I’m Harley. Miraculously, I get paid to write for a living. So this blog, which you get to read for free and for which I receive no monetary compensation, is just for kicks. I’m married, I’m a Yankee (but I hate the Yankees) living in Texas, and you’ll find out a lot more about me by reading my blogs.
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Poppa Culture 
Harley,
I was reading your blog once I got around to reviewing my Plaxo updates and I see we have something in common other then a family tree. I have Crohn’s Colitis. I was diagnosed around sophmore year of college (1994 ish). Crazy stuff – anyway email me and we can catch up on everything else.
Steven Waxler
Hello Harley,
I will try this again (I don’t know what happened to the text I was writing previously so if you received it by accident, please disregard it). Let this proposal be a challenge to you: Read my Caregiver’s Manual For Men (http://caregivermanual.blog.com/caregivers-manual-for-men/) and recognize I was trying to help others cope with their losses (like the one you ascribe to losing Sally Widman). Now I’m not a professional writer but I didn’t let that stop me from trying to help. I created MLBerg’s ITN Blog–no, not Major League Baseball–http://mlbergitn.wordpress.com/, with the intention of developing some new support and coping mechanisms “In Their Names.”
Here’s what I think you should do: Use your writing prowess to craft the CMFM into a more reader-friendly format. Just think how Sally might have wanted her caregivers to behave. Use your clout to update the ITN program. You got kids? Grandkids? Neighbors? Someone you love? Do it for them. Otherwise I’m telling you the present situation (lack of support) isn’t going to change. I’ll guarantee that the incidence of cancers is on the rise. With current shortages (denial of responsibility and absence of accountability) about all we can hope for is that future generations can overcome present deficiencies.
If you email me (mlberg.caregiver.blog@gmail.com) I will fill you in on any missing detail. Guess that’s all for now.
Dan
Dear Dan:
While I truly admire your work, I’m not sure why you’re contacting me. Although I did write an honest tribute to a woman for whom I grieve, I am not currently a caregiver and was not Sally’s caregiver.
If your message was to seek out my professional assistance with your blog, I can pass along a few words of wisdom:
–Make everything short. Short paragraphs, short sections. That’s going to be harder for a lot of emotional, expressive writing.
But websites need to be super-simple to navigate, and scrolling down and down and down is tiresome.
–Use a lot of hyperlinks in each blog entry to get “found” by search engines — and therefore the people who need you the most.
Provide links to each hospital or Wikipedia page about disease or other helpful blogs.
I hope I’ve been helpful, and I wish you all the best in your efforts. I’m happy to answer questions at addude13@gmail.com.
Best,
Harley