I’m an MS Caregiver
If you’ve ever flown, you’ve probably heard a cabin attendant do the pre-flight commentary and say,
“in the event of rapid cabin depressurization, oxygen masks will descend from the panel above your head”.
Then you’re instructed to put on your own oxygen mask first before assisting your fellow passengers.
Hearing that simple directive always gives me a guilt twinge — I’m a caregiver at heart — even though I understand the reasoning behind it. If I pass out from lack of oxygen, I’ll not be able to care for my fellow passenger.
My wife has Multiple Sclerosis and I know first hand that caring for an MS patient can frequently cause “rapid cabin depressurization”. Grabbing my own oxygen mask first still gives me a twinge of guilt. But I believe the comparison is valid; an MS Caregiver must first don his or her own mask before assisting their fellow passenger. This is the only way to consistently make it through the continuous series of “depressurizations” one experiences when caring for an MS patient.
MS is a difficult disease to experience. Providing care for an MS patient is stressful and it’s important that you care for yourself, too.
My goal for this blog is that it become a helpful resource for other MS Caregivers. I hope you can use what I share to improve your own life. And in making the caregiving lifestyle easier for you, I believe it will be easier for you to be more helpful to the one for whom you care.