Illness is not a solo flight - helping couples deal with serious illness

For couples, illness is not a solo flight. When one partner is sick, both lives are dislocated. Whether the illness creeps up insidiously or arrives with the sudden blast of a catastrophe, it fractures all the familiar patterns and forces the couple to drill down to the bedrock of their relationship and decide where they stand.

Some couples break apart; others stay together, but assume profoundly different roles. Some couples despair; others find renewed commitment and meaning. The one certainty is that no couple is immune from the eventual intrusions of illness or trauma.

There are as many stories as there are couples dealing with illness. Each one is unique, yet there are common threads, and we can learn from each other. I hope this blog will be a space where couples in any stage of an illness situation can share experiences and advice.

Among the topics we will explore are:

• Changing Roles: redefining caretaking
• Communication: speaking the unspeakable
• Intimacy and Sex
• The Practicalities: making it work (medical, financial, legal issues)
• Dealing with Family & Friends
• Fighting and Accepting: the constant see-saw
• Finding the Best Care: western and alternative
• and many more