2008 - Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC)

planning for the next stage. Dad can still go to the Dining Room
so I celebrate that! I can’t focus on the distant future; instead, I
focus on today, tomorrow. Recently I was given a gift…through
a lot of networking. I found a young mother who lives near Dad.
She will give him meds, has some experience, and is willing to
deal with his incontinence. I believe she’s an angel. When you
think you can’t take anymore, God looks down and provides a
little help.” – A Caregiver (Hogstel, 2006)
This woman is accentuating the positive things in her situation
as caregiver to her father and in her life in general. She is
looking for the positive with an expectant and grateful attitude.
She celebrated the fact that her father could still walk to the
dining room, something that would seem trivial to most. She
has actively sought assistance in the care of her loved one. And,
lastly she has acknowledged the importance of her own needs
for support and personal enjoyment.
The situation is more complex when the patient and caregiver
are married. It is believed that this is due to the fact that marital
relationships are “voluntary and sexual and can be dissolved.”
Whereas a person is likely to feel more socially bound to care
for a parent, this may not be the case with a spouse. “Research
has shown that individuals who provided care to a spouse with
a disability were six times more likely than non-caregivers to
experience depression or anxiety. [Furthermore], caring for a
spouse was associated with significantly greater symptoms
than caring for a parent with a disability” (Gordon, 2004). It has
also been noted that the patient who receives care from his/
her spouse experiences depression, guilt, and low self-esteem
related to the fact that their spouse must care for them. The
caregiver spouse must take on the roles that were previously
assumed by the patient. This results in role strain, less time
to invest in the marriage relationship, and less time spent in
engaging in physical intimacy with their partner. Even though the
caregiver must take on these extra responsibilities, if the patient
is emotionally attentive then the caregiver can better handle the
strain. “The Double ABCX theory defined family stress as a state
that arises from an imbalance between demands on the family
and family’s resources for coping” (Gordon, 2004). The coping
methods used determine how well the family adapts to their new
situation. The caregiver spouse may feel hopeless in the face of
the serious illness and helpless in their ability to bring their loved
V o l u m e I V : F a l l 2 0 0 8
C l i n i c a l A n a l y s i s
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