[John]

<div>Merry Christmas and Thank You. A tribute to all caregivers, personal and professional.</div>
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<div>“Anything else”, she said looking back, with a loving smile,</div>
<div>“Of course there is”, I replied gently with an embarrassed smile, as she left the room.</div>
<div>There always is.</div>
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<div>As there always is the pain of knowing how hard it is for her, <span style=”font-family: -apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;”>as life-friend, sharer of dreams, mother to our children, partner in adventure … hard to watch the steady decline, the erosion of life and soul in the person you love. Progressive diseases and prolonged illness is so difficult to deal with. </span></div>
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<div><span style=”font-family: -apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;”> </span></div>
<div><span style=”font-family: -apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;”>The toll this all takes on the caregiver is relentless … giving, supporting, sharing in grief with hard news, sharing in hope when things improve. </span></div>
<div><span style=”font-family: -apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;”> </span></div>
<div><span style=”font-family: -apple-system, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;”>It is the day to day and hour to hour drudgery the really takes its toll. It seems that there is hardly a minute without interruption from some pressing need, either getting, bringing, doing, adjusting or just comforting. You have become the laundry queen, tech goddess, chef extrordinare, secretary, driver, medication monitor, garbage manager and sometimes the referee … the one who has to say no. The one who has to say that you might be losing sanity. The one to say to you that you can’t drive anymore. </span></div>
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<div>The loss of a sense of self from this continual outward focus is overwhelming.</div>
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<div>“Is there anything else?”, she said. Yes, clearly there is. There is so much more … please know that I understand parts of what you are going through, that I am trying to understand how hard it is for you to be my caregiver. You need to know how much I appreciate everything you sacrifice and know how much you put up with.</div>
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<div>Somehow, “I love you”, doesn’t quite cover it … “Merry Christmas” comes a little short. Please just know, from the bottom of my heart, soul and ever growing spirit, just how much you mean to me and how much I value all that you do.</div>
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<div>I Love You</div>
<div>Merry Christmas</div>
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[John]

Hi everyone, I feel a need to respond to this topic. I have followed this forum for many years before joining and posting today … kudos to Charlene Marshal who is so key to success of the forum and to all who contribute.
I started using a Navage device to flush out my sinuses when at a very early stage in this journey. I used the device occasionally at first … only when needed. When I got into higher oxygen use, the Navage device became more essential, for all the reasons mentioned in this discussion. I bought mine in the US and know they are available in Canada.
I currently flush my sinuses twice each session (once each direction) and have two sessions a day … my needs at this time are higher perhaps than most. Navage uses a simple saline solution that comes in pods. The pods can add up in cost, but for me it is more than worth the expense. I have heard of people using a temporary work around but have not pursued this. I also make use of Vaseline like products after each session to help keep things loose. This is a significant issue for oxygen users. I wish you all the best in dealing with the difficulties of this disease.