My Vote For Person Of The Week Goes To....

They Should Give Medals To Caregivers!

I recently noticed that the ABC TV has a feature called, The Person Of The Week, and thought it might be nice to share my own choice for that honor.

My sister, Marie, has been the sole care-taker for her paraplegic husband, Delmar, for nearly 40 years.

Her husband, Delmar was a minister, who also worked as a logger in their small Oregon community to support Marie and their five sons. One day Delmar, while falling timber with one of his teen-age sons, was hit by a snag (known in those parts as "widow-makers.") His son pulled the snag from his critically injured father and summoned help.

Agonizing months of hospital treatment followed, most of it taking place in Portland, Oregon, several hundred miles from their home. Delmar's legs were paralyzed and he had very limited use of his arms. Washing up and getting dressed for the day took almost an hour. Just drinking a cup of coffee by having someone put his fingers through the handle of a cup became a tedious chore. Life for both of them slowed almost to a snail’s pace.

The doctors finally agreed to release Delmar from the hospital, but only if he received around theclock care. The state industrial accident commission searched for a nurse-caretaker to come to their very small town in Eastern Oregon, but could not find one willing to go to such an isolated area, so they enlisted Marie, to take over his 24-hour a day care.

Although Marie had no training, she made it her business to learn whatever she needed to know about caring for someone in his condition, including figuring out a pulley system to help her lift him whenever necessary, and how to use a slider board to get him in and out of bed. Quite an accomplishment for a small woman.

As if the problem they already faced was not enough, their only daughter-in-law died in childbirth, and their son moved home with the new baby. Marie claims that the new baby helped all of them keep their sanity in the early days of adjusting to the new status of their relation-ship. She and Delmar raised the boy for 12 years until his father re-married and moved out of the house again.

For some years, Marie and Delmar traveled in a van that had been fitted with a lift for Delmar’s wheelchair. They also pulled a trailer. Both were interested in rocks so Marie would load trays of their rocks (which had been gathered before the accident), and they would head for the rock shows in Quartzite, Arizona, or Madras, Oregon to set up their booth where they could spend A few days selling or trading with other rockhounds. Everyone seemed to know which booth belonged to the Preacher in the wheelchair and his wife, and they developed many lasting friendships during those days.

Back home now, Delmar is pretty much confined to his bed except for occasional visits to his doctor or to the hospital, but that hasn’t slowed them down as much as one might think.

Marie has taught the adult Sunday School class at their church for many years, and puts hours each week into preparing just the right lesson for her charges.

Friends and neighbors stop by daily to gather words of wisdom from their Pastor, while coffee and cookies usually magically appear from the direction of Marie’s kitchen.

Delmar celebrated his 80th birthday last August, and his doctors have often commented that few paraplegics live so long. They attribute this longevity to the excellent care he has received and continues to receive from Marie.

Those are just a few of the reasons I nominate my sister, Marie, as the person, not only of the week, but also of the year, and of the century.