Anyone who has experience with care giving knows that this is no easy task. But what if a child is burdened with this responsibility? In an advanced country like the US it is estimated that there are at least 1.3 million children who are caregivers. This gives us an idea of the scale of the problem worldwide. The problem of the child caregiver is an “invisible problem” as it happens behind closed doors. There is reluctance by both the parent and the child to discuss the problem with outsiders.
Connie Siskowski has first hand experience of care giving as a child. At the age of 11 she found herself being drawn into the responsibility of providing care to her beloved 82 year old grandfather for the next two years. She learned to check on his edema, put on socks over his swollen feet, and make food for him and help him eat. Though he was tall and big, she found a way to help him get out of his chair. She would also cut his hair, shave his beard, and trim his mustache. In addition she spent time with him to give him company. They would listen to the radio, read, or play cards. When the doctor changed his medication that needed to be taken round the clock, she decided to sleep in the living room so she could be close to him. One night when she woke up at 2 am to give him his medicine she found out that his body was cold and he had already passed away.
This experience of care giving stayed with Connie and probably guided her towards a nursing career. She became a RN (Registered Nurse) in 1967 and worked in Florida’s health-care community for decades. But in 2004 when as part of her doctoral research for her PhD, she discovered the problem of child caregiving as something that was more widely prevalent than previously thought, she felt she had come a full circle. She founded the American Association of Caregiving Youth a charitable non-profit organization. Her work has given voice to the problems faced by young caregivers. It has also helped hundreds of young caregivers. Her work shows that when service to others becomes a central aspect of one’s existence then there is no limit to what one can do.
Related:
American Association of Caregiving Youth
Encore- Second acts for the greater good
CNN Hero Connie Siskowski