Unveiling the Emotional Rollercoaster: A Caregiver's Tale of Love and Exhaustion
My caregiver journey started with the passing of my father about 10 years ago. My fragile mother became very ill and no longer able to live by herself. I and my sister made arrangements to stay and take care of her. Being a caregiver is both physically and mentally challenging, After a couple months I realized that I have to take early retirement from my job, in order to enable my commitment as my mother’s caregiver. My initial thought that my life will be easier and happier by only doing caregiving.
It turned out that I was terribly wrong about it, being a caregiver is much harder than having a full time job, it’s demanding, challenging, stressful and socially isolated. I missed my friends at work, and all the social activities and functions at my workplace, our after work happy hours, mini vacations, parties, Christmas cookies exchanges.... Being a caregiver to a sick elderly person also your families, you become isolated, losing all interactions in both personal workplace and community, along all the fun things around your life.
Just when I thought I was going to lose my mind, I found out Richmond Caregiver Hub, this programme has many activities, education seminars, DIY arts and craft workshops, cooking class, painting, music, calligraphy, field trips, Giving us caregiver a place to socialize, making friends, sharing knowledge and learning new skills.By participating in all these activities, I recovered all the fun and happiness I lost when I retired from my job.
A big thank you to Richmond Caregiver Hub in the supports to us caregivers, providing us with a lot of helpful resources, engaging and connecting us to our wonderful community, empower us being knowledgeable, capable, happy and better caregiver.
Virginia Chan
Caregiver
Words from Editor: Thank you for sharing your heartfelt and impactful caregiving journey with us. Your blog beautifully illustrates the challenges and resilience that come with caring for a loved one. We commend your decision to join our Richmond Family & Friend Caregiver program and hope it continues to be a source of support and empowerment for you and others in similar situations.🧡