What “A Wrinkle In Time” Taught Me About Caregiving Warriors

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Last weekend, in keeping with the tradition that Ben and I had for seeing Disney films on their opening weekend, I saw A Wrinkle in Time. It is difficult for this Disney fanatic to admit that I was disappointed, but I was able to see beyond the film’s reliance on special effects to be touched by powerful messages that resonated with me. The film prompted me to go home and reread Madeleine L’Engle’s book on which the film is based, and together, the book and film have been a moving experience.

In Disney’s film, A Wrinkle in Time siblings Meg and Charles Wallace are on a quest to find their father, who has disappeared as a result of a scientific experiment to cross time and space to find other planets. They are led on this quest by the guiding spirits of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. It is a fanciful story, but one that touches on love, hope, faith, and stretching your mind to see possibilities. Not surprisingly, I saw many parallels to the role of caregivers.

The spirits tell young Meg that they are in search of “warriors” who will “serve the good and light in the universe.” I could not help but think that this is a fitting description of caregivers. We are there to help our carees with their physical and emotional needs, to advocate for them, and to make life as positive as it can possibly be.  My support of Ben encompassed all that would enhance his quality of life and support his wishes. That’s what a caregiver does. It took me a long time to understand why people called me brave when they described my experience with Ben. But, as caregivers, indeed, we are brave. Although ordinarily fairly shy, I was a fierce warrior when it came to advocating for Ben. I could not see it at the time, but now, I look back at that experience with pride and love.

As fierce as I could be, and as joyful as my demeanor usually was, so that I could almost always make Ben laugh, Mrs. Which hit the nail on the head when she said, “The only thing faster than light is the darkness.” In A Wrinkle in Time, the “It” was the darkness, the negativity, the hate. For us, the “It” was ALS. As much as we wanted to be hopeful and I wanted to be a cheerleader, after any kind of scary incident, we would quickly fold under the darkness of ALS as it took away Ben’s ability to walk, to use his hands, to chew and swallow, to speak and to breathe. We had good, loving and silly moments, but each struggle and crisis cast the shadow of an inescapable darkness. We fought to keep those positive moments and attitudes, but it was a constant battle.

As Meg, Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin embark on the journey to find their father, Mrs. Witch cautions them that, “You’re going to be tested every step of the way. Have faith in who you are.” This is a caution for every caregiver. The tests never end. I was tested with every issue that arose along the way as Ben’s ALS progressed. As life got more difficult for Ben- and his tests were never-ending and impossible to fathom- it became more difficult for me, too. My physical strength was first tested when Ben began to fall. Lifting him was quite a challenge and did eventually sometimes require my emotional strength in insisting to Ben that I had to call 911 for assistance. Transferring Ben from his chair also tested my physical and emotional strength. I had to overcome my generally squeamish nature to tend to Ben’s daily living needs.  It was exhausting and devastating to see him struggle with the physical challenges and the way that they made him feel, to juggle a full-time job with full-time caregiving, to deal with the fact that he was going to die and to help him deal with that fact. Navigating these issues constantly tested our patience, as we experimented with accommodations, mishaps, disappointments and frustrations. Faith in each other, maybe even more than in ourselves, allowed us to find the strength within ourselves to pass all the other tests. At times, however, we kept Finding Nemo‘s Dory’s mindset to “Just keep swimming.”

Meg’s mom tells her, “My love is always there, even if you can’t see it.” Ben and I had to have that faith, and to be perfectly honest, it was not always easy. We lost patience with each other, hurt each other’s feelings, and went through phases of hopelessness and helplessness. We could see past our disconnects, impatience and frustrations because even when it was not apparent, the love we had for each other was always there without a doubt.

Meg was able to reunite with her dad and bring her back to Earth. Of course, I could not “wrinkle time” and bring Ben back to this dimension. I’ve written so many times that Ben is with me in my heart. I know without question that although he has gone, his love is always here. Even though it does not always compensate for his physical presence, I feel him in so many ways. This film let me realize and embrace the unexpected gifts that Ben left with me. Through this experience, I gained a certain confidence, and I believe that Ben was happy to see that because he never lost confidence in me. Now, I have begun to acknowledge the quiet warrior within myself who, despite a bumpy road, is forging a new path, guided by the spirits of Ben, as well as of my mom, dad and grandma.

The film A Wrinkle in Time did remind me of those beautiful and important messages that I hope will support, comfort and motivate other caregivers. However, my suggestion to you, which may be particularly helpful if you cannot get out to a movie theater, is to read the book while you wait for the film to become available on DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital.

It’s A Small World After All

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2011- It’s a Small World allows a wheelchair to board the boat, and since that was so easy (and, ok, there are not long lines) we road it frequently! YAY!

For musical accompaniment while you read this post, click below to hear the song!

It’s a Small World
Lyrics and music by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman

It’s a world of laughter,
A world of tears.
It’s a world of hopes,
And a world of fears.
There’s so much that we share,
That it’s time we’re aware,
It’s a small world after all.

Chorus:
It’s a small world after all.
It’s a small world after all.
It’s a small world after all.
It’s a small, small world.

There is just one moon,
And one golden sun.
And a smile means,
Friendship to every one.
Though the mountains divide,
And the oceans are wide,
It’s a small world after all.

