The Unprepared Caregiver
Description: The Unprepared Caregiver Website speaks to the special challenges and rewards of caregivers who care for loved ones when a cure may not be possible. The goal of this site is to provide first-hand caregiver insight and expertise, much-needed knowledge about the psychological and communication challenges of the caregiving experience, and most importantly, to provide comfort to the millions of Americans who care in the shadow of a cure-focused culture.
care (5218) hospice (607) caregiver (525) illness (252) caregiving (204) dying (149) end-of-life care (94) family caregiver (34) terminally ill (14) comfort care (9)
When was the last time you felt deeply connected to a group of people? A deep and genuine sense of connection is becoming ever more rare in contemporary life. Everyone needs to feel connected, but a sense of connection is most vital when you are in the midst of a life-altering role that is transforming you and your relationships. If connection is so important, then why is it so hard for caregivers to feel as if they are a part of something larger then themselves?
There is no common beginning to our most important informal life roles. Let’s face it, what experience do we set forth on, at the same time, with other people? Yes, there are plenty of marked beginnings in contemporary life, but our individual beginnings seem to rarely coincide with others’ beginnings. A death of a loved one may mark a new beginning, but not for those in your friend network. Getting laid off from work may symbolize a new beginning, but not for those in your extended family. The need to pro
School may be one of the few cultural experiences in which there is a semblance of a “beginning” that is marked and collectively acknowledged. The “first” day of school may be a singular experience in cultural life in which we begin something with others and anticipate responding together to shared experiences and challenges.
The Unprepared Caregiver