Your family might be among the millions gathering around the dining room table this holiday season, talking about the best way to care for loved ones facing health challenges.
This week, we mourn the loss of an amazing champion for family caregivers — former first lady Rosalynn Carter. She is credited for a poignant quote recognizing “there are four types of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers.”
More than one in five Americans bravely provide unpaid caregiving support. In Illinois, AARP estimates approximately 1.5 million people provide care, often performing technical medical care with little training and spending large amounts of money from their own pockets.
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As executive director of the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition, this issue hits home. My family and I helped our mother battle lung cancer for 16 years. Supporting her was an honor and a gift. After caregiving during her serious illness, we saw how confusing the health care system can be.
November is National Family Caregivers Month. Now is the perfect time to lift unsung heroes — unpaid family caregivers. We should give them the respect and resources they need. If you know someone caring for a loved one, please thank them and offer to help.
Fortunately, we have a new roadmap to support unpaid family caregivers: the first-ever national caregiving strategy. If Congress funds and enacts this strategy, we can better coordinate between systems of care — medical, mental health and financial — to support people in their time of need.
We urge Gov. J.B. Pritzker, state legislators and Illinois congressional leaders to invest in the national caregiving strategy and partner with the Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition as we fight to better support unpaid caregivers.
Amy Brennan, executive director, Illinois Family Caregiver Coalition
How about some snow this holiday season?
I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s hard for me to get excited about Dec. 25 without snow on the ground.
No matter how many times I hear “White Christmas” on the car radio, it’s just not the same unless there are snowflakes bouncing off the windshield. “Winter Wonderland,” in particular, is merely a tease when my yard is still green and there’s a multitude of dried leaves left to be raked.
Of course, the euphoric thoughts of a white Christmas must always be weighed against haunting memories of cold fronts, wind chills, blizzards and polar vortexes.
But who wouldn’t risk it all for a few cozy hours in front of a roaring fire, listening to holiday tunes or viewing yet another encore presentation of “It’s A Wonderful Life” or “Holiday Inn.”
In an age of cold reality, when nostalgia is required to be sold with a warning label, nothing said or done during the holidays can ever be considered too banal or mawkish.
After all, being overly sentimental from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day makes even the meanest among us very human. But that’s the wonder and the joy of the holiday season.
Bob Ory, Elgin
