Dorothy - a Caregiver for 37 Years

Imagine two young lovers – David & Dorothy – in law school. Then one day David is shot as an innocent bystander in an armed robbery. That’s very much like Harrison Ford in the movie “Regarding Henry.” But unlike the movie, David doesn’t go to rehab and recover like Henry did. The bullet to David’s spine leaves him as a quadriplegic for the rest of his life.

After David recovered as much as was possible, he went back to finish his JD, passed the bar, and became a lawyer with the Public Defender’s office. Dorothy also completed her JD; then she married David, gave up all hopes of a career, and became his fulltime caregiver.

That was 37 years ago. David is still an attorney with the public defender’s office. Dorothy is still a brilliant woman who lives only to be the limbs and life of David. Most of us wouldn’t do what Dorothy does. I know that, because the divorce rate among marriages with a chronically ill or severely handicapped partner is over 80 percent.

I met Dorothy in an online caregiving forum in 2000 and met her in person in 2004. I’ve called on her wisdom and judgment in raising my kids over the years. One year she sent my kids a box of Christmas goodies after theirs was taken. You can see why I consider Dorothy a good friend.

Today, Dorothy has an opportunity for her first-ever real vacation. Home Instead Senior Care is offering a caregiver cruise to whoever gets the most votes via their website. She’s currently in second place out of 152 contestants. Please do my friend a huge favor and follow the link below to vote for her. She has earned it.

http://cruise.caregiverstress.com/entries/dorothy-s/

(PS: No information is collected from you or about you, and you may return to the site to vote every day.)