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Tampa man named 2023 Caregiver of the Year
Mark Wilson reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Terrance Hawthorne's love for his wife is unquestionable. He stays by her side 24/7 to give her the care she needs.
"That's my bed. I lay here. I sleep here. I watch my wife," said Hawthorne.
He's always loved his wife, but his life lately is one of love and sacrifice.
He sleeps now every night on his couch.
Terrance Hawthorne quit his job to take care of his wife.
"I have to monitor my wife. For one, to make sure she won't choke," shared Hawthorne. "She calls sometimes. She calls me throughout the night. She got that pump on. She got the feeding tube that's constantly running. So I have to really be aware of a lot of different things."
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Terrance's wife Alveria was a real estate agent in 2020. She'd just finished showing a house. She wasn't feeling well and needed to go the bathroom.
"She gets in there. She wasn't in long. I text her are you ok, are you ok. She didn't respond back, so I called. She didn't answer," Hawthorne recalled.
Care Giver Safe Place named Hawthorne 2023 Caregiver of the Year.
Eventually, Hawthorne had to break down the bathroom door.
"She was sitting on the toilet. Her eyes were really bucked. I knew something was wrong. I didn't know what. So, I stood her up and her feet were like rubber. She could not stand," he explained.
After being rushed to Brandon Hospital, doctors told Hawthorne that Alveria had a brain aneurysm that ruptured.
Hawthorne and his wife have been married for 23 years.
"A doctor told me that she was minutes away from death because of that incident. Ninety-eight percent of the people that actually have that type of brain aneurysm rupture, they die instantly," Hawthorne added.
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His beloved wife of 23 years was no longer able to take care of herself, and needed 24 hour care and Hawthorne didn't blink. He quit his job to take of Alveria and is now at her side, every moment, of every day and night.
Hawthorne is devoted to caring for his wife.
"I understand as a husband, I have a duty, and it's my job through sickness and in health, to be there for my wife when she can't be there for herself," shared Hawthorne.
And he's now being rewarded for his remarkable devotion by being named 2023 Caregiver of the Year by the non-profit Caregiver Safe Place, a California-based organization recognizing those who go above and beyond to take care of their loved ones.
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"I look for someone that has been basically going through it, you know, and someone that really needs a mental break," Carletta Cole, Care Giver Safe Place said.
So they presented him with gifts, donations, even hiring caregivers for him, so he can take some much needed time-outs.
98 percent of the people that actually have the type of brain aneurysm that Alveria had, die when it ruptures.
"I have to try to be the physical therapy, the nurse, the occupational therapist, the caregiver, observer. I can't be all at one time, but I have to try to do what I can when I can," Hawthorne said.
He has a devotion for caring for his wife that knows no bounds.
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"A day for me, man it can be sad, it could be happy, it could be up, it could be down. But I continue to push forward because I know that I have to stay strong for her through this whole process," Hawthorne shared.
Since Hawthorne is no longer working he could use some help. For more information, click here.