caring for my "elderly" spouse [View all]

Mods, I can't think of anywhere else to post this. It certainly affects my mental health.

My wife is 70. Some would call this elderly. I never have until this morning, when she fell twice. The first time, she lost her balance in the kitchen. She tried to get up on her own, but needed a chair for help. She called out to me and I brought the chair. It was hard, but she got up. I brought both her canes (which she only needs at times like this), and she was almost through the bedroom door when she fell again, this time because her knees buckled. She couldn't get up and I don't have the strength to lift her, so I called the paramedics. They couldn't have been nicer.

I'm committed to this woman for life, and wouldn't have it any other way. But caring for her is becoming a burden, and I don't know if it's possible for me to stop feeling burdened. She has various health problems, the worst of which is colitis (which, as you might know, can be a horrible problem).

As I say, though, I am committed. I'll never leave her; I'll never stop taking care of her - but the weight of it is crushing me.

I've been looking up support groups, but so far all those I've found are still meeting virtually. I want to be in a room with people.

My dad died when he crashed his ultralight airplane. I bristled every time they called him "elderly" in news reports. He was just 69 and led a life of vitality. I can't say that of Mrs Not Heidi. I guess elderly applies to her, as much as I hate it.

Thanks for being a safe place for me to get this out.

TL;DR: Caring for ill and elderly but greatly beloved wife is (through no fault of hers whatsoever) terribly burdensome.