Evelyn is 71 years old. Her husband Karl, who is 80, suffers from dementia. He gets confused easily and must be told to do everything. According to Evelyn, the only two things he does on his own are sleep in his chair and wet his pants. Evelyn has had breast cancer which necessitated two mastectomies and rounds of chemotherapy. Until recently she and Karl lived in Arizona, while their daughter and grandchildren lived in Colorado. An article in TAKE CARE!, the newsletter of the National Family Caregivers Association, entitled "What If I Die?" made her think about her own vulnerability and the impact of her own failing health on their situation. Evelyn acted on her new-found awareness and now she and Karl are living within minutes of their family where help is at hand.Susan was the sole caregiver for her mother who had ALS (Lou Gherig's disease). As the disease progressed, her sense of isolation and fear became intolerable. She felt helpless. All of the stress caused her to have a heart attack while still in her 30's. In a letter to the National Family Caregivers Association, Susan wrote: "The only thing I found consistently helpful during those dark days was NFCA's newsletter TAKE CARE! Thank heavens for NFCA".
Family caregivers provide support and assistance for loved ones with a chronic illness or disability. NFCA provides much needed support for family caregivers.
