Allison and Justin talk about how friends and family have shown up to support them throughout their caregiving journey. They offer advice to supporters for ways to provide support and give some suggestions to those caregivers who are lacking support.
Allison and Justin talk about how caregivers need community care in order to practice self care, how they each practice acts of micro-care throughout the day, and what supporters can do and say instead of, “Are you taking care of yourself?”
Allison and Justin talk about the challenges and stresses of working full time jobs while caring for their spouses. They discuss what their employers have done to support them, how they advocate for themselves at work, and just how hard it is to balance it all.
Justin and Allison talk about the pressure of being the person who sees the complete picture of their spouse’s health and feeling overwhelmed because they can’t just rely on the doctors, but need to be their own medical researchers.
Justin and Allison describe all that goes into making appointments happen, from logistics to advocacy to the hangover in the days that follow and how, in the medical setting, they’re never able to “just” be a spouse.
Allison and Justin talk about the sweet moments of solidarity in March when the world got a taste of what it feels like to be homebound and conscious of germs and what it is like now as parts of society move on, leaving their families behind.
Allison and Justin talk about how as caregivers, we aren’t just caring for our spouses, but also navigating how to support the kids in our lives. What and how much do you tell them and how much do you involve them?
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This episode was recorded on May 23, before the murder of George Floyd, which is why this important issue wasn’t discussed. We’ve added an additional note at the end of this episode in which we provide resources connecting today’s topic of talking with children about chronic illness to having conversations with kids about racism. Thanks for listening.
Allison and Justin talk about grief, discussing what they miss about the lives they had before their partners were diagnosed, the mourning over the lives they thought they would have but don’t, and the anticipatory grief they carry when thinking about the future. They connect their experiences to the collective feelings of grief being felt by many around the world during this time.
Welcome to the first episode of the In Sickness podcast! Listen in as Allison Breininger and Justin Bajema talk about how they became caregivers for their spouses at a young age, what it’s like to be a caregiver during a pandemic, and how their long-distance friendship has provided an opportunity for them to talk openly about the anxiety that caregiving triggers in them both.