What happens when the person everyone depends on becomes the one who needs help? After years of caring for my loved ones, I’m now recovering from surgery, still in pain, and still responsible for caring for my father, who has vascular dementia. But what happens when the caregiver is no longer physically able to do everything? Welcome to my new Monday series, The Vulnerable Caring for the Vulnerable, where we’ll talk about the realities of caregiving that too often go unseen. Because caregivers get sick. Caregivers get exhausted. And caregivers need care, too. 💜 Have you ever had to care for someone while struggling with your own health? Pull up a chair. You belong here. 💜 #TheCaregiverTable #CaregiverSupport #UnpaidCaregivers #DementiaCaregiver #CaregiverBurnout #TheVulnerableCaringForTheVulnerable

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💜 The Sick Bed Confessional of a Caregiver I spent years pushing through my own pain to make sure the people I loved received the care they needed. Even when my fibromyalgia was unbearable, I kept going. Then I got cancer. And suddenly, I was the one who needed help. But instead of focusing on my surgery and recovery, I was terrified about who would care for my father. Even asking for help made me feel guilty. That’s the reality of caregiving that we don’t talk about enough. We spend our lives being everyone else’s safety net. But who catches us when we fall? If you’ve ever felt guilty for being sick because someone else depended on you, I want you to know you’re not alone. I’m April, founder of The Caregiver Table. Pull up a chair. You belong here. 💜 #TheCaregiverTable #CaregiverSupport #CaregiverBurnout #UnpaidCaregivers #CaregiverStories

💜 WHEN THE CAREGIVER BECOMES THE ONE WHO NEEDS CARE 💜 A deeply personal message to my fellow caregivers at The Caregiver Table. I’ve been absent from creating content lately, and I want to share why. Not because I feel I owe anyone an explanation, but because I created The Caregiver Table for people like myself. People who have dedicated years of their lives to caring for the people they love, often sacrificing their own health, happiness, careers, and well-being along the way. And right now, I’m experiencing some of the darkest and most difficult moments of my life. This may be the most personal and difficult story I’ve ever shared. For the past 16 years, caregiving has been my world. In May, I lost my beautiful mother, Shirley, to kidney failure. My mother was my number one angel. I had the honour of caring for her through cancer, declining health, kidney failure, and dialysis. There were sacrifices, sleepless nights, and moments when I wondered how I would keep going. But I loved my mother more than words could ever express. And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. Losing her was devastating. I lost someone I had spent so many years loving, protecting, and caring for. But life didn’t stop. My father, who has vascular dementia, still depended on me. A few months after losing my mother, I received another devastating blow. I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. After spending so many years worrying about someone else’s health, suddenly I was the patient. I was the one facing uncertainty, fear, medical appointments, and major surgery. And before I could even begin to process my diagnosis, my partner became seriously ill. Two weeks before my scheduled surgery to remove my kidney, my partner died. I didn’t just lose my partner. I lost my person. The person who made me feel safe. The person who stood beside me through years of caregiving. The person who fought for me when I didn’t have the strength to fight for myself. The person who made me feel protected when everything around me seemed overwhelming.

Me and my friend tanja created a safe place for caregivers to share. Our first event is October 1st ok meetup please join us.