Your Partner

When battling something as big as the monster that is GP (and life in general sometimes) It is amazing to have someone who supports you and helps you fight when you get tired. Werther, you met them before or after you became poorly, we are so lucky to have them. I think they are incredible. The thing is we have no choice in whether we want to deal with GP or not but they do, they can walk away and don't have to stick around. They could go and have normal lives yet they chose to stay with the person they love. Honestly, think about it, what would you do in that situation? Most people would probably run a mile but occasionally you get someone who looks past all the crap and sees you for who you are.

I know for me personally seeing someone I love crying or in pain, it is a million times worse than being in pain myself. When we are the patient we get so caught up in it and fighting that often we don't think what it looks like to our partner.

You know me I am always banging on about having a support network and how vital that is. Behind and alongside every warrior are the soldiers who fight alongside them. Try to remember how lucky you are to have the things you do.

A lot of the time if you live together the spouse becomes the main carer and they see more of this illness than most of the other people in your life. It can be incredibly difficult to find a middle ground but you will eventually. To try and have a relationship in that environment is challenging but it is possible to have an amazing relationship as long as you work it out, trust me. You become a team, it is the two of you together in the eye of the storm and you go through things no one else could possibly understand.

Every couple is completely different and I can only say all of this from my experience and point of view so I asked some of the members of GIFT to help me out and they really did. You get to see this from a wider range of perspectives but what works for one may not work for another. We hope you find something you can relate to and that it helps you to have and better understand relationships then this was worth it.

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