"Just a few months ago, I wrote about how lucky I felt. My husband is a firefighter with long shifts (and overtime), and I'm a morning radio personality who wakes up hours before the sun rises. Though our work schedules can be difficult, we have a village that includes both my mother and my in-laws, and not only are they close by, but they're also dependable."
"About a month ago, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer during a visit to the emergency room. In one night, my whole world turned upside down. I went from being a thriving, working mother with a strong support system to becoming part of the sandwich generation, where I'm balancing my career, motherhood, and caregiving all at once."
A mother relied on her own mother and in-laws for childcare while working early morning radio and supporting a firefighter husband with long shifts. A month ago the mother was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, abruptly removing that childcare support. The working mother now balances radio work, growing a business, toddler care, and caregiving responsibilities, including oncology appointments, chores, and pharmacy runs. The mental load shifted from coordinating outings to learning chemo protocols and interpreting lab results. The caregiver masks exhaustion during evenings to maintain normalcy for her toddler. The experience reveals the fragility of family support systems.
Read at Business Insider
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