Reflections of a Loving Partner is the intimate story of two devoted partners confronting the challenges of a terminal diagnosis. Author C. Andrew Martin's world was shattered when his life partner, Gil, was diagnosed with AIDS. This eloquent memoir shares their love story, unveiling the burdens and the joys of the caregiving journey. Andrew chose to become Gil's caregiver. To prepare for what lay ahead, Andrew enrolled in hospice volunteer training, learning lessons to guide him through the medical, emotional, spiritual, and legal hazards of caregiving. Now a registered nurse and leader in the field of hospice and palliative care, Andrew has turned his personal experience into his life's work, sharing with others the valuable lessons he learned. Andrew shows us that when we are open to its possibilities, the loving and selfless act of being a caregiver for someone who is at the end of life can teach us just as much about living as about dying.
C. Andrew Martin's passion is generating hospice and palliative care awareness.
Preparation for writing this book includes his life experience as a caregiver for his partner Gil; several writing workshops; the Molasses Pond Writers' Conference; and a self-formed writers' group that emerged from the Molasses Pond Conference.
Since writing this memoir, Andrew has become a Registered Nurse, with a focus on hospice education and quality care. Currently employed by AIDS Services of Austin, Andrew is a Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse and holds Masters degrees in both Healthcare Administration and Nursing Education.
Andrew has achieved Level II Designee of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's Hospice Manager Development Program. He is also an approved educator for the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Training Program. As Adjunct Faculty at the University of New Hampshire, Boston College, and Saint Joseph's College of Maine, Andrew taught the Death & Dying and Palliative Practicum courses to the next generation of healthcare professionals.
His professional affiliations are with the Texas/New Mexico Hospice Organization; Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association; Association of Nurses in AIDS Care; and Sigma Theta Tau Iota Chapter.
In his downtime, Andrew enjoys bicycling, the meditation of knitting, and spending time with his loving and supportive partner, Rabbi Lev Baesh, and their two Boston Terriers, Nefesh and Emet.
www.candrewmartin.com
