One Caregiver’s Journey is a personal work that allows us a peek into the world of family caregivers in the United States.
One in every six Americans is providing full-time or part-time care of an elderly or disabled family member, relative, or friend. These family caregivers spend more than 15-hours every day caring for their patients. In a 2015 study by the National Alliance for Caregiving, around 43.5 million adults in the United States have provided unpaid care to an adult or a child. The challenges encountered by these caregivers are similar to what Eleanor Gaccetta has experienced during the nine and a half years she cared for her mom. Her book, One Caregiver’s Journey tells her story and reflects the realities that the men and women caregivers face every day.
In one of her articles, Gaccetta wrote:
“Caregiving is not an easy and simple job. While the main responsibility of caregivers is to provide care to people, particularly to those who are sick and of old ages, caregivers also need to take care of themselves and to spend some time doing things outside of their duty. More often than not, caregivers need to juggle lots of different things at once (e.g. running errands, doing housework, and more) in order to fulfill their obligation. This often leaves them tired and drained, which if constantly disregarded, can lead to caregiver burnout.”
Among the challenges that most caregivers encounter is their patients’ limited mobility. Getting patients to and from the hospital requires careful planning and execution to avoid stress and further injuries to patients. Transporting them to hospitals, laboratories, as well as doctor’s appointments cannot be done by a single person. These along with other aspects that require extreme focus and physical energy take a toll on caregivers, sooner or later.
One Caregiver’s Journey by Eleanor Gaccetta
One Caregiver’s Journey is a personal memoir by Eleanor Gaccetta. It was published in May 2019. The book details Gaccetta’s experience throughout the nine a half years that she spent taking care of her elderly mother. Eleanor Gaccetta’s mother fell and broke her hip at age 93. Ellie then decided to drop everything and be a full-time caregiver to her mom. Eleanor stood by her mom until her death at age 102.
Although the book chronicles Eleanor Gaccetta’s nine and half years of being a family caregiver to her mom, it was not until after eighteen months that she began writing journals. Her mother had suffered a minor stroke a year and a half after the accident. It was then the real challenges started to emerge and somehow, she felt that she needed to express her thoughts about the new chapter she was experiencing. She started with journal entries and before she knew it, she was writing a book about her journey.
One Caregiver’s Journey is not a medical book. However, it features the real issues and challenges that most caregivers have to deal with such as monitoring patient’s daily routine, finding a physician providing in-home care services, providing emotional support, and many other facets, while at the same time ensuring the caregiver’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being. The book is filled with lessons and insights not found in most medical books. Last but not the least; Eleanor Gaccett’as One Caregiver’s Journey is a story of a daughter’s journey with her mom. It is a story of devotion, faith, love and family.
Be inspired by Eleanor Gaccetta’s story and grab a copy of One Caregiver’s Journey today!
Eleanor Gaccetta
Eleanor Gaccetta is from a small farming community just outside the City of Denver. After she finished high school, Eleanor, worked for the State of Colorado for more than 31 years, the last seven years she spent serving as a legislative analyst for the Departments of Human Services and Medicaid. Gaccetta then spent seven years working as a policy analyst for the City and County of Broomfield before returning to the State of Colorado, as a private contractor. Gaccetta received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration at Regis University.