When to Call for Help

By Gail Sheehy

Two months after Helen Colbert was brought home from the hospital, Harriet and her sister Lisa quickly became overwhelmed by the demands of full-time caregiving. When Harriet could no longer sleep and took sick, and Lisa was about to lose her job, the sisters had to experiment with yet another solution.

Harriet and Lisa finally accepted that they are caregivers, and just as valuable as any doctor or nurse or medical director they encountered along the way. They saw the fallacy in the old-school notion that only women can be caregivers. They sent out an SOS to the rest of the family warning they were getting ready to send Mom to a nursing home, full-time. 

• Continue reading Gail's journal