Chorus:
It’s a small world after all.
It’s a small world after all.
It’s a small world after all.
It’s a small, small world

It’s a Small World is one of my favorite songs, and the ring-tone and ring-back tone on my phone, either to the delight or dismay of people who call me. It is also my favorite attraction at Walt Disney World, and was one of Ben’s, too, and he loved that after his diagnosis, he could easily ride right onto the boat with his scooter and electric wheelchair. I do not like to get political in this blog, but I can’t help but think about how timely this song is and wish that we had more politicians who promoted this kind of unity. But, this is a blog about caregiving.  As a former caregiver, and now a participant in support groups for caregivers and family members of people with ALS, I see so much judgment and the hurt it causes- from caregivers, carees, family, friends and others. Although we all wish we could dismiss the opinions of others, nobody likes to feel judged, particularly when we are already vulnerable and those judgments make us feel inept. It’s so important to remember, and sometimes to look for, the things that we share, even if we take action in different ways. Also, while we debate the efforts that we make, a simple smile is a universal act of kindness that can make a tremendous difference in our lives.

Yesterday, I was reminded of how important it is to have compassion and to be considerate, rather than judgmental, of what people are experiencing. We never know exactly what is going on in someone else’s life or how much we might have in common with a stranger.

I was waiting outside a movie theater to meet a friend, when a woman came up to me to ask for directions. I directed her back down to where she was walking from and she got very upset, saying that she had just been told to come up the block from that direction. I pointed to the street signs- Manhattan is a grid in most parts-  and showed her the precise street she was looking for, which was literally one block away. She showed me the exact address she needed to find, and I confirmed my directions and told her what the cross streets would be, hoping to comfort her by explaining that I lived just below it in the same range of numbers. She was inconsolable. She told me that she was going to her friend’s apartment and was trying to call her, but her friend would only text and would not answer her phone.  The woman appeared to be a New Yorker, but I could see that for whatever reason, she was distraught and seemed almost disoriented. I offered to walk her to the block and that seemed to appease her. When we got to the corner, she got upset again, saying that it was the block that she came from. She tried to call her friend again and got no answer. I didn’t understand why she didn’t text her friend but did not ask questions. Since she was so upset, I offered to walk up the block and see if I could spot the building. I quickly found the building, walked back to the corner where she waited for me, and escorted her to the building.

As we walked towards the building, she apologized for walking so slowly, saying that she had a lot of health issues. I smiled and said it was no problem and told her that my husband had ALS and I walked slowly with her, remembering how I made those accommodations for Ben, then walked beside his scooter, then his electric wheelchair, sometimes having to help him steer that vehicle. She confided that she had Parkinson’s and I applauded how well she was managing despite her worry. We smiled and wished each other a good day and she calmly went into the building.

I walked back to the theater thinking about how at first glance, she just seemed unnecessarily frantic and somewhat unreasonable. Once I understood the context of her panic, I saw that she was probably terribly concerned about walking back and forth, and maybe uncomfortable, tired, and unsteady. But, it really didn’t matter if I understood. What mattered is that I could easily lend a hand and relieve a stranger’s stress.  I then wondered how her friend could be so thoughtless to insist on her texting when, with Parkinson’s, she may have found that a difficult task, especially in the severely cold weather. It seemed at the very least, terribly inconsiderate. But, I tried not to judge because I didn’t know either of them or the depth of their friendship. Perhaps her friend knew little about her illness. In this case, it would be appropriate, and responsible, to ask how best to accommodate someone. The trick is to do it without making the person feel like a burden or to call great attention to their needs. In the case of someone who is reluctant, or too proud, to ask for or accept help, it can be useful to arrange to be  conveniently nearby.

I have written quite a bit, even recently, about judgments that people made about Ben based on his speech or being in a scooter as opposed to an electric wheelchair (he did eventually need one). As caregivers, we know our carees, and, even at that, sometimes we have to listen to them even though we have our own opinions of how to handle various situations. I was fortunate that Ben never lost his ability to communicate, even though it became more difficult to understand him. He knew himself and his body very well. That’s not always the case, and when it isn’t, there is frustration on the part of everyone involved. But, a smile and acknowledgment that we all matter can do wonders to help relieve stress and foster communication and cooperation.

I believe that we know that Eeyore is right that, “A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.” Ben and my dad always appreciated expressions of consideration and kindness. Likewise, it meant the world to me to know that they appreciated my efforts on their behalf. Sometimes it could only be expressed with a smile and a squeeze of the hand, but that spoke volumes, especially after bouts of impatience and disagreement and, believe me, those did happen!

We all have our routines, our world views, our opinions. We run across so many strangers in our lives. We have no idea what’s going on in their lives. Even when we do, we are not part of the dynamics of other people’s relationships. People who knew me thought that I should handle things differently and got frustrated and concerned about what they thought was my inaction but was sometimes an emotional paralysis. I’m sure that there were occasions when I was frantic and people thought I was unnecessarily high strung. Strangers didn’t know that I was the caregiver of a man with ALS at the same time that I was helping my dad who had cancer. They did not know that I was in tears as I rushed past them because I was scrambling to make a train to avert a crisis. Undoubtedly, some of these strangers had their own stressful situations. In those moments when there is the inclination to judge and offer an uninformed opinion, or lose patience, please remember what Eeyore said, and also that “There’s so much that we share that it’s time we’re aware, it’s a small world after all.”

To all who now cannot get that tune out of their heads, I apologize- well, sort of. After all, it is my favorite song! These are a couple of favorite pictures from the attraction.

Love these girls!

We never passed these girls without shouting “ooo la la” along with them!

Some of you may feel like this right now. The sign was on the attraction one year but we never saw it again.

July 2014- we never really mastered “the selfie.”