Struggling with your caregiving role? Take heart.

Why we need supporting caregivers just as much as the primary ones.

Today’s reflections post is by our newest team member, Latia Johnson, who is our digital content creator & caregiving tech specialist. Latia helps care for her sister, who has multiple sclerosis.

Sometimes more than one caregiver is caring for someone at the same time. But that doesn’t make one role more important than the other: it takes a village, and all contributions are valuable.

Typically though, there’s one caregiver who’s the point person—often known as the primary caregiver. They’re the one who takes the person to doctors’ appointments, handles the finances, makes calls, runs errands, and more read about best blogs for caregivers.

But in some households, there are caregivers in a supporting role. They may cook the meals, clean the house, and set up the next day for the primary caregiver.

In my household, my mother is the primary caregiver for my sister, who has multiple sclerosis (MS). My mother does everything, and my sister relies on her as the point person. It makes me feel like I’m not doing enough to help out, like I’m not taking on enough duties to alleviate some of the stress. I’ve cried often over this dilemma. 

After reflecting on and talking through the reasons I felt I wasn’t pulling my weight, I realized that wasn’t true. I was cleaning the house from top to bottom. Washing clothes, making beds, running errands. Keeping the place running smoothly in the background was my role. To me, this was something I always did—not realizing that by doing so, I was helping my mother tremendously.