Taking care of caregivers, helping them remain strong and healthy, positive and respected as well as helping caregivers find balance and love. These were the challenges discussed during today’s Not Alone broadcast.   When people experience chronic illness or a brain injury, life becomes filled with transitions; the people who love them and care for them experience these transitions as well. So how do the caregivers, who assume the responsibility of caring for the person they love, stay well and healthy and how do the caregivers who nurture and protect, balance their personal needs with the needs of the one for whom they care so there is joy and safety and success for the caregiver and the precious people needing care.

Pat Callone and Connie Kudlacek reminded us that being a caregiver for a loved one is a special blessing and a challenging responsibility. One must balance personal life and identity as a caregiver, maturing into a willingness to do what needs to be done to protect and enhance a loved one’s dignity.

Our broadcast drew from books authored by our guests to help caregivers acquire the tools and knowledge to continue to nurture and sustain their loved one as well as maintain a healthy life style for themselves. One sentence from their book “Alzheimer’s Disease, The Dignity Within”, touched home with me: “Right now, we have no other choice but to keep muddling through, loving each other, and forgiving each other as best we can.” To the millions of family-member caregivers in our country today, thank you!

To learn more about taking care of caregivers, listen to the January 3 Not Alone program by clicking on the play button below or by downloading the file to listen later. To listen to past Not Alone broadcasts, visit The Kim Foundation Not Alone podcast page.

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January 3, 2012 – Patricia Callone and Connie Kudlacek from CaringConcepts, Inc.

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Airing every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (CST on station KCRO, channel 660 AM based out of Omaha, Neb.), Not Alone is a live talk radio program focused on behavioral health and recovery. Developed by The Kim Foundation through the support of C&A Industries, Inc., Not Alone works to reduce the stigma often associated with mental illness. The show seeks to assure individuals, families, and communities that they are not alone, mental illness affects us all, hosting a variety of guest from across the country.