"By the end of the first day, Lopez thought to herself that she couldn't handle everything that caregiving entailed. By the end of the first week, Lopez had gone three days without a shower and was neglecting her own personal needs. I remember one night she called out to me, and I was so tired that my first instinct was to ignore her."
"And I was like, Oh my God, I can't believe I just thought that.' I think that's when it really hit me, Lopez said. When Lopez talked to family, they asked about her grandmother not her. When Lopez talked to friends who hadn't been caregivers, she realized they couldn't understand the toll of the work. These experiences provoked a question: Who cares for the caregivers?"
Nikki K. Lopez cared for her bed-bound grandmother during the COVID-19 peak and experienced severe exhaustion, neglect of personal needs, and emotional strain. Conversations with family and noncaregiving friends revealed a lack of understanding and attention to caregiver wellbeing, prompting the question of who supports caregivers. Caregiver OneCall launched in February as a 24/7 emotional support line based in Antioch to offer listening and psychological safety for caregivers. Caregiver OneCall operates as an extension of Caring Haven Home Care, a senior care agency also founded by Lopez that provides services for seniors in need.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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