Texas Caregivers Making the News

As we've been spending more time with family during the holidays, Texas newspapers have been highlighting the family caregivers who give so much year round.

There are more than 3.4 million unpaid family caregivers in Texas. They help older parents, spouses and other loved ones live independently at home.

Lynn Greenblatt of Austin cares for her husband, Seth, who has a neurological disorder. After watching her mother care for her father while he had cancer, she knew she couldn’t do it alone. So she helped start a support group for family caregivers, as well as a Twitter account and website.

“We all have a choice whether to sink or to swim,” she told the Austin American-Statesman. “I have chosen to swim.”

She's not alone. Catherine St Clair of Houston was recently selected as the Texas winner of AARP's Portraits of Care contest. She has been helping look after Lisa, her adopted sister with severe cerebral palsy, for the past six years.

"There's times now when I can feel overwhelmed. I get sleep-deprived, and I wonder if I can do this. I don't want to fail Lisa," Catherine told the Houston Chronicle.

Unpaid caregivers don’t just care for biological family. The Beaumont Enterprise tells the story of Sandy Nelson and Cheryl Martin of Silsbee. The lifelong friends promised, "when they got old, they would move to Mexico, live in a mansion and take care of each other." Now Sandy, who already cares for her older sister with multiple sclerosis, has invited Cheryl to move in with her so she can help look after her too.

These are just three stories of unpaid, unsung but tireless family caregivers around the state. There are millions more just like them. The unpaid care that they provide--such as managing medications, cooking meals, driving to appointments, performing complex medical tasks and more--is valued at roughly $35 billion in Texas alone.

AARP is striving to help caregivers make it easier for older Texans to live independently. Are you a family caregiver? Tell us your story at iheartcaregivers.org.