Caregivers are often hidden in the shadows in our society and workplace, silently carrying the health of another on their shoulders. Below is a type of caregiver we are thinking of, based on a conglomarate of stories and research on our mind.
Name: Elena de la Fuente, age 37, she/her
Interests: Sandwich generation, flex work, community, rural health care, stigma-by-association, military family
Story: Elena’s husband was serving oversees in the Army when his transportation unit was attacked. He now has traumatic brain injury that renders him incapable of supporting her and their 11-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter. Elena works full time in-person with standard hours as an accountant at a small business while her elderly mother watches her husband in the day. They live in a rural community, and the Veteran Affairs hospital is 1.5 hours away. Elena’s mother is too old to drive, and Elena must transport her husband to his twice weekly physical rehabilitation appointments at the hospital.
Her work does not allow flex time and Elena has limited vacation or sick leave remaining – and because of the continuous nature of the appointments, she does not see how her leave can accrue. She tries to keep the appointments at the end of the day to limit time off, but she has no remaining PTO to take anyone else to any medical appointments, let alone attend school events or go on vacation. Elena’s mother is also showing signs of deteriorating health.
Elena is unsure how she can keep her job and take care of the medical needs of the family. If she could have access to flexible and/or remote work, she would be able to balance her dual roles. As it is now, Elena feels exhausted and out of options, and she frequently finds herself secretly crying in her car during her husband’s appointments – the only time she is alone.
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