Speaker 1: Hi everyone.
Speaker 2: I'm Holly Robinson, pete, actor, author, advocate, do it All mom,
Speaker 2: and I'm also a caregiver. And this is care Walks,
Speaker 2: a podcast from iHeartRadio and Voltaian Arthritis Pain Gel. It's
Speaker 2: a show for family caregivers who give everything to everyone
Speaker 2: and need to make time for themselves through movement. Every
Speaker 2: episode is designed for you to walk as you listen,
Speaker 2: so just think of me and my guests as your
Speaker 2: weekly walking buddies. We'll hear stories from caregivers and gain
Speaker 2: tips and insights from health experts and advocates who know
Speaker 2: how important it is to take care of yourself and
Speaker 2: manage joint pain due to arthritis that often accompanies being
Speaker 2: a caregiver. We'll discover community ourselves and maybe even alleviate
Speaker 2: some joint pain due to arthritis in the process as
Speaker 2: we walk together and connect to the best parts of
Speaker 2: being a caregiver. Welcome back to care Walks. I'm so
Speaker 2: glad you're here today. How are you feeling? You know
Speaker 2: it's okay if the answer is I'm okay or I'm
Speaker 2: hanging in there, because it's important to acknowledge and recognize
Speaker 2: our feelings, especially if we're not one hundred percent. Caregiving
Speaker 2: is twenty four to seven, and it's okay to say,
Speaker 2: you know what I'm struggling today. That is the first
Speaker 2: step to asking for help and finding time to take
Speaker 2: care of yourself. I'm also hoping today's show can be
Speaker 2: an uplifting self care moment for you too. But first,
Speaker 2: just a quick reminder. Right now, you're listening to the
Speaker 2: full version of this episode, But if you don't have
Speaker 2: time for a full walk today, that's okay. Just go
Speaker 2: check out our bridged version of the same episode. It's
Speaker 2: like the cliff Notes for podcasts. All right, I'm really
Speaker 2: looking forward to today's episode. We're talking about the joys
Speaker 2: of being a caregiver. We talk so much about how
Speaker 2: hard and difficult caregiving can be, which is true, but
Speaker 2: caregiving can bring a lot of bright moments too. So
Speaker 2: I know that from my own experience, being a caregiver
Speaker 2: gave me some really valuable quality time with my father.
Speaker 2: We had a lot of deep conversations, and it became
Speaker 2: a time where we really got to work on and
Speaker 2: improve our relationship. We got to say things to each
Speaker 2: other that we'd never said before, and we had some
Speaker 2: major breakthroughs. I cherished that time. Today, I'll be joined
Speaker 2: by caregiver Rob Phobion. Rob is the chief community Engagement
Speaker 2: officer for the Austin Groups for the Elderly in Central Texas,
Speaker 2: but he's also been a primary caregiver for the last
Speaker 2: twenty four years for his husband, who suffers from early
Speaker 2: onset dementia. While finding how to strike a balance between
Speaker 2: the many aspects of his busy schedule, Rob has found
Speaker 2: boundless joy in the relationship that caregiving has forged, and
Speaker 2: understands the importance of finding support and joy throughout his journey.
Speaker 2: Before we get to my conversation with Rob, let's get walking.
Speaker 2: Let's bring our full attention to this walk. Find things
Speaker 2: to anchor onto in this moment to help you stay present,
Speaker 2: whether it's the feeling of the ground beneath you or
Speaker 2: focusing on the sound of my voice.
Speaker 1: Take a deep breath in.
Speaker 2: And out. We can always return to our breath to
Speaker 2: anchor ourselves again. Take another deep inhale and release it
Speaker 2: out of your mouth. Don't be afraid to release a sigh,
Speaker 2: a good sigh along with it. Recognize that the stresses
Speaker 2: from the day or from this week are only obstacles.
