caregiver stories(articles)

“There’s not enough credit given to the caregiver, especially if there’s help around…but there’s a lot of mental stress that cannot be discounted.”  https://youtu.be/1irREN7zgQo Caregiving first fell upon Hema when her grandfather-in-law suffered a stroke and needed full time care. Immediately after he passed away, her father-in-law had a spine injury and was in and out of hospitals for the next 2 years. However Hema’s caregiving journey continues with her own parents as they age. As we get older and Read More

“Support groups are the most vital…..helping each other, holding each other’s hand is the only way to go forward with this.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3D58_-CxNU&feature=youtu.be Thirty Four year old Anurag and his wife are the primary caregivers to his mother who suffers from ALS. ALS being a disease with no predictability, cure or medicine means they have to learn to live with it. His mother was a caregiver to his father who eventually died of cancer and Anurag feels that nobody realized she Read More

A young couple was sitting in front of the doctor, anxious and at the same time hopeful. The doctor had an inscrutable expression but didn’t know what to tell and how to tell. With great difficulty he nodded his head and whispered “results are positive”.  The wife beamed and shouted “I knew it! Nothing is wrong with you. It is just stress we need a break and all shall be fine. Doctor I told him so!”  She heard and understood Read More

I was 10 years old when my parents decided that we must shift to my ageing maternal grandparents house to take care of them. My mother was the youngest of three siblings and also born to my grandparents when they were in their 40s. She had taken on caregiving responsibilities to my grandmother from the age of 14, when my grandmother had suffered a hip fracture and an unsuccessful surgery that left her crippled till she died at 89. Her Read More

“I hope I’ve done correct with her, that guilt is still there…..sometime we feel we know everything….and at times we feel no one is giving us right advice” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LM5TdFfh_7g&t=2s Alpa,  a working woman and a homemaker, was suddenly thrown into the role of a caregiver when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.  Being the only child living in the same city, she took on the responsibility of looking after her mother. Her mother was considered a healthy individual so the news came Read More

My father-in-law has the softest, gentlest demeanor. With neatly-parted lush silver hair and a calm reassuring voice, he is a doctor you would trust in a heartbeat and love forever. He continues his disciplined routine, regimented eating and exercise from his three decades of service in the Indian Air Force, living everyday what he preaches. Two years ago, he was also the fittest septuagenarian I knew. So, when on their morning walk, he lagged behind his wife citing chest discomfort, Read More

My Mum spent over 10 years using a walker and another 5 years completely bedridden on account of multiple medical challenges.Two surgeries, steel implants on her pelvic girdle, another fall leading to a thigh implant, a uterus removal and also a separate surgery due to water in her lungs.Through these numerous hospitalizations my dad stood beside her like a rock and provided constant care.He dedicated himself to her, if possible giving more than 100% of him and she became the Read More

I’m in a filter bubble, attracting all the right things and the right people. It was not always so, it’s been a journey… A self-directed and exhausting one. Chronologically, I had a normal childhood being the eldest of three siblings. Things changed when our father passed away (sudden heart attack) when I was 15. Being the eldest, I was the ‘responsible’ one. Quite a something to live up to… Our mother was shattered and needed our support. She came out of it quickly Read More

Strange but not all have the heart to look after their old. As long as one can remember it has always been that one child amongst many who assume it is their sole responsibility to take care of the old and so that was mine for a good 27 years. I was definitely not the epitome of patience kindness and all that it takes but had just one thing a heart to do it nonetheless. Being second in line of Read More