Pat Hurley and her late husband Bill recounted through poetry – in real time – their individual perspectives as caregivers and patient through esophageal cancer. With 28 poems written by the caregiver and care-receive,r Pat Hurley’s book, Hard to Swallow, takes readers on a real-life Caregiving journey about how writing poetry helped her and her late husband Bill Hurley navigate the challenges of newly married life after his diagnosis of esophageal cancer. Listen in and learn how Pat Hurley is creating Healing Ties all around us!
You Might Know Me As The Bow Tie Guy - "Wearing a bow tie is like wearing two smiles."
When people ask me, "why did you create the Whole Care Network"... I always come back to our caregiving experience and how fortunate I was to find resources that helped me and my partner Richard Schiffer manage our caregiving journey. Every caregiver has a story; through our stories, we find validation, resources, and respite to help manage our caregiving day.
We were fortunate to have our story chronicled in a 2015 Pulitzer Prize-nominated 3-part story, “In Sickness and In Health: A Couple’s Final Journey,” which told our journey of caregiving. The story told of the challenges LGBT partners have in dealing with the medical and legal system, but it also told of the love and joy my partner Richard's last years had on our relationship.
