As the oldest daughter she kept her five siblings informed. We also had quarterly telephone conference calls that brought us together across the miles and helped us schedule time with Mom when we felt she might need some extra assistance. Among the siblings one cared for her mother after surgery, a brother took family leave and drove two hours to take her to chemotherapy once a month, and another completed construction repairs for his mother's home during her illness. Altogether it was a three-year journey. Click to enlarge.
Experts urge families to plan for the care of their parents while they are still healthy.
After her mother died Kosinski started a church forum to help her work through her grief. In a networking group the caretakers were able to safely express their emotions with individuals outside their family. In addition to caring for others, caretakers must also learn to nurture themselves. The journal helped me to ventilate, to have a place to express my apprehension, sadness and anger. As his mother's disease progressed, Hodges was overwhelmed with uncertainty.