Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy Symptoms: Let's talk about it.

  Having major surgery several months ago and being somewhat incapacitated for a period of time post-surgery, has made me reflect on our situation. Too often perhaps I pass off my husband's symptoms as a day to day issue and don't give sufficient thought to his life and how it feels to be walking in his shoes. Given that I knew I would recover (unlike my husband) it has made me think more about life for both of us if something significant happened to me. My husband is very dependent on me (not physically but mentally) for many day to day tasks. I have been physically dependent on him for several months.  As a carer, I am not alone in feeling the vulnerability of being responsible for caring for my husband but my own physical incapacity has made be feel what if the shoe was on the other foot. What if my husband had a further serious stroke (which the chances are that he will) and I need to care for him both physically and mentally. What would that look like and feel like for bo...

A resource from Leigh Sales Leigh Sales introduces her book by saying “ the day that turns life upside down usually starts like any other. You open your eyes, swing your body out of bed, eat breakfast, get dressed and leave the house, your mind busy. As you close the front door behind you, rarely there is a tingle of unease that something is off. Later, when the story of what happened next comes to be told, it will start with the day’s ordinariness, something that will now seem incredible. How could a blindside so momentous have struck on a day that began so unremarkably ”.(Sales (2018). Any Ordinary Day . Penguin, p. 1. Random House) I cannot imagine a statement that captures any better the feeling that crashes in on you when you experience a traumatic event in your life. Everyone says (sometimes quite flippantly) that you have to “make the most of every day” but unless you have actually experienced a life-changing, traumatic event, I don’t think that many people actually can live...

In the arena of being a carer Over the years when I have found times to be tough, I go back to thinking of the quote "The Man in the Arena" but of course these days it would be good to re-title it as "The Person in the Arena". Theodore Roosevelt many years ago captured beautifully the courage of the person in the arena who "dares greatly", sometimes over and over again. Being "in the arena" is hard work. Sometimes you feel strong and can roll with the punches but at other times you feel like curling up in a corner of the arena and just taking a rest. Other times you may need to exit the arena temporarily or for a longer period but no one can ever say you didn't give it a crack and you can take pride in the fact that you were not one of those "cold and timid souls" who prefer to point the finger from the sidelines. What does this have to do with CAA? It's a tough job as a carer and tough as your role changes from th...