Speaker 1: Hi everyone. I'm Holly Robinson, pete actor, author, advocate, do
Speaker 1: it all mom, and I'm also a caregiver. And this
Speaker 1: is care Walks, a podcast from iHeartRadio and Voltaian Arthritis
Speaker 1: Pain Gel. It's a show for family caregivers who give
Speaker 1: everything to everyone and need to make time for themselves
Speaker 1: through movement. Every episode is designed for you to walk
Speaker 1: as you listen, so just think of me and my
Speaker 1: guests as your weekly walking buddies. We'll hear stories from
Speaker 1: caregivers and gain tips and insights from health experts and
Speaker 1: advocates who know how important it is to take care
Speaker 1: of yourself and manage joint pain due to arthritis that
Speaker 1: often accompanies being a caregiver. We'll discover community ourselves and
Speaker 1: maybe even alleviate some joint pain due to arthritis in
Speaker 1: the process as we walk together and connect to the
Speaker 1: best parts of being a caregiver. So thanks for joining
Speaker 1: us on what will be another great episode of care Walks.
Speaker 1: How has your week been? Were you able to take
Speaker 1: some time for yourself? Don't forget to lean on your
Speaker 1: support systems and find ways to connect and reconnect with
Speaker 1: the people and activities you love outside of your caregiving responsibilities.
Speaker 1: As a reminder. Right now, you're listening to the abridged
Speaker 1: version of this episode, but if you're looking to get
Speaker 1: a little extra inspiration, don't miss a minute. Check out
Speaker 1: the full length version of this episode in your podcast feed.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is all about the importance of finding and
Speaker 1: maintaining a community as a caregiver. It's so easy to
Speaker 1: become an island and feel like you're all by yourself
Speaker 1: in this role, and that isolation can lead to depression.
Speaker 1: When I was younger, I didn't realize how much caregiver
Speaker 1: isolation was affecting me. And that's why I'm so glad
Speaker 1: that we can share care walks together, because you don't
Speaker 1: have to do this all on your own. Today, I'll
Speaker 1: be joined by caregiver Lakita Castin. Lakita has served as
Speaker 1: a caregiver to multiple family members. In her first two
Speaker 1: caregiving experiences with her aunt and uncle, Lakita frequently felt
Speaker 1: alone and without any support. When another aunt of hers
Speaker 1: became ill, she was determined to make sure her cousin
Speaker 1: didn't go through the same sense of isolation she did.
Speaker 1: Lakda volunteered to help her cousin and her aunt, and
Speaker 1: she is now taking on a new mission with her organization,
Speaker 1: caring for caregivers. Before we get to my conversation with Lakita,
Speaker 1: let's get walking. A great mantra for today's conversation will
Speaker 1: be I am stronger when I ask for help. Whenever
Speaker 1: your to do list pops up during this walk, say
Speaker 1: that to yourself, I am stronger when I ask for help.
Speaker 1: Your feet connecting with the ground on each step. What
Speaker 1: do you notice about the way each part of your
Speaker 1: body works together to keep you in movement. Let's take
Speaker 1: a couple of deep breaths together, In through the nose,
Speaker 1: out through the mouth. One more time, In through your
Speaker 1: nose and out through your mouth. If you're someone who
Speaker 1: is responsible for the care of someone in your life,
Speaker 1: you know that sometimes it can feel incredibly isolating, but
Speaker 1: you are not alone. With each step you take, think
Speaker 1: about someone who has been there for you. How do
Speaker 1: you feel when you let someone support you the same
Speaker 1: way you support others. Now, as you start to settle
Speaker 1: into your pace and your breath, remember to stay present
Speaker 1: in this month, and when you start to think about
Speaker 1: your daily to do list again, remember today's mantra, I
Speaker 1: am stronger when I ask for help, keep moving and
Speaker 1: give yourself time to recharge. I'm going to be there
Speaker 1: in your ear, keeping you company. Alongside our guest and
Speaker 1: fellow caregiver, Lakita Castin. I'm here with Lakita Castin. Lakita
Speaker 1: is a family caregiver based in Detroit. Lakita first began
Speaker 1: her caregiving journey when her aunt reached out looking for
Speaker 1: help caring for Lakita's uncle. Shortly after, her aunt passed
Speaker 1: away from cancer, but Lakda stayed in Baton Rouge and
Speaker 1: cared for her uncle alone for five years as he
Speaker 1: battled Alzheimer's disease. Today, Lakita is still caring for her
Speaker 1: family members, but no longer alone. She supports her cousin
Speaker 1: as they care for his mother together and build the
Speaker 1: organization Caring for Caregivers, which provides support and respite to
Speaker 1: family caregivers. Lakita, Welcome to care Walks.
