caregiver stories(articles)

All through my life, I had been accustomed to seeing my father as a strong and healthy individual – he rarely (if ever) even had a cold or a fever. It all changed when (in April 2012) he had a fall in the park and cracked his shoulder joint. It all happened in a few seconds and he was 89…While he was coping with the surgery and post-surgical complications, I was beginning to understand what caring for the elderly really meant. Read More

We often consider diabetes as lightly as a bad bout of cold; after all, it is not life-threatening. You have seen that Uncle in your building going for morning walks or your manager dealingwith deadlines like a pro, despite having diabetes. Diabetes may not seem as life-threatening as cancer or chronic heart disease as it does not show life-threatening symptoms right away, however, it is a silent killer. It can cause havoc in the patient and the caregiver’s lives over Read More

“Because of the situation…there will be negative reaction for any act, from the patient… so keep it in mind, you have to be calm” https://youtu.be/nzsYdTA7RiQ Rajesh and his wife were shocked by the diagnosis, when they heard that she had fourth stage fibroid cancer. They were told it was a rare disease and the chances of survival were bleak. Doctors within the family advised them to let her go peacefully without undergoing any treatment. The family decided to try their Read More

There’s a great saying- “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honours.” And while that may be true, what also accompanies such an honour is the unseen and inexplicable emotional trauma, financial stress and always a certain sense of failure. As one of my mother’s primary caregivers, I felt each of these feelings and much more. In the wee hours of April 6, 2019, my mother passed away at the hospital, where she Read More

“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