Speaker 2: They do not define your abilities. They do not define
Speaker 2: your happiness. Take this opportunity to loosen your shoulders if
Speaker 2: they're tense, unclench your jaw, and take another cleansing breath in,
Speaker 2: end out. Now, start to find a natural and comfortable
Speaker 2: walking pace to settle into. And let's explore how we
Speaker 2: can find renewed joy and love in our role as
Speaker 2: caregivers every day with my guests, Rob Phobian.
Speaker 1: Rob, thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 3: Holly, thank you so much. I appreciate this opportunity.
Speaker 2: Yes, oh so, I'd love to get to know your
Speaker 2: story a little bit more. Can you tell us about
Speaker 2: how you first became a caregiver?
Speaker 3: Most certainly, first I started caring for my husband. He
Speaker 3: has been HIV positive for more than thirty years, so
Speaker 3: he takes thirty six pills every day, and you multiply
Speaker 3: that time thirty years. You know, everything that goes in
Speaker 3: your mouth eventually ends up in your brain. And so
Speaker 3: the doctors told us very early on that if he
Speaker 3: lived long enough that he would probably develop some type
Speaker 3: of cognitive issue because of all the medication. Luckily, he
Speaker 3: is doing terrific health wise. His viral load is undetectable.
Speaker 3: His T cell count is through the roof, which is
Speaker 3: a blessing because the meds are doing exactly what they're
Speaker 3: supposed to. They're keeping him alive. Unfortunately, because of all
Speaker 3: of that medication, it's starting to affect his cognitive.
Speaker 2: Yes, the cognitive it's a give and take, right, How
Speaker 2: did you approach taking on the challenges of his health
Speaker 2: as it declined and did you is you get to
Speaker 2: talk about together or strategize about it.
Speaker 3: We certainly did and that was one of the blessings
Speaker 3: that we had is knowing that we had time to plan.
Speaker 3: And for many families who are dealing with memory loss
Speaker 3: cognitive issues, they don't have that time or they don't
Speaker 3: take the time. Many times they don't, you know, they
Speaker 3: start seeing something happening with mom, dad, husband, wife, and
Speaker 3: they think, oh, that's just part of normal aging, or
Speaker 3: you know, that's just them being silly, but in reality,
Speaker 3: they are slowly starting to have cognitive issues, and so
Speaker 3: addressing it early on is so important because we were
Speaker 3: able to talk about the what ifs and what would
Speaker 3: he like And the same thing has happened with my parents.
Speaker 3: My father had a brain bleed stroke three years ago,
Speaker 3: and so I'm also his caregiver along with helping my mother.
Speaker 3: They live independently, but in order for that to happen,
Speaker 3: I helped take care of them. They're in their mid
Speaker 3: to late eighties, and so in addition to the normal
Speaker 3: aspects of aging, we have this on top of it
Speaker 3: as well. And so that's one thing we did is
Speaker 3: we sat down and had those very honest conversations about
Speaker 3: what if and what comes next and what do you
Speaker 3: want because the time to have that is early into
Speaker 3: these situations. It's not when you're at the hospital in
Speaker 3: an emergency having those conversations. You need to have them
Speaker 3: early on. And you know a lot of people don't
Speaker 3: like talking about those things, but it's so important. It's
Speaker 3: not the if it's going to happen, it's the win
Speaker 3: it's going to happen, and you really need to have
Speaker 3: those conversations early.
Speaker 1: That's right.
Speaker 2: As a caregiver for both your parents and your husband,
Speaker 2: how do you approach caregiving differently for each.
Speaker 3: Well, you know, in one case it is my spouse,
Speaker 3: my partner, my life partner who i'd live with twenty
Speaker 3: four to seven, and so that's a different dynamic than
Speaker 3: my parents. As we know, being care taking care of
Speaker 3: our parents, we kind of become the parent in many ways.
Speaker 3: It's the role reversal and you have to kind of
Speaker 3: tread lightly.
Speaker 4: In many ways.
Speaker 3: You know what is best for them, you know in
Speaker 3: your heart what needs to happen, but at the same time,
Speaker 3: they still view you as their child, and so it's
Speaker 3: a complete role reversal and you have to come at
Speaker 3: it in.
