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Caregivers Speak Out

In support of the

Caregiver Resource Center

A program of St. Jude Medical Center

Excerpts from letters written to Orange County Legislators by caregivers to save OCRC

from the FY12-13 State Budget cuts proposed by California Governor Jerry Brown.

TheOrangeCaregiverResourceCenterprovides critical, cost-effective services to support families, like mine, who struggle  . . .

I have received many benefits from OCRC and especially value the emotional support and educational workshops.  I don’t know how I would have managed without the support of my Social Worker,Pauline Le, at OCRC.

I am caring for my father, 91, and my mother, 86.  If it wasn’t for the support of theCaregiverResourceCenter, I don’t know how I would have gotten through this period of time.

OrangeCaregiverResourceCenterhas given us much support over the past 20 years.

Throughout my husband’s illness, I attended a bi-weekly support group at theResourceCenterand found it incredibly helpful.  I am not sure I could have survived the experience without this OCRC service. I met people who were in situations even more difficult than mine.

As my husband’s main sole caregiver, I have been faced with a multitude of daily challenges, and I was directed to theOrangeCaregiverResourceCenterfor help.  I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown from the amount of stress I was and continue to go through on a daily basis.  NO ONE KNOWS what a caregiver goes though unless you walk in their shoes for a day.  I have received many benefits from OCRC and especially value the emotional support, educational workshops and support groups.

I rely upon OCRC for advice and information.  They have even had one of their employees,Connie Knaus, call me once a month.  I look forward to her call; it makes my day and gives me the “stuff” I need to carry on. The OCRC is most important to my life, and of course, my wife’s life.

Through the CRC, I was able to keep my sanity and find ways to help care for my husband in a healthy way.

TheOrangeCaregiverResourceCenterprovides critical, cost effective services to support families, like mine, who struggle to care for a loved one at home with diseases and disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, Parkinson’s Traumatic Brain Injury, and related dementia.

My husband has MS and has steadily become worse over the past decade. He can’t write, feed or clean himself.  I work FT and care for him when I’m home.  I pay for a caregiver who comes 3x’s a week.  I have received many benefits from OCRC and they have provided many critical, cost effective services for those who struggle with a devastating disease like MS.

I am caring for my wife.  There are many challenges and I called the OCRC which was very helpful with emotional support, workshops and meeting with other caregivers for support.  The OCRC provides critical services to support families.

The challenges of care giving, needless to say, are on-going and support is eminently important to the welfare of the caregiver.  The CRC is a necessary tool for the caregivers to continue to survive their daily tasks.

My husband needs total care and assistance for daily activities.  I am exhausted with the stressors and difficulties from care giving.  OCRC plans many educational events to assist me to be a better caregiver for my loved one and manage my daily stressors.

When I became the sole, full-time caregiver to my father with Alzheimer’s, I was so naïve.  I had no clue what I was getting myself into.  I didn’t know taking care of an elderly parent was care giving.  I had no idea my life would be irrevocably altered.  I didn’t know I wouldn’t be able to do it all or have all the answers.  I didn’t know my life would never be the same.  I am the 49 year old sole full-time caregiver to my 89 year old father who has Alzheimer’s.  I have taken care of him for a decade and have relied on the OCRC to assist us both almost all that time. When I arrived at OCRC, my life began to change and I was immediately welcomed.  I met people who had been there.  I grew from a depressed and hopeless sole to a woman with a plan.  The people and resources of the OCRC are a lifeline.

Without the help of OCRC, I wouldn’t have been able to care for my disabled husband and still keep a hold on my sanity.  When I was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of caring for someone with a paralyzing stroke, the Caregivers’ResourceCenterassigned me a counselor who was able to help me sort through all the stress and emotional baggage that comes along with care giving.  I was able to attend workshops that showed me how to take care of my husband and at the same time, take care of myself.  I also attended respite day trips that restored by sense of perspective so that I was able to return refreshed to the battlefront of care giving.

As my husband’s caregiver, I have been faced with a multitude of daily challenges, and when the going got tough, I was directed to theOrangeCaregiverResourceCenterfor help.  Without their help and guidance and emotional support provided by the staff and the support groups, I would have been a basket case.  Words cannot describe how helpful they have been to us during this very long progressive illness.