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you. I'm so happy to be here.
Speaker 1: I'm happy to have you. So could you tell us
Speaker 1: about how you first became a caregiver.
Speaker 2: It was the most extraordinary thing. My aunt was ill.
Speaker 2: I didn't know how ill she was, and she called
Speaker 2: me one day and said, you know what, I need
Speaker 2: somebody here. Your uncle and I are getting a little
Speaker 2: older and we need somebody staying in the house. Could
Speaker 2: you come down and help us out? And so I
Speaker 2: came down and two weeks later she passed away. She
Speaker 2: had stage four lung cancer. She was an opera singer,
Speaker 2: so she sounded so strong over the phone. No one
Speaker 2: knew she was as ill as she was. And when
Speaker 2: I got down there, I saw her how enaciated she was.
Speaker 2: It it scared me a little bit. But if you
Speaker 2: knew her life, you would know that he had lived
Speaker 2: a wonderful life. It was just amazing to see the
Speaker 2: love that she had for her husband. She told me
Speaker 2: that he was suffering from short term memory loss, but
Speaker 2: I found out that it was Alzheimer's and he was
Speaker 2: doing pretty well, pretty good at first, but it became
Speaker 2: worse and worse, of course, as years went by.
Speaker 1: She sounded like an amazing woman, your aunt. Just the
Speaker 1: fact that she reached out and you were able to
Speaker 1: come and connect with her, and then you shifted your
Speaker 1: focus to her husband, your uncle.
Speaker 2: Yes, my uncle was a very very intelligent man. He
Speaker 2: was a dean of engineering at Southern university. So to
Speaker 2: watch him decline that way was a bit unnerving, but
Speaker 2: every day you have to get used to a new normal.
Speaker 2: But I got to know him in a way that
Speaker 2: I I don't think anyone else knew him, and that
Speaker 2: was a consoling thought for me.
Speaker 1: You mentioned that you were on your own as a
Speaker 1: caregiver in Baton Rousion. Since then, have you been able
Speaker 1: to talk to your friends and your family about your
Speaker 1: feelings and your experience.
Speaker 2: Yes, I have, And as a matter of fact, my
Speaker 2: daughters would come and visit me when they could. We
Speaker 2: all live in separate states, so they came and visited
Speaker 2: when they could, and they would give me a break
Speaker 2: or let me go for a weekend just to get
Speaker 2: some rest, because that's what's needed. I started Caring for Caregivers,
Speaker 2: a foundation where I want to supply respee care for
Speaker 2: family caregivers and that's it. Maybe they need a massage
Speaker 2: in homissage or hair done, just something to make them
Speaker 2: feel like themselves. They're not always a caregiver every single
Speaker 2: moment of every single day, because that's what you are
Speaker 2: as a family caregiver.
Speaker 1: Caring for caregivers sounds like an awesome resource, just an
Speaker 1: opportunity just find community. Yes, that was something that I
Speaker 1: wish I had. I found it was very difficult to
Speaker 1: find resources for caregiver support. Yes, So how would you
Speaker 1: suggest caregiver's best combat feelings of isolation?
Speaker 2: The way I did it was going back to something
Speaker 2: that I loved When I was younger, I majored in
Speaker 2: performing arts, and of course I couldn't do that there
Speaker 2: in Bad and Rouge. I couldn't really do a lot
Speaker 2: of theatrical things. But I became a costume designer for
Speaker 2: community theater there, so I did a lot of costume
Speaker 2: design and then I ended up acting. And that was
Speaker 2: the one thing that my uncle was standing still for.
Speaker 2: Because my aunt was an opera sinker. He would love
Speaker 2: to go to the theater and just sit and watch.
