The last time I saw my brother here at home was when he had his head on Dad’s desk and asked me to call an ambulance. I knew that he had pneumonia again. He had pneumonia multiple times. He never took care of his diabetes or his health. When I brought him out here he was 94 pounds. I got him into multiple doctors and took control of his health. I was the big sister and it was up to me to make things right.
I worked hard to make his meals nutritious and tasty. I spent 12 years caring for him. Even so he was still noncompliant. His Doctor sent a formal letter saying because of the noncompliance they were no longer going to treat him. I worked to get him set up with another medical provider.
I had saved his life many times when his blood sugar would suddenly drop. Karo syrup was my friend. I did everything a caregiver is expected to do. I cleaned his commode. I washed his clothes. I washed him. My life revolved around him. He was my baby brother.
Then something went wrong and I was not able to get him back to where he needed to be. I got a phone call telling me that Reid was dying. My niece and her husband rushed me to the hospital. They had told me that he wasn’t conscious of what was going on. However I bent over him and told him I was there for him. He tried to say something but couldn’t because of the BiPap machine. He did know I was there. I told him that I wasn’t going to leave him.
I spent 8 hours on January 15th holding Reid’s Hand. He had lost consciousness right after I told him I was there.
The years that I cared for him as his caregiver were no longer available to me. I held his hand until he passed away. It was the last thing I could do for him. He knew I wouldn’t leave him.
Being a caregiver hurts.