Speaker 4: A different way.
Speaker 3: The way that I would talk with my husband about
Speaker 3: things would be different, the way that I would talk
Speaker 3: to my father about things.
Speaker 2: Seeing that you dedicate so much of your time for
Speaker 2: being there for your loved ones, what would you say
Speaker 2: caregiving means to you?
Speaker 3: It is such a blessing, It really is. For example,
Speaker 3: I have learned so much about my family and my
Speaker 3: parents getting to spend this much time with them. I
Speaker 3: just found out that my mother was a roller scapeading
Speaker 3: car hop when she was a senior in high school.
Speaker 1: I never knew that, Wow, that's impressive.
Speaker 3: And that my dad would come in his car every
Speaker 3: night and you know, park in her area just to
Speaker 3: get to spend some time with her before they ever
Speaker 3: started dating, because he thought she was so beautiful and
Speaker 3: so I'm learning all these great stories about the family,
Speaker 3: and it's time that I probably would not have gotten
Speaker 3: to spend with my family because honestly, as a career professional,
Speaker 3: like most people, I wouldn't probably have taken as much
Speaker 3: time as I have to spend with my family.
Speaker 2: That is one of the blessings of caregiving, hearing you
Speaker 2: discover these things about your parents that you did not know.
Speaker 2: You know, you mentioned that not everyone is meant to
Speaker 2: be a caregiver. What are some of the challenges that
Speaker 2: you've had to overcome in your relationship while being a
Speaker 2: caregiver to your partner?
Speaker 3: Well, obviously trying not to take charge of everything. You know,
Speaker 3: it's very hard when you care so much about someone
Speaker 3: and you want everything to be just so perfect for them,
Speaker 3: and you become overprotective and you forget that this is
Speaker 3: an individual who has their own purpose in life and
Speaker 3: their own desires, their own feelings, and you don't want
Speaker 3: to take any of that away. You want to be
Speaker 3: the hand to help them when they need it, but
Speaker 3: you also want to be the pat on the back,
Speaker 3: the encouragement just to support them in their journey as well.
Speaker 4: Because when someone has.
Speaker 3: A cognitive issue, it is incredibly confusing for them. I
Speaker 3: heard it best explained of someone that I work with
Speaker 3: talking about dementia, saying that people who live with dementia
Speaker 3: know something's wrong, they don't know what it is or
Speaker 3: how to fix it, and that is living in twenty
Speaker 3: four hours of confusion. And I understand that that. You know,
Speaker 3: when he lashes out at me, it's not because he
Speaker 3: is attacking me, it's because he doesn't know how else
Speaker 3: to express because he doesn't know what's going on, and
Speaker 3: so he's gone to fight or flight mode.
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, there's just such a level of empathy
Speaker 2: and an ability to try to put yourself in someone
Speaker 2: else's shoes that sometimes it's very difficult to do that.
Speaker 2: My dad had dementia for a long time at the
Speaker 2: end of his journey with Parkinson's, and I was never
Speaker 2: really able to I don't think properly empathize with him
Speaker 2: about the dementia. So what you just the way you
Speaker 2: just defined what that is is super helpful, I think
Speaker 2: to a lot of people.
Speaker 3: And trust me, this is not something that just came
Speaker 3: to me overnight. As a caregiver, you grow into your role.
Speaker 3: For many of us, caregiving sneaks up on us and
Speaker 3: we go from being helpful to being the one that's
Speaker 3: relied on twenty four to seven.
Speaker 2: You know, you seem to have such clarity about the
Speaker 2: realities of your situation. I mean you have to, obviously,
Speaker 2: And I know you said it didn't all come to
Speaker 2: you overnight and it was a journey. But what have
Speaker 2: you been able to learn about yourself since becoming a
Speaker 2: caregiver for your husband and parents.
