As many of you already know, I've spent the better part of the past dozen years caring for my wife Jeanne. In that time, I've seen Jeanne transition from someone who embraced health and biked 40 miles every single morning to someone who has spent the last 2 1/2 years completely bed-bound, without the use of her arms and legs, experiencing speech difficulties, cognitive decline and getting all of her nutrition by means of a feeding tube.
At the same time, my life also transitioned from that of a successful entrepreneur to that of a successful caregiver. My transition was not nearly as neat and easy as stated. And my journey continues still. Several months ago, when Jeanne was transferred to a skilled nursing facility, my role continued to evolve from caregiver to advocate. And all this time, my role as Jeanne's husband also continued to evolve. But without Jeanne at home, it was time for me to think about doing something else.
In determining my own next steps, I looked at what I enjoyed most among my past business experiences and coaching was the hands-down winner. Nothing gives me a bigger internal payback than seeing a coaching client move forward in their lives. But this time, I thought, I wanted to do more for the countless caregivers that I've come to know. I wanted to apply my coaching approach as a means of diffusing some of the frustration, anger and guilt that caregivers sometimes experience. I wanted to help caregivers fight back against that familiar feeling of being overwhelmed. And most of all, I wanted to make sure that caregivers realized that they weren't alone in their courageous efforts to provide outstanding care for their loved ones without losing themselves in the process.
So welcome to coaching for caregivers. A one-on-one life coaching program that I've developed to specifically support caregivers. I'll continue posting to the MS Caregivers Blog, but I also invite you to visit The Coach For Caregivers and find out more about how caregiver coaching may be helpful to you.
