Caregiver to Caregiver: We Are Not Alone

There’s nothing like sitting in a room with people you don’t know, looking into their eyes, listening to their stories and concerns, receiving words of wisdom, and learning that you truly are not alone, to crack the dam of pent-up emotions caused by dealing with a stressful situation and a future of the unknown.

That’s what happened to me on Saturday.

It doesn’t matter that I’ve been in this ‘business’ of patient empowerment, advocacy, education, support, and community for many years now. It doesn’t matter that I’ve written numerous articles on various aspects of dealing with a chronic disease. And, it really doesn’t matter that I’ve identified resources available for ‘other’ people dealing with patient and caregiver issues.

On Saturday, I attended an all-day conference with a family member who deals with multiple chronic conditions. At this particular event, I had very little in common with the patients in attendance. I didn’t have the primary disease being discussed and I didn’t know ‘everything’ there was to know about the disease and its treatments. I was simply a typical caregiver or family member who was attending their first conference.

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