...For me, caregiving began with an elderly neighbor who needed some assistance. This "assistance" turned into a five-year stint of elder care, closely followed by the ever increasing needs of six of my own family members. For all but one of my elders – my dad whose failed brain surgery sent him into severe dementia – care needs gradually increased.

I can clearly remember the day when I finally woke up to the fact that I had a full-time job as a caregiver, even though, technically, I wasn't "working" at the time. Had I had more family caregivers to communicate with, I may have realized earlier how much my caregiver rold had slowly overtaken my life.

Read more about discovering that you have a new job as a caregiver:

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