“My husband is a remarkable caregiver. He knows how to talk to ER doctors and advocate for Ladybug if she has a hospital stay. Yet as I watched them pull off in the SUV, I had what felt like empty energy. I was anxious because I wasn’t going.

“You seem unsettled,” he said as I cleaned up and organized a space in our house. I had to do something with my excess energy. I was buying time before returning to campus to teach my next class, and if something went wrong, the school would know to call him instead of me.

“I don’t know what to do when I’m not solely responsible for all of her medical stuff,” I finally admitted.

Even though she was diagnosed in 2021, I’ve taken Ladybug to her appointments since she was 4 years old. I’ve memorized her medical history, administered her meds, stayed up with her during bad nights, and become her “roommate” during hospital stays. The act of caregiving became my security blanket, and the title became my identity.

But now, as a college professor, I’ve found that sharing this heavy load of caregiving with my husband, which would seem ideal to some, has made me question who I am now.”

Read more in BioNews.

Written by External Article
Everyone is talking about caregiving, but it can still be difficult to find meaningful information and real stories that go deep. We read (and listen to and watch and look at) the best content about caregiving and bring you a curated selection. Have a great story about caregiving? Use our contact form to submit it to us so we can share it with the community!

Related Articles

Popular categories

Finances
Burnout
After Caregiving
Housing
Relationships
Finding Meaning
Planning
Dying
Finding Support
Work
Grief

Don't see what you're looking for? Search the library

Share your thoughts

0 Comments

Share your thoughts and experiences

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join our communities

Whenever you want to talk, there’s always someone up in one of our Facebook communities.

These private Facebook groups are a space for support and encouragement — or getting it off your chest.

Join our newsletter

Thoughts on care work from Cori, our director, that hit your inbox each Monday morning (more-or-less).

There are no grand solutions, but there are countless little ways to make our lives better.

Share your insights

Caregivers have wisdom and experience to share. Researchers, product developers, and members of the media are eager to understand the nature of care work and make a difference.

We have a group specifically to connect you so we can bring about change.