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Preventing Caregiver Burnout

10 28
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Henry and Flora were married for 45 mostly blissful years before crisis arrived. Though they had argued over money and child-rearing concerns years earlier, they'd gotten along like the best of friends in the decades since their kids had left home. They enjoyed travelling, visiting their grandchildren, having dinners with other couples, and sitting down together to binge-watch shows.

Over time, however, Henry began noticing that Flora was becoming more forgetful and seemed confused and disoriented at times. His worst fears were realized when a neurologist diagnosed her with dementia. He felt devastated. He didn’t want their relationship to change and was afraid of ultimately losing her.

Because he loved her and wanted to protect her, Henry was determined to be her devoted caregiver. He made all the meals and took over doing all the driving, shopping, laundry, and cleaning. He started to manage the calendar for medical visits and everything else when he saw that Flora was no longer able to. He called the children and put her on the phone so she could say hello to the grandchildren.

As her dementia progressed and he became more immersed in his role as a caregiver, Henry lost sight of his own needs. He stopped going to the gym because he didn’t want to leave Flora alone. He stopped seeing friends because he felt that other couples might not want to go out with her now that she had a dementia diagnosis. They stopped travelling, even to see the grandkids. They could still binge-watch........

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