Speaker 3: I don't know if it's said I've learned about myself,
Speaker 3: but what I have learned to do is exactly what
Speaker 3: you said. You know, realize that most of it is
Speaker 3: not in my control, and that's okay, and so you
Speaker 3: take a deep breath and you make good choices and
Speaker 3: you keep going. I'm the kind of person that makes
Speaker 3: lots of lists and has multiple plates spinning simultaneously, and
Speaker 3: always got lots of projects going. And I've had to
Speaker 3: learn when I'm caregiving with my parents with my husband
Speaker 3: in that situation, put all that aside. I am there
Speaker 3: with them. I'm not thinking about the project tomorrow. I'm
Speaker 3: not thinking about what I need to do next week.
Speaker 3: I need to think about what they need and the
Speaker 3: time that I'm spending with them, and that's been difficult
Speaker 3: for me because it's not my personality to do that.
Speaker 3: But I think that has helped me be a better
Speaker 3: person because it is giving me a new skill set
Speaker 3: that I'm very proud of.
Speaker 2: We'll be right back with more from Rob Phobion, And
Speaker 2: now back to my conversation.
Speaker 1: With Rob Phobion.
Speaker 2: Tell me about the work you do with the Austin
Speaker 2: Groups for the elderly in Central Texas and how that
Speaker 2: organization works with those who are aging and their caregivers.
Speaker 3: Yeah, our acronym is AGE, and so Age of Central
Speaker 3: Texas is a regional nonprofit organization that serves older adults,
Speaker 3: in particular those who are experiencing a cognitive issue in
Speaker 3: their life, to help them stay connected in the community,
Speaker 3: continue to socialize, continue having that purpose in life. We
Speaker 3: give them those opportunities, those outlets, and that support so
Speaker 3: they can continue to be that important part of the
Speaker 3: world that they want to be. Our founders founded US
Speaker 3: thirty six years ago locally here in Central Texas. They
Speaker 3: were very forward thinking and knowing that in order for
Speaker 3: older adults to succeed, we had to support the family
Speaker 3: caregivers as well. Because, as I mentioned, no one teaches
Speaker 3: you how to do this. I go and speak to
Speaker 3: elementary school students about aging and caregiving. As we grow
Speaker 3: up in our lives, we don't have many opportunities to
Speaker 3: watch other caregivers in action. And then suddenly we're at
Speaker 3: the hospital with an emergency and we have no earthly
Speaker 3: idea what a medical power attorney is or do we
Speaker 3: know who the doctor is that prescribe this medication? Are like, no,
Speaker 3: I don't know any of this stuff. And so having
Speaker 3: a place that provides the resources, the education, the support,
Speaker 3: the shoulder to cry on, whatever you need to help
Speaker 3: you connect to the resources and let you know that
Speaker 3: you're doing a fantastic job and we're right here behind
Speaker 3: you to help you. And so that's available on our website,
Speaker 3: along with lots and lots of caregiving resources, both local
Speaker 3: for our Central Texas area but also that are available nationally.
Speaker 3: And so I'll just give a plug to that. Our
Speaker 3: web page is Age of Central TX dot org.
Speaker 2: This is the ongoing thread through all of these care
Speaker 2: walks that we've done.
Speaker 1: You have to take care of yourself.
Speaker 2: You've got to keep yourself and put self care and
Speaker 2: make it a priority, and so speaking of that while
Speaker 2: helping other caregivers prioritize themselves at age and by the way,
Speaker 2: that work sounds amazing that you're doing there. Do you
Speaker 2: rob have a self care routine to find that me
Speaker 2: time I do.
Speaker 3: I go to the gym, And that is not something
Speaker 3: I ever thought I would say out loud, but that
Speaker 3: has become.
Speaker 4: Something that I really enjoy doing.
Speaker 3: So I go to the gym and that is my
Speaker 3: time where I just disconnect and you know, I can
Speaker 3: listen to my inner voice while I do my workout routine.
