EP16 Changing the caregiver story – from one of unrelenting stress and strain, to one of possibility and resilience.

It’s been a minute, but I’m so glad to be recording again and I’m really excited to introduce you to my next guest. Do you ever meet someone and you just know they’re the real-deal? This is how I feel about Karen.

On the day Karen Warner Schueler became a sudden caregiver, she was a wife, a mom, a consultant and business owner, a coach, a runner, a friend, and a consumer of too much Starbucks coffee. She was not a caregiver. Until she was. On that day when her late husband was diagnosed, out of the blue, with stage IV cancer, Karen had no idea that she had instantly joined a silent army of informal, unpaid family caregivers around the world who had also been pressed into sudden service. She felt completely at sea with the realities of caregiving.

In the US alone, an estimated 43.5 million caregivers have assumed the responsibilities of care for a parent, child, spouse, sibling, neighbor, or friend who suffers from chronic illness, disease or immobility. Even before the global pandemic, this number has been expanding daily, as 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 each day, and will do so until 2030.

Like all caregivers who came before her — Karen made it up as she went along, even when the stakes were at their highest. All the while, she promised herself that when her caregiving journey ended, to honor Joel’s legacy, she would try to create a roadmap for sudden caregivers. With it, she means to hold up a lantern for all caregivers following behind her. A caregivers journey takes grit, but it can also be a source of resilience, well-being, and grace.

Please listen to this conversation and share it with those who are walking through the caregiving season.

Find her book on Amazon—Just search “The Sudden Caregiver”

Get more information on her website: TheSuddenCaregiver.com

Follow her on Instagram: @TheSuddenCaregiver