Speaker 2: It doesn't matter whether it was rehearsals. And that was
Speaker 2: one thing that was constant. And then isn't it wonderful
Speaker 2: Your theater community is amazing. They're all family, so they
Speaker 2: would sit there with them. He became everyone's uncle and
Speaker 2: it was amazing how they treated him. The first role
Speaker 2: that I played in was Dot by Coleman Domingo, and
Speaker 2: it's about a woman who has Alzheimer's Wow, and it
Speaker 2: was so prophetic. It was amazing. I was able to
Speaker 2: like channel some things from him and totally understand where
Speaker 2: that character came from. So I loved how everyone rallied
Speaker 2: around my uncle, and I loved how I was able
Speaker 2: to do that and he was able to see it.
Speaker 2: I don't know whether he understood everything about it, but
Speaker 2: he always had a kiss on the cheek from me
Speaker 2: when I came on stage, and man, I'm cheering up
Speaker 2: from that. Wow, that memory.
Speaker 1: Oh, that's so emotional. That's that's a great memory. Though.
Speaker 1: That's a great memory. My question for you is when
Speaker 1: when do you know you need to reach out to
Speaker 1: others for help or support. What are the signs.
Speaker 2: I think when you're angry, the frustration kicks in. I
Speaker 2: think that's when you need to make sure that you
Speaker 2: reach out, because God bless them. There were some days
Speaker 2: that I was just like, would you please just do
Speaker 2: as I ask? Let's get this done. That's why I'm
Speaker 2: not gonna be that picky about things that need to
Speaker 2: be exactly the way. You're gonna put on these socks,
Speaker 2: you're gonna put on these pants, you know what you
Speaker 2: want to wear, your underwear outside your jim shorts were
Speaker 2: not going anywhere today. Fine, but yeah, that's when you
Speaker 2: start getting so frustrated that you're frustrated at your loved
Speaker 2: one and you're frustrated at yourself. That's when you need
Speaker 2: to go out and you need to talk, and you
Speaker 2: need to talk to someone quickly.
Speaker 1: I first went to a caregiver support group when I
Speaker 1: was about nineteen or twenty, and I felt so good
Speaker 1: after talking to other caregivers and other families dealing with Parkinson's.
Speaker 1: At the time, I felt so heard and seen. So
Speaker 1: I always encourage caregivers to get together and talk.
Speaker 2: Most definitely because didn't you feel a little bit. I
Speaker 2: don't know about you, but I felt a little awkward
Speaker 2: even when I took my uncle out. Not awkward about
Speaker 2: him and his condition. I felt awkward that other people
Speaker 2: would look at him or maybe laugh or or I
Speaker 2: just felt like I didn't want him to be judged,
Speaker 2: and I didn't want me to be judged. I just
Speaker 2: didn't like the idea of someone mocking him. So I
Speaker 2: love to be able to be around people who understood
Speaker 2: the situation and there was no judgment.
Speaker 1: Wow, I've really enjoyed this conversation and I'm so glad
Speaker 1: to meet you and connect with you. Take care of yourself.
Speaker 2: Thank you, you two.
Speaker 1: Thanks again to Lakita Casten for joining me today. Hearing
Speaker 1: more about her story really reminded me how proud every
Speaker 1: caregiver should be of them else, not only for the
Speaker 1: time they dedicate to their loved one, but also for
Speaker 1: finding joy in that process and being able to share
Speaker 1: that joy with others. That's it for today's episode. Join
Speaker 1: us next time with physical trainer and fitness educator Pete McCall. Together,
Speaker 1: we'll explore the importance of mobility and strength training for
Speaker 1: caregivers with joint pain due to arthritis. Until our next walk,
Speaker 1: don't forget to find the support you need and take
Speaker 1: care of yourself too. Care Walks is produced by iHeartRadio
Speaker 1: in partnership with voltairean Arthritis Pain Gel and hosted by
Speaker 1: me Holly Robinson, Pete. Our executive producer is Molly Sosha.
Speaker 1: Our head engineer is Matt Stillough. This episode was written
Speaker 1: and produced by Sierra Kaiser, with special thanks to our
Speaker 1: partners at GSK Platform, GSK, Weber, Shandwick and Edelman