To the OP,
My gawd, man, you can write.
You had a hell of a topic, and you turned it into a beautiful piece of prose that truly shared the feelings, the pain, and the sorrow of the years living with others who are not so fortunate.
To me, great writing is when you lay yourself bare to others. There's no place to hide your own nakedness, your own humanity. It seeps through the words and breaks your heart.
You've got it captured and written down; you can "let it go" now.
Thanks for sharing.
Prescut