My beloved partner Charles CurtisStanley, who wrote a rec-listed diary about me being in the hospital in November using my UID, when he could and (I think) should have used his own and gained TU status for the first time, is not just my true love, he's my caregiver.
The wonderful Sara R has honored Keith Olbermann and austex54 with "love catcher" quilts for being caretakers for loved ones, and would like to do the same for some other Kossacks who are caretakers; Charles is one of those. She's already gotten some, but needs 35 more to complete a quilt for him. The diary she links to requesting messages for him is one where nobody can post replies now, so I'm posting this with Sara's OK to collect more. If you haven't already left one, please do.
Caregivers, along with living donors, are the real angels and saints of health care in my eyes. They work very hard to keep those of us who are ill in good spirits so that we can have as much of health as is possible for us. They take over the things that we can no longer do, and in Charles's case, he does so without a single complaint. They watch over us, take us to the hospital when we need it, listen to us complain about being ill or requiring caretaking, keep persisting when we try to brush off their care, work with our medical team and as a member of that team (taking what our physicians have told us and making sure it goes into action), fix us tempting foods when we don't feel like eating but need the nutrients, hold us as we cry or scream in pain, let us vent, clean up when we cannot (such as when I vomit into a clean plastic lap-sized tub because I'm connected to the dialysis machine and can't reach the bathroom), keep us sane, keep us alive, share our lives and the burden of our illnesses without being recognized as carrying this as their own burden as well...and they do all this without ever being paid.
The people who have already left messages for him are:
slinkerwink, Angie in WA state, noweasels, Ekaterin, kfred, Ramara, Ridemybike, CaliScribe, KelleyRN2, sobermom, Sarbec, JaxDem, Vacationland, Khloemi, texasmom, Louisiana 1976, Lorikeet, bigjacbigjacbigjac, exmearden, Otteray Scribe, Timroff, Othniel, cfk, Kitsap River (of course!), Spedwybabs, princesspat, Miss Blue, bumblebums, BlackSheep1, and emmasnacker
That's the complete list; I think something on the order of 35 more are needed. If Sara R gets more than 35 more, she'll fit them all in, just like she did with K.O.'s. If you have not already left a message for him - in other words, if your name's not on the list above - please do so here.
There's another caretaker for whom Sara is creating a quilt: J, the partner of newpioneer, whose quilt needs 21 more messages and is underfunded by $169; newpioneer's partner J is not only in treatment for cancer, but is HIV+.
She's also working on one for Dr. Lori, who is herself in treatment for recurrent cancer; her quilt needs 43 more messages and is underfunded by $156. Charles's quilt is completely funded, and thank you to all who donated. Lorikeet's quilt is also completely funded, I think, but, like Charles's quilt, requires more messages.
If you can donate to funding either of the quilts above, please do. If you can't, but want to add a message, that's something I suspect everybody can understand. I think every Kossack understands about things like job loss, a lousy economy, business downturns, trying to get by on a disability check or other fixed income, being underemployed, or just plain running out of money before running out of month. Don't worry about the funds if you don't have them to spare and share; just leave a message for either or both of these wonderful caregivers and for Lorikeet and Dr. Lori.
I can tell you from personal experience that receiving one of these quilts truly lets you feel warmed by the love of this community. It is a very special moment when the package arrives and you open it and take out the quilt, and read the messages from your friends. I would guess I'm not the only person to shed tears of joy upon receiving one. Whatever it is that you are dealing with, these love catchers help. I know how hard my beloved partner has worked, and I know that I haven't always been easy to live with as we go through this together.
If you have received a quilt as you deal with something major, you know what I mean; it's almost indescribable, and I believe they really do have a positive effect on healing. Please help my Charles receive his by leaving a message for him.
Thanks.