by Guest Author | Sep 9, 2021 | Caring for a Parent, Generation Z, Grief |
When my mother had brain surgery to remove a tumor in May 2020, I thought that was the most difficult thing that could happen during the pandemic. I thought once she recovered from that my caregiving role would be over and I would go back to my life as a “normal” 20... 
by External Article | Mar 2, 2021 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation |
Gina became a caregiver at a young age. By age 6, she was emotionally responsible for her mother, her brothers and herself, and she learned to mute her own needs for the sake of others. As an adult, she’s still shaking off the long-term effects of being parentified... 
by External Article | Feb 5, 2021 | Caring for a Parent, Generation Z, Long Distance Caregiving, Long Term Caregiving, Occasional Caregiving |
Almost five years ago, when my father was 62, he learned he had Alzheimer’s disease. Over this time, my mother and I have watched his decline. He forgets his friends’ names and can no longer read. Every morning, he sits in a baby blue polka-dot towel and waits for one... 
by External Article | Feb 1, 2021 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Grief, Long Term Caregiving |
If I’ve learned anything in the five years since my mom died, it’s that grief is exceedingly difficult to communicate. Add ableism to the mix, and the conversation becomes even more challenging. Take, for example, an encounter I had with an acquaintance a few months... 
by External Article | Aug 15, 2020 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Millennial Generation |
For my whole life I have lived in a family where transparency about my mother and her illness was elusive to us all. We’ve all managed to say so much about so little over the years–my mother has struggled with mental health issues her whole life, but we... 
by External Article | Apr 5, 2020 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, For Friends & Family, Millennial Generation |
It was 2003. I had just turned 16, and that was the summer my mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She had just gotten divorced from my stepdad, and we were officially two gals taking care of business for ourselves. Since 2003 she has had 5 recurrences (but that... 
by External Article | Aug 8, 2019 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Millennial Generation, Working Family Caregivers |
His mum had come to the UK from Bangladesh as a 19-year-old bride, so there was little support from extended family – but it was an accident when Thupayal was 15 and his brother, Mohammed, 11 that truly turned their lives upside down. Thupayal had to take charge... 
by External Article | Jun 4, 2019 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Millennial Generation |
It’s easier to sink than swim. That’s what they don’t tell you. But sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between sinking and floating stagnant. Caregiving threw me from the stagnation I succumbed to. Suddenly, it wasn’t about me anymore. The focus was to get my... 
by External Article | May 26, 2019 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Grandparent, Caring for a Parent |
One of the most important things that losing my mum has taught me is that the burden of care falls to women and girls. My mum died of ovarian cancer 10 years ago, when I was 11. So, in my teens, I took on a different role in my family than most of my peers who still... 
by External Article | May 3, 2019 | Baby Boom Generation, Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Long Term Caregiving |
In an interview with my father, Paul Weidlinger, toward the end of his life, he told me how he held my mother in his arms as she gradually calmed down. Later that night he woke up to discover she was gone. She had left their New York apartment wearing only a raincoat.... 
by External Article | Feb 15, 2019 | Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Millennial Generation |
What’s it like to be 31 and moving home with your parents? What happens when that temporary move becomes more permanent after your mom is diagnosed with cancer? Once I moved in, every day was filled with so much overwhelming uncertainty that I immediately turned... 
by External Article | Dec 12, 2018 | After Caregiving, Care Work Library, Caring for a Parent, Grief, Long Distance Caregiving, Millennial Generation |
I was 32 and living in Los Angeles when I became my father’s caregiver, following his diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare degenerative brain disease that affects walking, swallowing and speech. Many people associate the term “caregiver” with a hired... 
by Guest Author | Jun 8, 2018 | 24/7 Caregiving, Caregiver Burnout, Caregiving 101, Caring for a Romantic Partner, For Friends & Family, Long Term Caregiving, Planning |
Position Summary: The Caregiver cares for the patient’s medical, physical, emotional, spiritual, mental, social emotional, financial, organizational and dietary needs. Reporting to: This position reports to the patient, medical staff, the patient’s mother, other... 
by Guest Author | May 27, 2018 | Caregiver Stories, Caring for a Grandparent, Finding Meaning, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation, Working Family Caregivers |
I’m not going to pretend that taking care of my dad is easy. It’s exhausting. It’s taken over my life. It’s destroyed my chance of getting a promotion. In fact, I’m nervous that it’ll cost me my job. But it also means that my father... 
by External Article | May 7, 2018 | 24/7 Caregiving, Care Work Library, Caring for a Sibling, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation, Planning |
Stephane put his life on hold to care for his baby brother. Tor is nonverbal and requires 24/7 care. When Tor reached 21, day services were cut off and his parents couldn’t manage providing care around the clock without Stephane’s help. Stephane and his... 
