When the Heavens Align
Dear Caregivers,
Next Monday millions of Americans will get a rare treat: Around midday, the sky will briefly go completely dark. The stars will come out, birds will start singing, and insects will be chirping. They will be experiencing a total solar eclipse.
Solar eclipses are a rare phenomenon — the next one won’t happen in the United States until 2033 — and are the result of an alignment of cosmic proportions. It just so happens that the Sun’s diameter is 400 times that of the moon. but the giant orb also sits about 400 times further away from earth. The result is that, as seen in the earth’s sky, they are both the same size, and periodically, the moon’s orbit takes it directly in front of the sun, from our perspective, and blocks out the sun’s light completely.
Total eclipses have played an important role in world history. In 585 BC, for example, the Mediterranean civilizations the Lydiand and the Medes, which had been fighting each other for more than 10 years, experienced an eclipse on the battlefield. They abruptly laid down their arms and made a permanent peace. In 1919, scientists photographed the background of stars behind the moon/sun pairing during a total eclipse, and proved Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which predicted that gravitational bodies distort space and therefore bend light.
Unfortunately, on this occasion the moon’s shadow is not going to be traversing the state of Floridia, so we’ll only get a “partial” eclipse. Still, the dancing spheres in the heavens can serve as an inspiration to caregivers everywhere to reflect on the importance of getting alignment in their daily lives.
Caregiving is one of the hardest, and most rewarding, jobs in the world, and a big part of that job is coordinating, managing, balancing, and yes, aligning the teams of family, friends, government workers, your medical team, and of course your loved one. To be sure, sometimes gravity pulls all these pieces in different directions, but when you do get it right, just like an eclipse, it can seem like magic.
Here some guidance on your to manage the alignment in your caregiving community:
Getting To Know Your Caregiving “Village”:
Identifying and engaging with a medical team that you can count on can make a big difference for you and your loved one. Here is an overview of the types of healthcare professionals you may want to seek out as part of your “caregiving village”.
Communicating With Your Loved One:
Communicating with a loved one with Alzheimer's can be challenging, as the illness robs your loved one of their abilities to remember and process information during a conversation. But there are ways you can make it easier for both of you to communicate effectively.
Aligning With Your Caregiving Team:
As the primary advocate for your loved one, you need to feel confident and comfortable adding your voice to the conversations about their care. Here’s how to communicate with your healthcare providers.
Remember, if you can’t find the information you need on our website, you can always “Ask NAN” by clicking on this link.
Best,
Rosemary D Laird, MD, MHSA
Founder and Chief Medical Officer
“With the right alignment, everything you want makes its way into your experience. You are the keeper of your own gate.”
— Esther Hicks
