Social Media Ideas for Caring Anyway – A Column By Lindsay Kelly

My husband has MS, but as a caregiver, this story is mine, too

Recently, after I shared some of the harder parts of caring for my husband, Rhead, a stranger left a comment on a recent column implying that I was simply monetizing his multiple s...

When caregiving feels like drowning, reaching for a lifeline is crucial

They say drowning is quieter than people expect. It rarely looks like the thrashing and shouting we picture from movies. More often it is silent, and the people standing right ther...

An MS caregiver’s dilemma: Do I stay or do I go?

Even with my husband, Rhead, living in an assisted-living facility, there are so many hard days when I become somewhat of a punching bag. One visit, he is light and funny, the vers...

Why moving my husband out was an act of love

The first night after my husband, Rhead, moved into an assisted living facility, I stood in our kitchen and listened to how quiet the house was. Our six kids were asleep, the dog w...

MS caregiver burnout broke me before I knew its name

For years after my husband, Rhead, was diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis in 2019, I was working two full-time jobs, raising our six children, and caregiving for him aro...

The hardest part of caregiving is being doubted by other loved ones

I used to think the disease itself would be the hardest thing I’d face as a caregiver. I was wrong. Some days, the heaviest weight isn’t my husband’s illness at all. It’s the peopl...

Caring for Caregivers

Jen writes... It is the middle of the night, bleary-eyed, I am double-checking my spreadsheet to make sure I am giving the right medicines at the right time.It is the middle of the...

Naming abuse, intentional or not, in caregiver-patient relationships

Not long ago, I listened to a therapist who works closely with caregiver spouses say something that stopped me cold. Whether the person who is diagnosed means to or not, she explai...

We never really know what others are facing, so let’s be kind

Almost every night during the warmer months, my husband, Arman, and I take a leisurely walk through our small neighborhood. It comprises just one street, and we have calculated tha...

You Can’t Pretend to Show Up

Interested in FREE sheet music downloads of sacred and inspirational music? You’ll find them on Lynne Perry Christofferson’s music website: christoffersonmusic.com I never tire of...

It turned out Uncle Brandon didn’t need a cheerleader

Every family has its own way of showing encouragement. Mine definitely did. When someone in our crew cocoon did something hard, we celebrated. We told them we were proud, noticed t...

I Don’t Know How She Navigates the Long Haul of Freelancing, Caregiving, and Disability

By Artist Caregiver. This diarist freelances out of state, but this week she is at home beginning her daughter’s transition from educational services to housing for disabled adults...

Finding balance between safety and dignity while caregiving for a loved one

As you probably know by now if you’ve been reading my column, my late uncle Brandon liked to stay on the move. His career involved hands-on work, building things from the ground up...

I’ve Spent My Life Caring for Others. Who Cares for Caregivers?

Front & Center amplifies the voices of Black women navigating poverty—highlighting their struggles, resilience and dreams as they care for their families, build careers and cha...

I've Spent 10 Years Caregiving For Aging Family. Here's What I Know.

In this guest essay by Rachel Linden, the author describes what it's like being a part of the sandwich generation.

What people say in public and what they do in private can differ. Let’s help others all the time.

Growing up, I had a middle school and high school teacher who used to always talk about what really mattered was what we did when no one was looking. He said we could talk the talk...

Lindsey Ferris learned caregiving skills on her family’s Franklin County farm

Caregivers should not have to lie to prove compassion

“Why not just stay in your lane and focus on caregivers?”A listener to my radio program for family caregivers reached out recently with that question. He appreciated the program, h...

When job stability became a form of caregiving

When I first started writing for Hemophilia News Today in 2018, I never imagined it would become part of my career. At the time, I was a young woman preparing for marriage and tryi...

Being reminded that my uncle was still in the room was an important lesson

As my late Uncle Brandon’s Parkinson’s disease progressed, my family became increasingly involved in helping him navigate appointments, medications, physical therapy, and everyday...

How Do You Learn to Care When Caring Is Your Job?

Can you teach someone to care for a person who is profoundly different from them? Can you teach someone to provide care that isn’t simply accepting of differences, but actually t...

Column | Helping foster youth find their pathways to success

McKeema Wallace spent her childhood moving through foster homes, a life that she said left her feeling unvalued, unwanted and without the stability and sense of belonging every you...

‘It matters to me’ is all the reason I need for the life I choose

I don’t usually ask myself whether I want something. I ask whether I can justify wanting it. Is it practical? Financially responsible? Useful enough? Meaningful enough? Will I regr...

We’re All Gaia’s Children

"It was indeed hard for me to parse out the nuances of care and healthy boundaries with my mom," writes Meagan Fischer. "As much as I had empathy for her, it didn’t mean it was my...