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Taking care of an elderly mother while dealing with anticipatory grief, depression, and emotional exhaustion is an incredibly heavy burden (Photo: iStock)
As life expectancy rises and families become smaller, more mothers are carrying the weight of being both caregiver and daughter. They become the thread holding families together, navigating school runs, hospital appointments, medication schedules, and household responsibilities, all while grappling with the heartbreak of watching a parent slowly change before their eyes.
“When we first noticed our mother’s tendency to forget, I started to worry. I knew something was amiss,” explains 43-year-old mother of two, Lydia Nyamweya.
“She would go off topic during conversations, too. It was so heartbreaking. She is my friend and I have shared almost everything with her. I kept asking myself, what am I going to do?” Lydia says.
