I wrote about our Everyday Warriors when November was proclaimed as National Family Caregiver's Month. Last month the Lifespan Respite Care Act was signed into law authorizing funding for respite care and training. The intention of these support systems is to improve the relationship between the caregiver and the care-receiver by revitalizing and avoiding burnout.
Why is this needed? Being a caregiver for a chronically ill person is a burden. Research has shown that MS caregivers experience high levels of distress and low quality of life.
The irony here is we have to take care of our caregivers so they are strong enough, physically and emotionally, to continue caring for us.
technorati tags: ms, multiplesclerosis, mscaregiver, everydaywarriors, nationalfamilycaregiver'smonth, lifespanrespitecareact, msresearch, downthemspath
3 comments:
Mine's called Pete. I've done my best to put him first through the past few weeks, as he recovers from a cancer op and looks towards another possible one. In reality, I do very little but I watch out for him quietly, making alternative suggestions, planning our diets, making him go to bed, that sort of thing. These can be done sitting down - they have to be!
Yes, I cannot do lots, but I can do some. It's a pleasure and well worth it.
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