Truest love: a caregiver learns from his wife's pain

Better Nutrition, April, 2005 by Gregg Piburn

An intruder such as chronic pain will either drive a wedge between loved ones or become a springboard to greater emotional and relational health. You can't choose the pain away, but you can choose how it will impact your life and your relationships.

I make plenty, of mistakes as a husband, but Sherrie knows I'm in for the long haul. Our commitment to each other does more than relieve pain--it brings our family joy.

Gregg Piburn wrote Beyond Chaos: One Man's Journey Alongside His Chronically Ill Wife (Arthritis Foundation, 1999). He is also producing a 30-day course for couples affected by chronic illness, and he provides speaking and personal coaching on that same topic. He can he reached at gpiburn@comcast.net.