In this episode, Justin and Allison speak with remote caregivers Natasha Ray-Heideker and Klaus Unger, who share their individual stories of providing care for family members living across the ocean. Natasha lives in Germany while caregiving for her father in Colorado and Klaus lives in Minnesota and cares for his mother who lives in Germany. They describe what this version of caregiving looks and feels like and the benefits and challenges of caregiving in this way.
Caregivers are often told they are “saints” or that people can’t imagine how they do what they do. While well-meaning, language like this can have a variety of negative effects. In this episode, Allison and Justin talk about how phrases like this land and what supporters can say instead.
There are many reasons people may hesitate to claim or use the caregiver title. In this episode, Justin and Allison dig into why that may be as well as talk about the benefits and challenges of doing so.
Some caregiving roles are brief, but many, like the ones Justin and Allison are in, end up being long-term. In this episode, they talk about what part acceptance plays in being a caregiver. They discuss questions such as: At what point do we need to accept that our lives are forever changed? What is the benefit of acceptance? How can supporters help a caregiver who is working through the process of acceptance?