Your words stir memories for me and they are bittersweet. You have no idea how much I admire you for your devotion to Dennis. Somehow I know that if the tables were turned, Dennis would be giving you the same care.

Please know that although this isn't your intention, you are not only setting an example for the women on this board who may not have faced the "caregiving" challenges, but you are showing the "lurkers" and anyone stopping by here to read, that love can guide you through it all and sustain you. That doesn't mean its easy, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it IS what drives you.

And believe it or not people, the caregiving has its rewards. There were days that Daddy was seemed so "there" and I thought he was aware of what was going on; but of course he didn't. But he would say something like, "You know doll, I just don't know what I'd do without you, your Mamma, and the sisters. Do you know how much I love you all?"

Anne, please also know that each of us are praying for the paperwork to go through without a hitch and that you get the help you so very richly deserve.