everything was set up except the date - as Joe had started radiation and a wait was needed to see how Joe fared.

She has had to be in and out of the province...and while she was away, another person - who planned a hugely successful benefit - also stepped out of line and got a helicopter ride donated.

My BF knows it is her ego - but she is really hurt. She also feels VERY bad that now she can't do something like the benefit, something that is a "big splash" for Joe. I told her she has been there for Joe in the really bad times - she went up late last night and left at 1 am once he was out of most of his pain - and that money doesn't count.

She KNOWS this, and is working through this.

However, does anyone know of a poem or something written from the patient's point of view that really underscores the huge value of what my BF is doing versus a big splash?

Thanks!

[Karen]

Because you care


Because you care,
I am comforted
And comfort is no small thing
In these trying days.
Because you are a friend
I know you will not abandon me
Even when I would abandon myself.
Others come and go
Dash in with cheer and noise
Sound and sparkle
And that is good, yes,
But you, I know, will care
After the sound and dazzle have faded.
Because I can count on you
The pain is sometimes less.
Because I trust you
I can be my true self with you
And if I am sometimes difficult
I know you will still be there for me.
When I reach out,
Through the fog of my pain
Your hand meets mine
And just the human contact
Anchors me in a moment of peace

Because you care
I can endure
And with every breathe I thank you
My steady, constant, caring friend
Even if I never say it.

[Catty1]

WOW! LES

THANK YOU, Karen.

I am sending that to her right away.

[Karen]

You're welcome.

My brain does words good.

[phesina]

That's beautiful, Karen. Did you write that?

Pat, with LES

[Catty1]

KAREN! You just made that up on the spot???

WOWWW!!! Thanks!

BTW - still not sure how we can meet up in Boston...but will email you from laptop on the way there.

Mom and I are going to do the Duck Tour! LOL It'll be nice to be Dumb Tourists for a couple of weeks.

"If it's tourist season, why can't we shoot them?"
- anonymous

[Karen]

That's beautiful, Karen. Did you write that?

Pat, with LES

Yes.

My mother's high school yearbook had as her goal: poetess
And I guess I inherited her gift for words, she pursued journalism after college, and had a couple books published as well.

[Freedom]

Karen, that is so very touching and apt. WOW!

Candace, you know the people, you know the person who ran the benefit. But maybe, just maybe, she thought having it donated was a good thing.