Our spouse has a chronic illness and needs appropriate care, our mother has had a stroke and is suffering from the after-effects, or our grandfather can no longer live alone: gradually or suddenly, we become a caregiver. It will be a question of managing the taking of medication, ensuring medical appointments, preparing meals and cleaning, washing. A busy daily life and important responsibilities fall to the caregiver.
While we count between approximately 11 million caregivers63% of them are not aware of being. However, the status of family caregiver has been recognized by law since 2015, which entitles you to a number of tax advantages and leave.
What is the daily life of caregivers like? Why is their role essential? Why is it still difficult for carers to talk about their situation?
On the occasion of the national caregivers dayOctober 6, Geraldine Mayr receives the Dr Helene Rossinot. She is a specialist in public health and social medicine, and an expert on the issue of caregivers. She published Be there for the parents and Helpers, these invisible, both published by Éditions de L’Observatoire. She explains to us what a caregiver is, the tasks he performs on a daily basis, the decisions he has to make for the person he is caring for and the difficulties he encounters, especially in his life. professional, but also personal.
Didier Garcia also appears on the show. He helps his mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. He founded an association in the Gard, Marcella, to support caregivers who, like him, have a daily life dedicated to their loved ones.
Many carers are young people, almost 40% are under 20: Amarantha Bourgeois, director of the Jade association which supports these young carers, talks to us about these sometimes dramatic situations and the actions taken to relieve them.