Speaker 3: The other thing that has been really wonderful is we
Speaker 3: bought a house seven years ago, but the grass never
Speaker 3: grew in in our backyard, so we just dug it
Speaker 3: all up and turned it into one huge flower garden.
Speaker 3: And he has a degree in botany, so that's something
Speaker 3: we've been able to share together, is we have this big,
Speaker 3: beautiful flower garden. And so when I get home every day,
Speaker 3: the first thing I do is I walk outside and
Speaker 3: I go in the backyard and I just walk around
Speaker 3: and look at the flowers.
Speaker 4: That has been my blessing.
Speaker 3: That that's my escape, that I can just go out
Speaker 3: there look at the bees, the birds, the flower, the plants,
Speaker 3: go dig in the dirt, just kind of get lost
Speaker 3: in that for ten fifteen minutes. That kind of recharges
Speaker 3: my battery and it's like, oka, I'm ready to go.
Speaker 1: Oh. Flowers always do it.
Speaker 2: They're just They're just like a serotonin for the brain
Speaker 2: and just give you so much. I mean, for me,
Speaker 2: I just grew up loving flowers so much. My mother
Speaker 2: used to take me to flower shows in Philadelphia. Like
Speaker 2: my earliest memories are just what how flowers made me feel.
Speaker 2: And so I love hearing that. I would love to
Speaker 2: see a photo of that garden. I know, it's amazing.
Speaker 2: What do you have in there right now?
Speaker 1: What's coming up? Tulips?
Speaker 4: What do you have right now?
Speaker 3: My bearded iris are blooming, all of our trees are
Speaker 3: starting to bloom out. By hibiscus are starting to come
Speaker 3: up nice. Yeah, and all of my roses are in
Speaker 3: full bloom. So it's really beautiful.
Speaker 1: I'm seeing all the colors as you say that. That
Speaker 1: is so great.
Speaker 2: So what are your favorite ways to incorporate movement in
Speaker 2: your schedule?
Speaker 3: Whenever I have the opportunity, I like to go out
Speaker 3: to the park and go walk, go jog, my knees
Speaker 3: will hold up for that day. You know, one of
Speaker 3: the things you learn about yourself as you get older,
Speaker 3: your knees start.
Speaker 4: Going what in the world are you doing?
Speaker 3: So, especially as a caregiver, rub right exactly.
Speaker 2: Because as you said earlier, you know, we tend to
Speaker 2: just feel that pain and we just pushed past it
Speaker 2: because we're so busy doing all these other things.
Speaker 1: We have to make note of that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we have to listen to our bodies. Our bodies
Speaker 3: are telling us what's going on. We've got to tune
Speaker 3: into that. But just being able to go out and
Speaker 3: go walk in the park is fantastic because again that's
Speaker 3: a great way of recharging your battery. You're in nature, sunshine,
Speaker 3: the trees, the birds, just getting to see other people
Speaker 3: walk by, and that helps build you back up.
Speaker 2: I understand that you're a caregiver who does manage joint pain.
Speaker 2: We talked about your knees. How has joint pain affected
Speaker 2: your caregiving?
Speaker 3: Well, obviously it does slow you down. My father is six'
Speaker 3: three and he was a full grown linebacker sized man
Speaker 3: by the time he was, Twelve so he's a big,
Speaker 3: guy and so you, know helping him in and out
Speaker 3: of the, car and when we use a, wheelchair or
Speaker 3: WHEN i need to help him go to the. Bathroom
Speaker 3: these types of, things you, know, stooping, bending standing it
Speaker 3: when you already have got joint, pain that just adds to.
Speaker 3: It and so that's why it's so important to make
Speaker 3: sure that you're taking care of. Yourself if you're feeling,
Speaker 3: pain go find out what it. Is you, know don't
Speaker 3: let it keep getting, worse because that's not the right
Speaker 3: thing to.
Speaker 4: Do as a.
Speaker 3: Caregiver you're going to wear yourself down physically to the
Speaker 3: point where you can't continue to be effective in your
Speaker 3: journey in helping the ones that you, love and so
Speaker 3: it's so important to get it diagnosed and look for your. Treatments,
Speaker 3: rob you seem like some that can handle.
