Jason rosenthal on being his late wife amy's caregiver

Jason rosenthal on being his late wife amy's caregiver


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AT AARP WE ADVISE ASSEMBLING A CAREGIVING TEAM. DID YOU HAVE ONE? JR: Home hospice gives you some assistance, but to be honest with you, it was not where I found a source of comfort. I found


comfort with my daughter [Paris], who basically took off time from college and came to be with us in home hospice. She was really my partner in taking care of Amy. And my mother-in-law, of


course, who was with me at most doctor's appointments, taking copious notes and being her incredible self. So, it was mostly the three of us, as well as my two boys, Miles and Justin.


WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU LEARNED THROUGH HOSPICE? JR: You need to do what's best for you and your family. So, for example, music was a huge part of our lives together, so I instinctively


just called up a couple of resources. One of my friends is a world-renowned blues musician, and we brought him in with a buddy to play some music for Amy. And we had a music therapist come


in every week, and I asked her to learn some songs that Amy really liked. IN THE BOOK, YOU HIGHLIGHT THE UNIQUE WAYS FRIENDS REACHED OUT DURING AMY'S ILLNESS. JR: A buddy of mine, he


may not be the most expressive guy, but he sent me some of his favorite song lyrics periodically, and they were beautiful, talking about love and friendship. Another really good friend of


ours, without expecting anything in return, dropped off at our house every Saturday, while Amy was in hospice, three random yellow items — everything from a package of mustard to a rubber


ducky to a yellow baseball [a yellow umbrella is Amy's legacy symbol]. AS A COUPLE, YOU TALKED OPENLY ABOUT END-OF-LIFE WISHES. MOST PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO DISCUSS THAT. JR: Oh my God,


are they ever! I encourage people throughout my public speaking life to have these discussions younger, when you're healthy and when you have your memory and your health. We did have


time — so many people don't have that time. We talked about what kind of service Amy wanted. Did she want music to be played? If so, should I just pick songs? Did she want certain


people to speak? Things like that. It was very important to me. AFTER AMY DIED, YOU STARTED HAVING PANIC ATTACKS. WHAT DO YOU TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THE GRIEVING PROCESS?