by Guest Author | Mar 6, 2018 | 24/7 Caregiving, Caregiver Stories, Finances, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation, Planning |
Sometimes I wonder what I’d be doing if I wasn’t doing this. If it’s worth it, in the grand scheme of things. I’m too old to imagine I’d be president or some famous researcher or something. I wouldn’t really be out there saving the... 
by Guest Author | Feb 25, 2018 | Caregiver Burnout, Caregiver Stories, Caregiving Relationships, Caring for a Parent, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation |
The question was what my life was a year ago, but what I want to know so badly is what my life will be like a year from now. My husband and I got married without really understanding what that meant. I want to say it was because we were too young to know any better,... 
by Guest Author | Feb 4, 2018 | Working Family Caregivers |
I’m segueing into the role of caregiver for my aging parent quicker than expected. I left my 30-year music education career and Florida home behind to move back with my mother in my Kentucky hometown. The plan was to set myself up to be her caregiver well ahead of... 
by Guest Author | Jan 28, 2018 | Caregiver Stories, Caring for a Romantic Partner, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation, Planning, Working Family Caregivers |
About 1 year ago my boyfriend and I were enjoying our lives together, with friends and family, traveling and just quite happy. In a very short amount of time, all of that changed when he became very ill and continued to decline as we were trying to determine what was... 
by Hanna Smith | Dec 25, 2017 | Caregiver Stories, Caring for a Parent, Death & Dying, Millennial Generation |
A few weeks ago I was drinking beer and eating meatballs with a new friend in a city I didn’t live in. There’s something about the semi-anonymity of a new face you know you won’t have to see every day afterward that invites people to delve into the... 
by Adrienne Gruberg | Dec 6, 2017 | Caregiver News |
On October 29, I received an email from Victoria Negri. She’s the writer, producer, director and star of a new feature film, “Gold Star,” which premiered here in New York City in early November. I was asked to be part of a panel discussion after the screening and was... 
by Guest Author | Nov 30, 2017 | Caregiver Stories, Caring for a Sibling, Generation Z, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation |
This is not how I expected to spend my early 30s. My parents had hardly had a minute to enjoy their “empty nest” before I needed to move back in to help my parents take care of my brother. Right after his accident it was like the world stopped and... 
by External Article | Nov 3, 2017 | 24/7 Caregiving, Care Work Library, Caring for a Child, Caring for a Parent, Finances, Finding Caregiver Support, Finding Meaning, Generation X, Housing, Long Term Caregiving, Planning |
In the first story, Erica Silberman and her siblings struggle to figure out the best way to care for their mom after she’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. As a young struggling actor, it’s decided Erica should be the primary caregiver. Her mom comes to live... 
by External Article | Jul 17, 2017 | Care Work Library, Finances, Long Term Caregiving, Millennial Generation |
A high school student is all set to go to college in the fall…but he doesn’t show up for classes. What happened? Caregiving happened. Someone needs to take care of his dad, who has ALS. It’s easy to decide college can wait so his mom can go back to... 
by Guest Author | Jun 27, 2017 | Caregiver Stories |
My parents are too young to be facing old age. They’ve reached that point of enjoying an empty nest. My brother and I are standing on our own feet, settled into lives of our own. Rather than have to parent (active verb) they can just be parents. My mom and I go... 
by Guest Author | Jun 20, 2017 | Caregiver Stories |
I’ve always felt like an outsider. Growing up in the suburbs I always stuck out. I didn’t fit in. I didn’t belong there. My parents always described me as the black sheep. When I was little, they tried to get me to play nice, wear dresses, do the... 
by Melissa Bilchik | Jun 12, 2017 | Caregiver Stories, Finding Meaning |
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... 
by Cori Carl | Jun 11, 2017 | Caregiver Stories |
Caregivers come from all ages and walks of life. So many of our community members have been part-time, full-time, long-distance, and professional caregivers over the years. But as Cathy put it so perfectly: It isn’t a competition regarding when we started... 
by Melissa Bilchik | May 12, 2017 | Caregiver Stories |
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... 
by Feylyn Lewis | May 7, 2017 | Caregiving 101, Caring for a Parent, Finding Meaning, Generation X, Millennial Generation, Planning, The Caregiver's Toolbox |
This Saturday my older brother will graduate magna cum laude from Volunteer State Community College with his Associate’s degree in Computer Information Technology. While every degree is special, this one is particularly significant. Earning this degree was a... 
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