Speaker 2: Everything are people from the outside look at you and, go,
Speaker 2: oh he's got. It rob can handle. It he's doing,
Speaker 2: this he's down at, age he's got the, parents he've
Speaker 2: got the. Husband you, know one of the things THAT
Speaker 2: i never did WHEN i was a, caregiver And i'm still,
Speaker 2: caregiving but WHEN i was caregiving for my father and
Speaker 2: my son who had special needs at.
Speaker 1: The same, time was ask for. HELP i never asked for.
Speaker 2: Help so what would you say to people listening who
Speaker 2: about the importance of asking for help and building a
Speaker 2: community to support.
Speaker 4: You that is the perfect, question you.
Speaker 3: Know, honestly IF i were not in this job That i'm,
Speaker 3: IN i would not know a lot THAT i. Do
Speaker 3: AND i see caregivers every day that are struggling and
Speaker 3: who are suffering and who are hurting because they don't
Speaker 3: ask for. Help and for most, caregivers it's not a
Speaker 3: natural thing for us to.
Speaker 1: Do you.
Speaker 3: Know we feel, Like, Okay I'm i'm the oldest. Son
Speaker 3: this is What i'm supposed to. Do i'm the oldest,
Speaker 3: Daughter i'm the, Wife i'm the, husband this is What
Speaker 3: i'm supposed to. Do but there is so much involved
Speaker 3: in it that it's not something that one person can
Speaker 3: do by. THEMSELVES i always tell caregivers there is never
Speaker 3: ever any shame in asking for, help because all of
Speaker 3: us need help at points in our, lives and there's
Speaker 3: nothing wrong with SAYING i don't know how to do,
Speaker 3: this OR i don't know what the answer is for,
Speaker 3: this OR i don't know where to find this. Resource
Speaker 3: and that's why organizations Like age Of Central, texas like
Speaker 3: the area agencies on, aging like The Alzheimer's, associations that
Speaker 3: the meals On, wheels all these great organizations around the
Speaker 3: nation exist to help us as caregivers in this. Journey
Speaker 3: and it is absolutely one hundred percent okay to Say
Speaker 3: i'm a little lost IN i don't know what to.
Speaker 2: Do people don't realize that this is in their most
Speaker 2: likely in their, future AND i think that's something that
Speaker 2: we never you, know like you, said it's not something
Speaker 2: we get educated. ON i feel like two things should
Speaker 2: be taught in, school financial literacy and, caregiving and how
Speaker 2: and how important that? Is so, amen do you talk
Speaker 2: to a lot OF i, mean obviously you with your the,
Speaker 2: organization you talk to a lot of other caregivers and
Speaker 2: you hear about these similar. EXPERIENCES i think one of
Speaker 2: the things that helped me through my caregiving journey was
Speaker 2: talking to other, caregivers sharing, experiences having a sense of.
Speaker 1: HUMOR i think that's very.
Speaker 2: IMPORTANT i found to be very helpful to try to
Speaker 2: approach it from a more positive point of, view.
Speaker 3: And being able to talk with other caregivers gives you
Speaker 3: an opportunity to learn from their journeys as. Well you,
Speaker 3: KNOW i always say that support groups are so important
Speaker 3: for caregiving because it's an opportunity to be with us
Speaker 3: other folks that are going through the same things that you,
Speaker 3: are being able to just let stuff out and, say,
Speaker 3: oh my, goodness my husband did this the other day
Speaker 3: and it drove me absolutely, insane AND i, yeah and
Speaker 3: just to get it out so it's not in here
Speaker 3: festering all day long in your. Brain and have someone
Speaker 3: sitting there nodding along knowingly going, YEAH i had the
Speaker 3: same thing.
Speaker 4: Happen but also.
Speaker 3: Having people that have discovered resources maybe you haven't. Found
Speaker 3: it's wonderful to have those like minds.
