Father Had MS Lynn’s story began when he was a young teen. His father, who was a carpenter, experienced difficulty walking. His diagnosis of multiple sclerosis came soon afterward. His life and that of his family changed dramatically with his diagnosis because, at that time, no treatments were available for MS. Lynn remembers his Dad’s […]
Donna Steigleder with husband Lynn Hi, my name is Donna. I’m the wife of a Multiple Sclerosis patient, Lynn, diagnosed in 2006. MSCaregiverSharing, my original blog site, was dedicated to telling the story of how I adapted to being both a caregiver and spouse to someone with multiple sclerosis. As part of that story, however,
I first became a caregiver raising a child with special needs. Unfortunately, as is true with many marriages where a special needs child requires significant attention, our marriage ended in divorce. Though hesitant to try again, I remarried a few years later to a very supportive man who understood my need to be present with
My Caregiving Journey Read More »
Mission to Support Caregivers I enjoy helping others. When in a group, I feel most comfortable if I’m serving somehow. The jobs and projects to which I commit my time are service-oriented. Therefore, it’s no surprise that God gave me the desire to have a mission devoted to helping caregivers find the resources and support
Helping Caregivers Read More »
In late April, Lynn began to experience a phenonium called “sundowners.” Each night as it began to get dark, he would take a nap and awaken not knowing where he was.
Mental Health Caregiving Read More »
Living with Mobility Challenges My husband has primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Though he can move both arms and legs, he can move none of them well enough to accomplish tasks. Nerve damage from MS, along with muscle spasms, and weakness from lengthy hospital stays, contributed to his current state of powerchair dependency. As a
I am concerned that the specialization of medicine is leading to a decrease in the quality of care available rather than an increase. I have seen this more and the past several months as my husband has had a series of mysterious medical conditions requiring different “specialties” to determine the underlying cause. Unfortunately, these specialties do
Specialization of Medicine – Is that a Good Thing? Read More »
How prepared were you when you first became a caregiver? Did you know what to do, where to go, and what the medical terms being used even meant? Did you know how and when to switch between the role of spouse/child/sibling/friend/parent/partner and caregiver? If you are like most caregivers, you probably didn’t. Most of us
Were You Prepared to Become A Caregiver? Read More »
Posted on July 26, 2011 by mscaregiverdonna I yell back, “Just a minute. Let me finish this sentence.” Then I try to recollect my thoughts and finish up whatever thought I was in the middle of (I work at my job from home using an internet connection) and see what he needs. Often it’s something simple like
Hey Sweetie! Can you Come Here a Second? Read More »
Ever since Lynn almost had to go on a ventilator in May, in the back of my mind I wonder what to expect about the future. I seriously try to just look at what today holds for me but whenever plans need to be made, I can’t help but worry. I can’t share this with Lynn. If I do he thinks I’m being pessimistic and that I don’t think things will turn out well. It makes him depressed because he thinks I think he’s not going to get any better… so I can’t talk to him about my fears…but they are there.
Fear of the Future Read More »
