How
did
your
life
change
with
this
experience?
Did
it
leave
an
impact
on
you?
When
my
mom
first
got
sick,
my
dad
and
I
would
stay
at
the
hospital
with
her.
I
would
take
the
night
shift,
my
dad
would
take
the
morning,
and
my
sister
would
take
the
afternoon.
When
my
mom
came
home,
we
also
had
family
support
in
Sacramento.
It
was
difficult
being
the
only
caretaker
for
so
long
at
first.
I’d
mostly
stay
at
the
hospital
and
do
most
of
my
work
from
there.
I
did
mourn
the
loss
of
my
youth.
For
example,
I
didn’t
get
the
entire
experience
of
being
a
grad
student,
and
I
felt
guilty
sometimes
for
trying
to
do
fun
activities.
I
feel
like
I
grew
up
very
fast,
almost
from
being
a
20-year-old
to
a
40-year-old.
What
are
some
sources
of
support
that
you
would
like?
A
problem
we
have
faced
is
that
physical
and
occupational
therapists
are
only
allotted
a
certain
amount
of
visits
by
the
insurance.
But
for
someone
who
has
been
in
bed
for
4-5
years
now,
6
weeks
or
6
visits
is
not
enough
time
to
make
progress.
Without
that
speedy
progress,
they
aren't
allowed
to
come
back.
If
we
pay
for
physical
therapists
out
of
pocket,
the
people
we've
found
are
also
not
willing
to
continue
sessions
because
she
isn't
making
progress
fast
enough.
We
just
need
someone
willing
to
work
with
her.
Even
if
she
isn't
able
to
walk
again,
she
still
needs
some
form
of
consistent
physical
therapy-
which
is
super
important
for
her
limbs
to
not
get
atrophy.
So
they
continue
to
have
flexibility
and
give
her
a
better
quality
of
life.
I've
been
giving
her
physical
therapy
myself
every
night-
it
helps
her
fall
asleep.
But
I'm
not
a
physical
therapist,
I'm
not
an
expert
in
that
field,
so
it
would
be
nice
to
have
an
expert
come
regularly
to
work
with
her.
How
do
you
deal
with
stress
and
do
you
practice
self
care?
I
have
been
in
weekly
therapy
since
2017,
and
I’ve
had
to
train
my
brain
to
reduce
my
anxiety.
I
think
allowing
myself
to
ask
for
help
is
really
important.A
lot
of
times,
for
caregivers,
it’s
really
difficult
to
reach
out.I
feel
guilty
sometimes
because
if
I
do
something
that’s
not
at
home
it
feels
like
it’s
wrong,
but
reaffirming
myself
and
validating
myself
has
really
helped
with
that.
Just
taking
20-30
minutes
to
do
something
for
myself
really
helps.
Enjoyed
reading
about
Manisha’s
story?
Check
out
her
full
interview
here.
