Caring for a loving and grateful aging parent can be overwhelming at times. So, imagine what it’s...
Category: The Caregiver’s Toolbox
I wrote about high-priced drugs for years. Then my toddler needed one.
Anakinra is expensive — on average, private health plans pay about $4,000 a month for it — so we...
For Workers, Hospitals Have Become the New Steel Mills — Minus the Strong Unions
How did it come to be that health care is the largest sector of employment in the United States?...
Can I Refuse to Care for an Elderly Parent?
Caring for our parents as they age seems like the obvious way to repay them. Yet, some people ask:...
The Dangers of Caregiver Martyr Syndrome
Do people act as if you're choosing to do all that you do? And choosing to have no time for...
The Silent Epidemic Affecting Generation Z
as of 2020, more than one in six Americans was actively responsible for the daily needs and...
For family caregivers, cost of unpaid care work is both personal and professional
Helen Ries was in her forties when her father died in 2011, and then her mother in 2014, a turn of...
The Switzerland schedule
“Your mother,” he told us, “has multiple sclerosis.” Whatever that was. I carried on with my day...
For family caregivers, cost of unpaid care work is both personal and professional
Canadians spend 5.7 billion unpaid hours each year on caregiving, with many of them struggling to...
As she nursed her mom through cancer and dementia, a tense relationship began to heal
In March 2020, Lori traveled to Florida to help Audrey move into an assisted living facility, a...
‘We can’t even get basic care done’
Becoming a healthcare assistant (HCA) was a straightforward process. It consisted of several...
What happens when a family caregiver needs caregiving?
Research into caregiving reveals a common sequence of events: caregivers often get depressed,...
The Island of Misfit Toys
This year, I have a Christmas baby. David was born in July, but he is the size of a newborn yet....
How to Care For Your Friend Having Gender Affirming Surgery
There are many surgery prep documents out there that focus on the physical and material aspects of...
How a Sprawling Hospital Chain Ignited Its Own Staffing Crisis
At a hospital in a Chicago suburb last winter, there were so few nurses that psychiatric patients...
‘Nobody knows what’s wrong with me’ – life with an undiagnosed condition
Every year thousands of children are born with serious yet unexplained health issues. With no...
Space to Breathe
I am so good at clearing my son’s airway that I am like Sam-I-Am in Green Eggs and Ham. I can...
Who Will Care for ‘Kinless’ Seniors?
When her sister died three years ago, Ms. Ingersoll joined the ranks of older Americans considered...
My wife got cancer and I couldn’t fix it. Finally I learned that’s not what’s required
After that night, it was clear that while I was taking care of certain tasks, I had no idea how to...
Labor Department Crackdown On Caregiver Industry Uncovers Widespread Violations
Federal officials said they’ve conducted over 1,600 investigations since announcing the crackdown...
The Sunset
When I was 19, a nursing home hired me to work as an aide. There wasn’t much to the interview that...
Encountering my grandma’s ghost allowed me to grieve her absence
When I tell my mum about my dream, she’s relieved, saying that she’s done everything to invite my...
Walkthrough of UHC’s Claim Reimbursement Form Game
I’ve always loved the puzzle genre of video games. Starting with the Infocomm text adventures of...
How to Rescue a Grieving Friend
Before my father’s decline, he was a preeminent scholar of Black religious history. As brilliant...