Season 1

Listen to Kyle Woody, Executive Director of Jack’s Caregiver Coalition, and Charlotte Bayala talk about what it means to be a male caregiver on the Caregiver Connection Podcast Episode 36. Kyle explains what Jack’s Caregiver Coalition is, as well...

You're too tired to care about decorating for the holidays let alone celebrate them. So many reasons not to celebrate this year and if you are in the thick of caregiving maybe lack energy is one of them. I completely …

Did you know you can have a mentor that will walk beside you on this caregiving path?Someone who has also been a cancer caregiver? Listen to Jackie Herigodt, Direction of Programs and Outreach, and Charlotte Bayala on Episode 34 of …

We all go through life living a story we have either created for us, by others or a combination of both. Sometimes we feel we are living in harmony with who we believe we should be and other times we …

Today’s episode is a conversation with Janet Salo, a family support specialist for Lutheran Social Service’s Kinship Family Support Service. Kinship caregivers are people who are caring for children of other family members or friends who’s...

Does Caregiving wear you out? Do you dream of naps, not having to worry or needing to cook? I’m with ya! Listen to this weeks podcast and if you have some napping tips please share on the podcast FB group …

As if life weren’t difficult enough for us caregivers now we are doing it with the additional stress of living in a pandemic. It’s as life was like - nope things aren’t difficult enough for you - let’s through another …

Caring Bridge is the perfect way to let everyone know how things are going for your loved one. It helps take the burden off you, the caregiver, because the last thing you have energy for is re-telling updates all day. …

Do you remember the moment you felt like running away? That second where you had that brief pause and it all hit you that this was it, at least for now. You know that thought that made you feel the …

What would happen if you didn’t hold back the tears when someone asks you if you are ok? Maybe I cry because I know how lonely it makes us feel to keep all of these things inside. I feel sad …

Think back to a time when you learned something profound from and encounter from a complete stranger. Does anything come to mind? Maybe it was something they did that made you rethink the way you do something. Or possibly it …

It took a lot to keep this one clean. Hearing people say that Thyroid cancer is th good one makes me angry. So many people suffer from this disease. Yes some are able to live with it but living with …

On our way to meet with a surgeon something happened that made me realize that I have the ability to do something to create a bright or dark moments in someone’s day. Helping my husband through cancer sometimes makes me …

“When life become complicated the last thing you even think of doing is checking in with how you feel and - let’s face it. Not a lot of people will ask you that question” I feel that as a caregiver …

“You are not the person you were at the beginning of this caregiver experience and you don’t like whoever it is you are now. “ This is when you become bitter. You look around and you don’t recognize who you …

I find myself coming back to the caregiver vs loved one role often. How can you be a caregiver but still enjoy your loved one at the same time? How do you take on the responsibility to care for them …

What would be the perfect setting to come home to after being in the hospital with your loved one as they recovered from surgery? Imagine the first step into the house, what do you see? Who is there? I find …

This week's episode is about the LID diet and Radioactive Iodine Treatment. When you have to have injest a pill that is radioactive but have to starve your body of iodine before you do it you can find yourself in …

My husband has his six month check up this week? How do you feel in the days leading up to these appointments? What do you do to cope? There is always so much anxiety coming into the week of an …

I am not a nurse! Yet I still had to do things I consider better suited for a trained health professional to do. I had to flip the caregiver switch in order to stomach having to strip drains and help …

Once you get your loved one back home from the hospital you realize life is very different. You begin to navigate through the days to figure out what your are normal is. One of the important things while doing this …

We all have the moments as caregivers where we are overwhelmed with emotions. We feel like we just can’t take more. We feel lonely, misunderstood and left behind by everyone else we know. It isn’t fair. You aren’t alone. There …

Visits during a Pandemic

“Take care of yourself”. You’ve heard those words before. “Take care of yourself so you can continue to care for your loved one” What do you feel when you hear that? Anger? Frustration? Acceptance? Usually someone you love tells...