The Mitzvah
from The Agewyz Podcast Hosted by Jana Panarites
When aging parents need care, the way they’ve lived their lives up to that point often factors into whether their adult children are willing to help them. In today’s episode we hear from a daughter who felt duty-bound to help her parents even though her sister refused to get involved. She explains why she became her parents’ primary caregiver, and why—despite paying a steep personal price—she views her caregiving journey as the most rewarding experience of her life. She tells us how the Manhattan co-op meant for her niece and nephew became hers out of necessity, and about how her mother’s life-threatening spinal stenosis, later diagnosed as cauda equina syndrome, led the family to spend $20,000/month for caregivers and resulted in her mother becoming eligible for Medicaid. The caregiver in this conversation has chosen to remain anonymous. Note: this episode originally aired May 1, 2016. We have an update at the end of the show. Artist (mom’s) website: www.estellemorgan.com Learn more about cauda equina syndrome: http://bit.ly/1SxWyuF Learn more about naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs): http://nyti.ms/1SvTFXY Music: “Reflections Across the Sky” by Scott Holmes | CC BY | Free Music Archive
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