First, there was my mom, who taught me the meaning of CLASS and DIGNITY, as well as about the responsibility to one's extended family.
Then, my dad taught me of hard work, strength, and sacrifice for a greater good, and about TOUGHNESS.
I watched them both, after mom had her stroke ten years ago. She was left a virtual quadriplegic, and everyone urged my dad to place her in a nursing home, but he wouldn't hear of it. For ten years, he took care of her almost single-handedly, cleaning, caring, and checking her. He learned to be an expert on diabetes and on blood sugar level control with insulin. He learned to care expertly for wounds and scratches, which can kill a severe diabetic.
Oh, did I mention that he only had an eigth-grade education?
When mom got ill for the last time, it broke his heart that he could no longer care for her alone. He felt that he was violating his vows to her somehow. The fact that it would have been impossible for a seventy-three year old man to care for a dialysis patient, with a heart condition and brittle diabetes, never entered his mind.
Everyone in their age group I've met all have known people in similar circumstances. ALL, without exception, placed their loved ones in nursing facilities after only a few months. Pop loved Mom enough to hold on for a decade, and he considered THAT not a sacrifice, but a gift.