Caregiver stories(videos)

“We have people who are struggling all over the place and it is time to quit acting like this is a rare disease and only a few families are giving up their lives, this is everywhere….it’s affecting everyone in every class level, in every age level, and every gender, all demographics across the board.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcBH077AEm8&feature=youtu.be The video delves into the lives of those caring for loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s. It talks about the various facets of the disease and Read More

“Never think you are weak …Life is tough it has difficulties but we overcome them and you just have to be positive” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIBBKQ9QBcc&feature=youtu.be When Neema’s husband had a heart attack, she suddenly became a caregiver to him. However, she was not new to this role as she was already a caregiver to her daughter who was diagnosed with developmental delays and needed a lot of help as she was seizure prone. Neema’s husband was later bedridden due to femur cancer Read More

“I think initially you don’t know which way you’re heading, you don’t know where to start or where to finish…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBCAuIbHVdY&feature=youtu.be Ruchita, an entrepreneur, talks about her caregiving journey which began when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The role of a caregiver, for Ruchita, is that of an all-rounder. They have to juggle all sorts of tasks and roles. Since she is a caregiver for her parents, Ruchita notices how it often feels as a role-reversal; sometimes she Read More

“The mental health of a caregiver is not understood in our country and that is so important because if that person is mentally in a healthy condition the kind of caregiving he will be able to give to a person terminally sick will be tremendous.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HIEMxjeq4&feature=youtu.be Rashmi had always been an animal lover. She would feel distraught whenever she came across an injured animal. Finally, through some encouragement, she joined a number of organizations that worked for animal welfare. She Read More

“When you encounter something and you don’t know what to do with it, you have several choices: you can either take advantage of what is available, you can run screaming saying I can’t do this, or you can create your own solution.”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlVL5Estn-I Older adults are becoming the primary caregivers to their aged parents. A caregiver of an older parent may want to do a lot for their loved one but may not know how to do it. Family caregivers Read More

“When someone’s older we seem to do more, but what we really should be doing is less…slow it down. Stop rushing.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpPyjbcIPlY Caregivers think that older adults need a lot of professional medical help. While caring for older parents, the caregiver feels a huge weight of responsibility and wants to provide the best medical help as possible. In reality, unnecessary procedures by healthcare systems can end up causing more harm than good to older people because today, every symptom of Read More

“It negatively affects the spouse caregiver’s and the patient’s relationship… the marital tension escalates. And that happens in all marriages…this is the natural history of what happens in a household when there is serious medical illness.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duhJHedj82g Frances Lewis, a scientist talks about a caregiver’s journey, particularly that of a caregiver who is also a spouse. According to research, there are four ways in which the illness in a patient’s body jumps into the spouse or the family. The first one Read More

“The reason it’s important to have a plan, is that it gives you more options. It helps avoid family arguments and it helps you to be prepared to take care of yourself when you’re caregiving for others” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq98i02kzcM It is said that, out of all the people we know, half of them would become caregivers within the next 5-10 years, if they aren’t already. However, people tend to avoid talking about caregiving unless a major life change occurs in their loved Read More

“We are afraid of endings… We are afraid of seeing our parents grow smaller… We are scared so we deny it.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c2grKhiKEw Amy O’Rourke has been working with the elderly for most of her life. While she mentions how much she loves her job, she shares many instances of her experience with elderly patients and their families. Amy describes three different ways to lower stress while dealing with the elderly population. The major reason for stress is due to the Read More

“the airlines tell us [to] put your mask on first before you help your loved one…I had to learn that if I didn’t become selfish there was no way I was going to survive this…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku5piyormwE&feature=youtu.be Dave Nassaney and his wife lived a happy life for over 20 years. They were looking forward to spending the rest of their lives carefree after educating and getting their daughters married off. But life took a turn when his wife started complaining about Read More