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Cushing's Awareness Challenge - Day 23

Being a caretaker is hard work.  Especially when you are taking care of someone with a chronic illness.  I have experienced being on both ends, as the person being taken care of, and the caretaker.

My mom is my main caretaker.  She is the one who sometimes comes with me to appointments, or will be the one in charge when I get very sick.  She is also my health care proxy, so she makes decisions about my health when I am not able to.

I help take care of my grandmother.  Since I can not work, I have the most time to drive her to the post office, or to the bank.  I also take her to appointments, or just sit with her at her home.  She is still able to do some things by herself, but at 91 years old, she needs more and more help with simple tasks.

To be a caretaker, you need to take care of yourself FIRST.  You can't help someone else if you are not helping yourself.

With Cushing's, most people benefit from having someone around them most of the time.  You never know when you will need to go to the hospital, or when you will get sick.

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