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Friday, May 4, 2012

Make it Happen!


Rosalyn Carter said it best: “There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers”.
That pretty much says it all.
But it has also been said that there are 3 kinds of people
Those who let things happen
Those who MAKE things happen
And
Those who asked “What happened”
So which are you?  Are you someone who MAKES things happen?  I think that as a caregiver, it’s important to know that you can sit back and let the system (or lack thereof) take over and ask what happened, OR you can step in and
Be an advocate
Search for resources
Share your story
Help others in their struggle

Here are some staggering numbers:
More than 65 million people, 29% of the U.S. population, provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year and spend an average of 20 hours per week providing care for their loved one.
Caregiving in the United States; National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with AARP; November 2009

The value of the services family caregivers provide for "free," when caring for older adults, is estimated to be $375 billion a year. That is almost twice as much as is actually spent on homecare and nursing home services combined ($158 billion).
Evercare Survey of the Economic Downturn and Its Impact on Family Caregiving;  National Alliance for Caregiving and Evercare. March 2009

Absolutely mind boggling when you see these numbers, right?
So why are most of the discussions focused on “poor me?”  Yes, I can attest first hand that being a care giver can be depressing at times, challenging at the very least.  But to go through this journey, and NOT find anything empowering, inspiring or uplifting, means you’re not fully present in the situation.
Find that INSPIRATION by making what you want to have happen, HAPPEN.  Learn from your situation and help others who are having trouble seeing what is GOOD in the scenario.  And SHARE your Caregiver Inspiration!

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