One aspect of family life mostly left unspoken is our mortality, especially an Asian one. Yes it could be rather morbid. It may even be superstitious to talk about it, as it was for my traditional Chinese Dad who headed up my family of origin.
This Father’s Day is our first without him. I would not say we’ve emerged from our grief already. I would say that our lives are forever changed; I would say we are doing rather well in this new normal.
The past 2.5 years have been a particularly heavy time of caregiving for Dad, as he slowly and steadily declined in health following a stroke and diagnosed with PSP, a neurological disorder without a name like Alzheimer and Parkinson. My mother and my brother Deef took care of him diligently and sacrificially. I debriefed that experience with my brother Deef, and recorded the webcast before a live audience– you can watch that video .
Our hope is that by talking about a topic that’s rarely ever talked about in the Chinese/ Asian American context as normal average people (in contrast to healthcare professional) that our story can be useful towards realizing you have 2 guys who are empathetic and accessible when that season of life comes around.
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