ABOUT US

Hello, I’m Yolanda.

As the daughter of a mother in her eighties and a father who recently passed away from heart disease, I launched Senior Loving Care to share helpful tips, offer support, extend grace, and give confidence to those of you who are juggling the demands of family, career, and life while caring for ailing parents.

Like so many of you, I have spent more than a decade trying to be the quintessential model wife, stepmother, successful marketing executive, and tireless caregiver to parents with multiple health issues. Quite honestly, I was on the brink of a breakdown. While feeling blessed to be able to provide my parents with care from someone they knew and trusted, I had not quite realized the issues I would encounter, the hard decisions I’d face, or the sacrifices I would make in navigating a system that deprioritizes the elderly.

Thus, the caregiver crisis continues, and help is needed until there is systemic change. I noticed that while there is a plethora of online resources for child rearing, there are far fewer to support family members who are expected to fill in the gap and care for a parent who can no longer perform daily activities independently. 

Whenever I came across resources for primary caregivers of aging adults, few addressed the concerns of family members fulfilling caregiving roles. The U.S. healthcare system assumed that the senior citizen in need of care or the caregivers themselves possessed the financial resources to hire qualified help. There was no consideration for families whose household budgets required them to learn critical caregiver skills on their own. Regardless of financial status, coping with chronic conditions for anyone can be a daunting task–but also navigating the dynamics of an adult child/parent relationship has its own complications. Where could I go and who could I turn to build more awareness on any of the financial, physical, or psychological risks involved with being a caregiver? 

Time and again, I ran into unforeseen challenges like figuring out how to transport Mom, finding a senior living facility, and making time for breaks and vacations and had to figure out solutions on the fly. I felt exhausted, depressed, and alone.

I wanted candid, unfiltered, unbiased guidance from other caregivers and those who weren’t affiliated with healthcare services or products. I also needed insights into real-world, true-to-life situations but could not find either. When I did begin to speak with relatives and friends facing similar circumstances, I was relieved to discover that I was not alone and that they too grappled with how to balance it all while maintaining peace of mind, and remaining healthy. 

On this site, I share my experiences to help family caregivers like you become better advocates for your relatives. I offer guidance on facilities, doctors, and professional caregivers to ensure your parents receive the best daily support and medical attention possible. Hopefully, these tips, insights and stories from peers will help you to better manage caregiving tasks and maintain sanity. 

While this blog includes personal stories highlighting my thoughts, impressions, and journey in caregiving, it also features contributions and anecdotes from others involved in caring for an infirm or aging relative. My goal is for Senior Loving Care to be a destination for real talk from peer caregivers and sounding board for individuals doing this very important work. I welcome you and wish that you find rest, support, and joy along your caregiving journey. If you’d like to share your story or wish to bring more awareness to an overlooked aspect of providing care, please do so here.