"People across the country take up the challenge. Here are their stories"
"(Video) Twenty-eight-year-old Hannah Roberts is taking a year
off from medical school to care for her mother, Karla Johnson, who was
diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last spring. She is one of
about 10 million millennial caregivers.
"Hannah Roberts, 28, has often logged in to CancerCare's support group since her mother, Karla Johnson, 62, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last spring. 'I don't think many people in my age group have experienced anything like this, so that can be isolating,' she says. 'It's hard to see them on Facebook going on with normal lives.'
"She has taken a year's leave after her third year at Columbia University Medical School, moving from New York into her parents' home in the Boston suburbs to care for Johnson. She drives her mother to medical appointments, organizes nursing visits and helps prepare meals, while her dad has taken on more tasks at the architectural firm the couple founded."
Read more: http://www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving/info-2015/caregivers-profiles-depression-cancer-arthritis.html
I think most of the Irregulars have been or are in this situation today. Perhaps if I were younger, I could've done more for my mom.
It is extremely hard to be in this position. They've actually coined it, "The Sandwich Generation." The definition is people who are taking care of aging or very ill parents while trying to care for their own children. I really feel like at times I missed out on some of my kids lives, being consumed first by one, then the other parent. It can be a very desperate time. I hope it taught my kids that caring for family in a crisis comes first. The outside, available critical care is deplorable, and must be constantly scrutinized and overseen.
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