ABSTRACT
When people have found some meaning and can put the situation into perspective, they experience less turmoil. They see more clearly the need to live day-to-day and make the most of the time they have left. When patients live day-to-day they “make the most of it” and “focus on the present.” They plan only for the short-term and accept events the way they are rather than worry about the future. Not all patients focus on living-day-to-day to the same degree. Spouses know the near future will not include their ill partners and they live for today. They spend as much quality time together as possible. Living day-to-day places great demands on adult children who care for the patient and manage their own lives simultaneously. They do not have the luxury of deferring obligations the way spouses can.
