When my mom got diagnosed with stage three metastatic ovarian cancer in 2021, after the shock wore off. I went into full-time family caregiver mode.
What our normal day looked like after her surgery:
A nurse came in every day for 15 to 20 minutes to clean her surgical wounds.
When she was fully healed after surgery, she went to weekly doctors appointments, and chemotherapy appointments. My grandmother did all of this in the beginning, so that I could cook, clean and prepare for her to come home. The chemotherapy left her hair loss, exhausted, cold and sometimes very nauseous and ill.
Then I took over all doctors appointments and chemotherapy appointments up until the end and my mom was done all her chemotherapy arounds, and she got to ring her cancer free bell.
Round two of cancer caregiving:
After the news of my mom finishing the liquid chemotherapy treatment, we thought that my mom was done… little did we know the doctors had other plans.
The doctors started my mom on chemotherapy pills a few weeks after she was finished with her liquid chemotherapy treatment. That was a dramatic change because she went from taking chemotherapy weekly into a daily treatment. Which gives my mom the of the same affects of the liquid chemotherapy treatment, such as exhaustion, nausea, coldness and some new ones, teeth falling apart and out. This time zero hair loss.
This is my full-time job, and it has been a blessing and sometimes a curse to watch my mom go through something so unimaginable.
Why I started my youtube channel Caregivers Community:
I started my youtube channel Caregivers Community because I felt like I needed to share my life experiences with other people, and I was also looking for a job as a nanny but no jobs were available in my area for me to stay close to my mom or fit my caregiving schedule, not that I came complaining.
So I decided to start working on my YouTube Channel because I wanted to add my voice to a topic that many caregivers are struggling with. Plus I wanted to make sure my mom and I have a income support because we are currently living below the poverty right now, and I want to make sure I can take care of her well at home and also work from home. So I created my YouTube Channel because I wanted to make a opportunities for myself, and as well as stable income.
https://www.youtube.com/@caregiverscommunity?si=KEQU4ucpNYfov3E-