Gary Barg:
And honestly, it’s an emotional
help, too, if you can imagine.
Henry Winkler: You
know what? That is exactly
correct. That, I think, is a
major, major component—the
emotional.
Gary Barg:
They don’t feel so helpless.
Henry Winkler: You
don’t feel so helpless, you don’t
feel so freakish, you don’t feel so
different. There was a woman I
met in Texas who had her arm frozen
to the side of her body and she
called it her chicken wing.
Her children who had given up their
social life to take care of her
called it her chicken wing.
And you know, when she started the
therapeutic use of Botox, she said,
“I haven’t been able to put my arms
around my girls for two years since
the stroke. It’s amazing…it’s
amazing.” And you know what
happens also that I’m privy to, that
I am honored by? People in the
get-togethers that we have had all
over the country stand up and give
testimony about where they were and
what has happened. And it’s
almost, I don’t want to say
religious, but it is. It’s like a
revival.
Gary Barg: It’s
sharing.
Henry Winkler:
It’s sharing, but it’s sharing this
monumental change that they so
appreciate. I’ve never
actually said that sentence, but
that is the truth.
Gary Barg: They
bring something to the table that
has helped them and again, giving is
getting. The other thing that
I love so much about the Open Arms
Campaign is that it allows the care
recipient to partner with their
family caregiver.
Henry Winkler: That
is a very good way to say it.
All of a sudden, they become a part
of the team as opposed to the
object.
Gary Barg: It
is often so difficult for a parent
to see your kids caring for you.
Henry Winkler:
What about the parent caring for
the kid? I just met a young
man who was on his way to becoming a
doctor like his dad. His
sisters are 14 and 15. They were on
vacation when he was 18 or 19 and he
had a stroke. He is working his way,
fighting his way back.
Gary Barg:
And he is affected by ULS?
Henry Winkler:
Yes.
Gary Barg:
Aren’t people living with MS and
some other diseases also affected by
ULS?
Henry Winkler:
There are so many—head injury,
cerebral palsy, stroke, of course,
spinal cord injury.
Gary Barg: By the
way, the stories on the campaign’s
Web site, openarmscampaign.com, are
the kind of stories we hear all the
time through the Fearless Caregiver
Conferences and Today’s Caregiver
magazine, but the pictures of the
family members are amazing.
You just see people getting part of
their life back. Do you meet a
lot of family caregivers on the
road?
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