TOPICS OF NOTE:

How Cynthia’s husband’s cardiac arrest left him with a disabling brain injury and altered their lives in an instant
Writing a memoir in response to her search for how families cope with brain injury
Deciding this disability would not define their lives
Allowing time to mourn the diagnosis
How and where she found support
Getting used to the loss of freedom due to caregiving
What continuing to work full time gave her
A surprising thing she learned about the healthcare industry
What she permitted herself to do
Confronting the doubts within her
Uncle Ralph, and why most family caregivers have on of their very own
Experiencing love and joy as a theme for care
Living with the constant grief of slowly losing someone who is still there
What she is creating to comfort her during her grief
Sitting on the precipice of an unknown future
What she’d tell herself the day of her husband’s cardiac arrest
What journaling does for family caregivers
Her message to family caregivers

During AFTER THOUGHTS Colleen addresses the issue of our proverbial Uncle Ralph’s and suggests the power in telling compassionate stories about the people around us who are less than positive and shares the reassurance that you are doing everything perfectly, regardless of what Uncle Ralph has to say, especially when you are caring from the bottom of your heart.