Sophie Dishman: my life as a young adult carer

I am 21 years old and I am a caregiver from 11 years old. It all started when grandma fell down stairs in 2005. She suffered from a brain disorder and was diagnosed with epilepsy and diabetes. I will take care of her on the weekend - take medicine, cook and do housework - and my grandfather eats out for several hours and goes to meet friends

Over time, things get more complicated. I took care of the other people of my family, including people with Alzheimer's disease and other problems. He changed overnight. Many experts are involved, but nobody asked me what I did. Nobody asked me if I should answer. Most importantly, I remember that nobody understands what I am experiencing. In my eight years of taking care of my grandmother, no one has admitted me as a caregiver.

I was a little girl, so I always went to college was my dream, so I went. I do not regret it, but when I go to college and are leaving home it hurts. I am very worried about my family. I was not a body care worker at school, but at the end of the phone it was still 3 AM. I would like to stay with my family, but I also want to pursue my dreams. This is a big contradiction in my daily life.

Being a care giver is very likely to be isolated. For me, the influence is more important than emotion. It is painful to see the pain, anger, and anxiety of your loved ones. I saw my grandparents and 'why are they why?' '. I never think 'but I will take care of them anyway. Because they take care of me, I do the same - this is my normal phenomenon

As many people are confused about what the caregiver actually does, care may be quarantined. Some people confuse or sympathize with our paid caregivers, but this is very disappointing. Being a caregiver is a painful thing, but it also has many benefits. I may have missed some experiences of people of my age, but I am more flexible and mature.

In college, isolation is improving and I think some people can talk with them. My class has a lot of people who are carers. This is very helpful for me. If I am responsible for care, I can speak with the staff. I am also working hard to improve support for carers, so other carers are not alone. I know I am very lucky, but many caregivers are not so, but they are still very isolated. There is still a long way to provide necessary care for caregivers.

If you know something about me, you will find that my middle name is dementia. My life is defined by this terrible, terrible condition. When I was in my teens, I was a young compassionate mother She lived in his young introduction to his young age in his 40s and died. Everything that I did in the next decade is dealing with shocks and consequences, or simply to survive. When I finally got together, my dream was to change the lives of other people who were living with juvenile dementia. From June 2012 until December 2017, I worked almost as a full-time volunteer at the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago and then worked as a social worker for the Toronto Alzheimer's Association from June 2015 to December 2017 . I did a year in 2012. I did some special work and learned some precious lessons. I came to support young people of dementia and their families, but I left and they changed them forever.

My wish to start a human care course was established when we started a career as an elderly caregiver, such as learning disability, physical disability, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease. And provide services for multiple sclerosis. In the meantime, I like to care about service users, build professional relationships with them, and change their lives. This is an important aspect that attracted me to a nurse. - As Heise stated, drug abuse by nurses is a major problem that is often overlooked by society. Addiction has become a problem in the nursing industry for over a hundred years (description by Monroe & Kenaga in 2010). According to the American Nurses Association, it is estimated that 6% - 8% of nurses have drug- or alcohol-related problems (as described by Trinkoff & Storr, 1998).