KathrynA

Kathryn, You are making big sacrifices for your Mom. Have you contacted the ALS society for assistance? They may have volunteers to help you out. You really need a break and see friends and have a life- albeit a shorter social life. I would also urge you to contact another young caregiver, who recently posted that she wants to connect with someone her own age- (she cares for her mother-in-law full time) maybe that could be you? Her name on the forum is JackieMurphy. You can go on her profile page and leave a visitor message. I hope this helps you, in some small way. If you ever need anything- feel free to contact me.

Hello, i am really new to this ( never used a blog believe it or not!) so hopefully i am doing this right. I am 24 and the primary caregiver to my mother with als. Due to her progression i have had to stop college and quit a really good job. I do not qualify to be paid as a caregiver due to our insurance so i am struggling to pay my bills. I am feeling isolated from all friends and social activities. I spend weeks to months not seeing friends. I always hear from family how i need a break but realistically i cant have one. I am completely burned out because i spend the day with my mom and sleep with her at night which= no sleep at all. I feel guilty because i love my mom but i feel like i am wasting my 20s (she was diagnosed with MS when i was 21 which was changed to ALS almost a year ago) and am so far behind on a career and building my own life. I jut want to make it clear that i take very good care of my mom and still love spending time with her, just not 24/7.