Caring for someone chronically ill (young or old) requires hard work, patience, and often putting someone else's needs before your own. These caregivers are the heroes in our lives, but their challenges and needs are often overlooked. Some resources for caregivers:
- Medicare's Caregiver Page, with lots of resources for all sorts of caregivers
- Empowering Caregivers, a website with articles, message boards, and communities
- Today's Caregiver, a magazine for, by, and about caregivers
- Well Spouse Association, support for spousal caregivers, including local support groups
Beyond Chaos: One Man's Journey Alongside His Chronically Ill Wife by Gregg Piburn is written from the perspective of a well husband caring for an ill wife. Gregg's wife, Sherrie, has CFS, fibromyalgia, and has undergone multiple surgeries for various sources of chronic pain. Gregg is a management consultant, so he uses a model of group dynamics to apply to families of the chronically ill, using his own experience as an example, with advice on how to move toward healthier relationships in a caregiving situation.
(Both of these books are now out of print, though used copies are still available - see below. Other books are available at the Well Spouse Website).
I also recently read a memoir, In My Heart by Ursula Hanks, written by a woman caring for her aging parents that I'd recommend to people in a similar situation.
So, take some time today to thank the person or people who help care for you and to let them know how much you appreciate all the things they do. And if you're a caregiver reading this, take some time today to do something just for yourself - you deserve it!