BLESSINGS

Eighty-nine year old "Carl" suffers from end-stage cardiac disease. His heart is weakening fast. Carl spends most of his days in bed. He is dependent with all of his needs. The doctors feel that he may survive for only a few more weeks.

Carl lives with his wife, "Eloise". They have been happily married for fifty-seven years. Eloise suffers from dementia and gets easily confused. She wanders at night and needs to be watched very closely. The couple's son, "John", manages their financial and personal affairs. John has hired twenty-four hour attendant care for his parents.

Eloise tries to assist the hired attendant when transfering Carl from the wheelchair to the bed. She is not strong enough to help much, but Carl will just smile with her struggle saying how beautiful she is. Then he'll softly kiss her so tenderly.

Carl counts his blessings and Eloise is number one on his list. Eloise will tell those around how much she loves him. She often will tear up as she knows he is dying. Carl has always had a strong, positive attitude about life and, not surprisingly, deals with his dying the same way.


BLESSINGS

They've been married for decades.
It was love at first sight.
He says he's blessed to have her.
She says he's the love of her life.

She gets confused and can't remember.
His heart is failing, making him weak.
These past few years have been rough on them,
but he still feels blessed to have her.

He prefers to focus on the positive.
He is easy going with a quick wit.
He has become dependent upon others,
but uses humor to lighten the load.

She tries to help him without success.
He responds by saying she's beautiful.
Then they'll kiss each other so gently.
Their love continues to grow.

He thanks God for his many blessings
even though his time is now short.
He speaks of a long and wonderful life.
Even in dying, he focuses on the positive.
"I'll just float along with it."

Blessings.