caregiver stories(articles)

Movie Review Courtesy: Tivona Sivaram   Rain man is not the typical kind of caregiving story you might see every day. It’s the story of  two brothers – Charlie and Raymond, and the development of the two individuals in what  could be described as a somewhat unusual situation. The film depicts a clear representation  of autism and the caregiver’s journey with his autistic sibling.    Auto car dealer Charlie Babbitt receives word that his estranged father has died, therefore he  travels home to Cincinnati, where he learns that he has an autistic older brother named  Raymond and that his father’s $3 million inheritance has been bequeathed to the mental  institution where Raymond is housed. As a threat to collect the $3 million bequest, Charlie  somewhat kidnaps Raymond and decides to take him on a cross-country road trip to Los  Angeles.    Charlie Babbitt’s Journey from Hustler to Caregiver   This movie mainly focuses on character development, and we see Charlie’s development  from being a self-serving, stubborn, and selfish person to a caring, understanding and even a  selfless person in some cases.     At the beginning of the movie Charlie calls his brother awful names such as idiot, retard,  weird and crazy. He doesn’t seem to care about his brother and doesn’t even bother  understanding him. After he “kidnaps” his brother, Charlie becomes his full-time caregiver  for the span of 6 days. During this time, we see the relationship between the two develop. At  first Charlie is very harsh on his brother and just wants to use him, but over time we see him  start to notice Raymond’s intelligence, skills, and memory. Throughout his movie we see  how Charlie changes his way of thinking and slowly starts to understand his autistic brother  Raymond and even comes to appreciate him.     As a new caregiver, we see Charlie go through the many different aspects of caregiving. At  first, we see him struggle to cope with his brothers’ moods, routines, and his habit of  repeating things. In many situations we see Charlie expressing his frustrations while taking  care of him. This is something that all caregivers can relate to as caregiving is not an  easy job, and often caregivers experience many challenges along with a variety of emotions  that they might not be able to express.    Over time, Charlie pays more attention to Raymond. For example, Charlie always has to watch  Raymond and can’t leave him alone, as he tends to wander away, or do things that may be  hurtful to him.    At a turning point in the movie, Charlie finds out that Raymond used to sing to him and be  there for him when he was younger, and this is something that most caregivers have  experienced, since their family members may have looked after them and contributed to their  lives in a meaningful way.     Rain Main also doesn’t fail to portray the joys that come with caregiving, such as Charlie  building a relationship and connection with Raymond and listening to and understanding  him. By the end we see Charlie touching Raymond and even kissing him on the forehead.  This is something that definitely counts as joy, and these small things that make caregivers  happy should not be taken for granted.    Charlie Babbitt is also portrayed as someone who tends to hide his emotions, his sentiments  of betrayal and despair behind an arrogant demeanor. His state of well-being is also poor as he struggles to understand both himself and others. But we witness his progression from  being a fully self-centered person to him learning to prioritize others as well as being more  open in talking about his feelings. This progression occurs due to the time spent with his  brother and it contributes to Charlie’s psychological well-being, as he starts to grow on a  personal level. It also contributes to his social well-being as Charlie finally finds a place  where he belongs – with his brother. This also proves that caregiving can not only help the  individual but also help the caregiver in their journey.    Raymond Babbitt – Journey of an Autistic Man  Raymond Babbitt, is a routine driven, somewhat awkward but calm  individual – that is, until one of his habits is disrupted. When his activities are disrupted, he  tends to panic, gets anxious and frustrated. Raymond usually repeats himself a lot, and  mostly lives in his own world. He doesn’t seem to care much about others, or what they do as  long as it doesn’t affect him.    When Charlie takes Raymond away, he is exposed to a variety of new experiences, many of  which cause him to be anxious and frustrated, therefore needing Charlie to look after him.  Raymond’s autism has also made it impossible for him to relate to anyone in a normal way,  but slowly while experiencing the real world, and interacting with many others, he might be  Read More

  Caregiver Saathi brings to you Conversations with Gentle Warriors! A series of our Facebook LIVE sessions where caregivers share their caregiving journeys, now in a podcast format. Welcome to the 5th episode of Conversations with Gentle Warriors. In this episode we will hear from Sudeshna, and learn about her journey and experience as a caregiver. Sudeshna, an only child, was a caregiver to her aging parents for the span of about 6 years. She talks about her learning experience Read More

  Caregiver Saathi brings to you Conversations with Gentle Warriors! A series of our Facebook LIVE sessions where caregivers share their caregiving journeys, now in a podcast format. Welcome to the 4th episode of Conversations with Gentle Warriors. This time, we meet Seema who has been a caregiver to both her mother and her husband who has been diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), also known as the Lou Gehrig’s disease. She speaks to us about how she manages parenting Read More

    Original publishing date: 05-12-2021 Publisher: TIMESOFINDIA.COM Author: Adesh Pandey In this article, a caregiver, Adesh Pandey  talks about his personal experience with COVID and how one’s alertness, awareness and timely action can win this battle. He ignored his health while taking care of his other family members who were COVID positive and eventually got hospitalized. In this article Adesh provides practical tips to fight the virus and when you should consult a doctor “Time is the most precious Read More

“You become a parent, a teacher, a counsellor, all while still being family; completely responsible for someone else, with little to no respite.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNKItS03HEE Every home has a caregiver…usually women! Caregiving is a job that is done out of love and duty, due to expectation from family or as a fundamental human value but it is also something everyone takes for granted and therefore ends up being a thankless job. Looking after one’s family successfully is never considered an accomplishment Read More

  Movie Review Courtesy: Rebecca Thomas The Theory of Everything is a 2014 biographical film about the world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking. However, the relationship that Stephen shared with his wife, Jane forms the crux of the story. After he was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 21, Jane takes on the role of being a primary caregiver for him. We see her journey as a caregiver beginning with determination to make the most of the Read More

  Movie Review Courtesy: Abeer Syed Waiting is a 2015 Indian drama film revolving around Tara, a young vibrant married woman and Shiv, an elderly professor. The two strangers develop a heartwarming bond as they battle through their inner struggles while their respective spouses are admitted to the hospital. Shiv waits patiently for 8 months for his comatose wife to recover despite the negative evaluations of her recovery from her doctors. He is optimistic about her recovery and cannot stand Read More

  Movie Review Courtesy: Ishita Dinger Khamoshi is a captivating tale of a female nurse who struggles in balancing the demands of her professional role and her own emotions. This movie captures the intricate challenges that healthcare practitioners face in their work and how that affects many aspects of their well-being. The nature of relationships with healthcare practitioners is very transactional. Patients expect to get immediate treatment from doctors and once they are cured, this relationship ends. However, in the journey of Read More

Original Publishing Date: 25 February 2014 Publisher: Kelowna Capital News Author: Marjorie Horne “The inevitable path of end of life care is that you will lose that person you love. As you move through that process, your journey will change and shift and ultimately be more challenging.” The author talks about the struggle that a caregiver encounters in their caregiving journey. It can be extremely frustrating and challenging for a caregiver to see their loved one’s condition continuously decline as Read More

Original Publishing Date: December 4, 2013 Publisher: The Caregiver Space Author: Adrienne Gruberg “Looking back on my career as a caregiver, I marvel at the number of levels of care…..remembering how at every level I’d say to myself, “I can’t take this stress much longer.” Adrienne Gruberg shares her story of being a primary caregiver to her husband and reveals the stages that a caregiver goes through in their journey of caregiving for their loved one. The first level was Read More