An impending crisis -- caregivers in need of direction | Carol Shillinglaw | TEDxBeaconStreet

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Through a deeply personal account of her own mother's battle with Alzheimer's, Carol Shillinglaw explains difficulties that families encounter adapting to a loved one's sudden chronic illness. Using humor and perseverance as tools, her family members attempt to make the most out of the new roles they must assume and changing dynamics. Recognizing the frightfully negligible support available to caregivers in their position, Carol urges the need to establish a more uniform support network to serve the 65 million (and growing) people in the U.S. who currently act as caregivers for family members.

Carol Shillinglaw has been an employee at GE Healthcare for over 21 years, serving various roles. She currently leads a team at Global Design, exploring the whitespace in healthcare and creating solutions for caregivers who have family members affected by chronic illness.

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[innerwisdomhealingarts]

I have taken care of my step father till he passed and still my Mother who is now 93. There are many things I wish I had done differently. Hind sight is 20/20. I feel burned out. Nothing was put in place in my Mother’s will to take care of her caregiver. Siblings wait hungrily for their share of her estate even though they did little to help her when she has needed it most. Caregivers need compensated. It is draining work physically and emotionally.

[terrilowe]

I was the primary caregiver for my father who passed away 3 years ago. It was so difficult when I saw him starting to fail in coping with life a few years after his wife passed away. The main help I received was at my local Senior Center. They connected me with a counselor who met with me as I talked through what I was experiencing. Her wisdom carried me through understanding him and making decisions about his care. She was amazing and had so much heart and care for me. (The costs for this were taken care of by a government program) I also had a sister who was tremendously practical and compassionate who walked with me and helped to build my courage, and work out selling his home when we needed to move him into assisted living. But, I do agree that there is no truly coordinated help for those facing these hard times.

[cindypatrick]

I am one of those turning 65 this month.
I have been a caregiver for my dad, who is 86 now, for 6 years now.
He lives on our property, just steps from my house.
He has 3 types of dementia:
1-vascular due to years of TIA’s
2 Alzheimer’s
3 ischemic stroke 2021
Fortunately dad didn’t suffer any physical deficits from the stroke.
But as the neurologist told me “ the brakes are off completely now and his dementia will escalate quite quickly.
This is proving to be true😏.
Now we’re dealing with 3 skin cancers and I’m trying to figure out time for a shoulder repair.
I’m glad you have a lot of siblings to help.
My parents divorced so I being the oldest daughter always knew I would be his caregiver someday.( his mother had Alzheimer’s too) .
Thank you for your candid conversation.
I appreciate your honesty about this situation.🙂

[scooter]

I'm glad your family is a model family for care giving. They are to be emulated. And thank you for the tip to occasionally inject some humour during tense moments.

[consciouscoma]

i took care of my mom for 4 years and 9 mos. i thank god for hospice/VITAS but there system is very broken and they dropped the ball in the very passed 9/23/2019 and now the house is a very lonely place ...more has to be done because there are so many people in need of this care and few who will recieve it because of there location and VITAS need to expand and reach more people.

[meganwimmer]

Very touching and inspiring talk. Thank you for sharing your family's story.

[lrplus]

Thank you for sharing. Your parents are lucky to have raised such a great family.