Speaker 1: In a room to share. Together, yes how do?
Speaker 2: You how can listeners go about finding a community for
Speaker 2: support near?
Speaker 3: Them so THE aarp is one of the greatest RESOURCES
Speaker 3: i have found nationally for finding resources on the local.
Speaker 4: Level you can look.
Speaker 3: UP aarp dot org and you can find your community
Speaker 3: and they have resources listed. There the other is The
Speaker 3: Area agency On. Aging they are also a national. Resource
Speaker 3: they are the follow through money of The Older Americans.
Speaker 3: Act so every community has An Area agency On. Aging
Speaker 3: they can be a great clearing house of resources and
Speaker 3: information for your specific.
Speaker 2: Area great that resources are everything before we, Go, rob
Speaker 2: what is one of your what would you say is
Speaker 2: one piece of advice you would give two caregivers, listening
Speaker 2: especially new, caregivers about finding joy in their.
Speaker 3: WORK i think it's always important to look at this
Speaker 3: journey as a cup that is half, full not a
Speaker 3: cup that's half. Empty it's not taking something away from your.
Speaker 3: Life it's giving you opportunities that you wouldn't have. Otherwise
Speaker 3: and look for those moments of, joy look for those
Speaker 3: opportunities to spend time with your loved one that you
Speaker 3: wouldn't have Other and you don't look back three years
Speaker 3: later and, go, OH i WISH i really, had because,
Speaker 3: no you didn't know. That you made the best choice
Speaker 3: with what you, had and that was the right.
Speaker 4: Choice.
Speaker 2: ABSOLUTELY i mean that is you learned so much on this.
Speaker 2: Journey you, know hindsight is, everything, right get to go
Speaker 2: back and if you could go back and do this
Speaker 2: and do, that but, no that was your. Journey you were,
Speaker 2: learning and you knew what you knew and you did
Speaker 2: the best you could with what you.
Speaker 1: Had So, rob thank you so.
Speaker 2: Much this has been an awesome conversation ONE i was
Speaker 2: really looking forward to because that's a QUESTION i get
Speaker 2: all the. Time like you, Know i'm this is such
Speaker 2: a tough. Situation how do we learn to embrace it
Speaker 2: and find and mine the joys from? It and SO
Speaker 2: i think you gave us a lot to think about
Speaker 2: it and so many awesome, resources which is something we always.
Speaker 2: Need so thank you. Again take care of yourself and
Speaker 2: your parents and your your, husband AND i wish you.
Speaker 3: Well thank, You, HOLLY i appreciate this opportunity to visit with.
Speaker 2: YOU a big thank you again To Rob fobion for
Speaker 2: joining me. Today hearing more about his, story it really
Speaker 2: just reminded me about how many special moments caregiving offers
Speaker 2: for a loved. ONE i know how important it was
Speaker 2: for me to have that time with my. Father rob
Speaker 2: shared with us his favorite parts of caregiving for his
Speaker 2: partner and his dad and how he finds new ways
Speaker 2: to carve out me time while working around his own
Speaker 2: joint pain and remembering to ask for, help which makes
Speaker 2: him a better. Caregiver thanks again To rob and you
Speaker 2: for stopping. By that's it for today's. Episode come back
Speaker 2: next week WHEN i chat with our guests therapist and
Speaker 2: licensed clinical social Worker Lindsay pace about combating caregiver. Burnout
Speaker 2: it's such an important. Conversation until, then keep walking and
Speaker 2: don't forget to take care of yourself. Too Care walks
Speaker 2: is produced By iHeartRadio in partnership with voltairean arthritis Pain
Speaker 2: gel and hosted by Me Holly Robinson. Pete our executive
Speaker 2: producer Is Molly. Sosha our head engineer Is Matt. Stillo
Speaker 2: this episode was written and produced By Sierra, kaiser with
Speaker 2: special thanks to our partners AT Gsk, PLATFORM, Gsk, Weber
Speaker 2: shandwick And edelman