When I first became my mom's caregiver, I thought that being a happy caregiver was is a bit of an oxymoron. To those who are thrown into caregiving, it often feels like a thankless job. And whether you're caring for a loved one alone or with a team of family, it's...
Melissa Bilchik
Why a Memory Care Facility was the Right Choice for my Mom at 56
The first thing my mom said to me when she was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease was that she never wanted her children to have the burden of caregiving. She couldn't have stressed it more. Even though the disease had already taken pieces of her, she was still our...
It’s Normal for Things to be Shitty
Once upon a time I thought that tragedy only happened to people on TV. I think many of us millennials were taught to think that nothing bad could happen to us. We were normal, we all won awards, we were protected from the world. It was all butterflies and rainbows. I...
Grown Up Pains: The Beginning of My Story
I first heard of Huntington’s Disease when I was 20 years old. A frantic, hysterical phone call from my mom told me that she was certain that she had an incurable, genetic disorder called HD that involved the slow deterioration of cognitive thinking, muscle...