It's human nature to hang onto two basic hopes that we can overcome illness, and that we can delay death. The reality for care partners, however, is that in many cases your loved one faces a steady medical decline, a life-threatening illness, or impending death.

Hope for Caregivers and Loved Ones Means Expecting a Better Tomorrow. 

Sometimes that better tomorrow happens as a result of something that changes in the outside world, such as a new drug, or unexpected help. And sometimes the better tomorrow arrives because you see things from a new perspective.

Hope is like a vase that contains your sweet-smelling, colorful dreams.  And dreams, like flowers, change over the seasons of life and the stages of caregiving. Yet no matter how desperate the situation, there is always room for hope and dreams because they are a magical salve for the suffering of caregivers and the people they care for.

Hopes and dreams can become the guiding light for the tough choices that care partners and their loved ones face.

Learning Objectives

When you have completed this session, you will be able to:

• Understand the importance of hope on your journey as a care partner.
• Identify ways to maintain hope in the face of this progressive illness.
• Describe when and where to ask for help. 

Work through the various parts of the session at your leisure.  Move from one part to another at your own pace and in the order that makes sense to you, based on your own needs and interests.

At any time, you may scroll to the Search bar at the top of the page and type a specific question or topic.