Tina from Vermont

I’ve cared for multiple people over the years, all being family, started with my mother who had stage 4 bone cancer at the age of 42. She woke up one morning and her hips shattered. She was confined to her bed after that, eight months total before she passed away, but I did everything from bathing to feeding, taking to doctors to giving pain meds. It was the hardest 8 months of my life. That was 20 years ago. Then came my grandfather, he was a veteran of the Korean War, and boy did grandpa have some great stories. I cared for him 4 years, fed, cleaned, shopped, paid bills, gave his meds daily, store runs, helped him fight his addiction to alcohol. He was clean the last two years of his life. Then comes my grandmother I’m caring for now. At 82 years old she was living with me until her son moved her out into a trailer all by herself, so now I make daily trips to care for her and even though I’m battling cancer and not working much, I’m buying her groceries. She doesn't have enough after paying rent and bills so there are times I can’t afford my meds or things I need because I’m helping her. I know I can get help from the veterans association but can’t afford the paperwork she needs right now, so I do it one day at a time. When I’m not at my doctors or work I’m there with her. This has been my biggest caregiver struggle so far with being sick but it keeps me going.