Caregiver Month: Honoring the People Who Carried Me Through My Hardest Season

When people hear my story, they often focus on the hospice part — the swelling, the breathlessness, the fear of not waking up the next morning. But there’s a side of that season that doesn’t get talked about enough:

The people who kept me here.

Because I wasn’t the only one fighting for my life.

As my heart was failing and the symptoms were spiraling, Louis was going through chemotherapy.

Two sick people in the same home. Two battles happening at once. Survival didn’t feel like a solo fight — it became a team effort. And thank God, we had angels in the lineup.

❤️‍🩹 Louis — my husband, my partner in survivalHe was battling cancer at the same time I was slipping in hospice.We were both fragile, both scared, both trying to care for each other with whatever strength we had left.Love changes when both people are sick.It gets quieter… deeper… stronger.We made it through that season because neither one of us let go.

❤️‍🩹 LB — my son, the balance that kept our house standing

All while working full-time, LB stepped in without hesitation.When Louis’s chemo knocked him down, LB filled the gap.When I was out of state with Azure, LB made sure his dad got to appointments, took his meds, and wasn’t alone.He didn’t just help — he held the whole house upright when everything felt like it was collapsing.

❤️‍🩹 Azure — my daughter, my advocate

Azure was juggling her full-time job, being a mom, and still showed up to every out-of-state appointment like it was the only thing on her calendar.She asked the hard questions, pushed back when doctors dismissed symptoms, and carried an emotional weight no child should ever have to lift.She became my voice when mine was too weak and fought for me in rooms my body couldn’t walk into.

❤️‍🩹 Quinton — my son in love, steady, loyal, present

Quinton showed up in the moments people don’t see.When things got dark, he didn’t back up or look away. He sat in the hard moments with us. No ego, no fear, just love and presence.He didn’t try to fix what couldn’t be fixed — he just showed up, again and again.That kind of presence is rare, and it mattered.

❤️‍🩹 Nahla — my little light in the darkest room

She was only 10 years old at the time.Too young to understand hospice.Too young to understand heart failure.But she helped in the ways a child knows how:

Her hugs.Her drawings.Her laughter.Her quiet company on the couch when I couldn’t move.

She brought life into a house swallowed by illness.Those small moments were reminders that joy still existed.Now she’s 14, probably not realizing the impact she had… but I do.Her little heart helped keep mine beating.

This month, I honor them — my caregivers, my circle, my ride-or-die crew.I am alive today because these five people showed up again and again — even when they were scared, even when they were exhausted, even when they were hurting themselves.

Caregivers don’t just support a patient.They hold up entire worlds.

🥰 To my caregivers: I see you.I honor you.And I’m here because of you. I'm grateful and I love you.

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