She continues, “We find ourselves navigating a fractured healthcare system, chasing referrals, test results, googling desperately at 3:00 a.m., learning how to administer medications, safely lift and transfer, as well as bathing, feeding, and more—all while wondering how to pay for it all while taking time off work.”
An ongoing struggle for balance and wellness
Wile has only recently been given access to social prescribing programs, ones that connect her to local communities and organizations that can help her cope with the less-than-fulfilling side of caregiving. Before that, it was an ongoing struggle to balance caring for her husband while also ensuring that she, too, is taken care of.
“You’re a homemaker, and now, all of a sudden, you’re a landscaper. You’re a gardener, and you’re a pool man. And it’s just like, wow. That’s a lot,” she said. She later continues, “You’re sort of on your own, and you have to try to figure out life.”
“When you first become a caregiver, and a wife and spouse or whatever, your whole life totally changes. It’s not about you, and it’s really hard for me, especially, to think about myself because all of a sudden, your whole focus is on the person you’re taking care of.”