Conference Offers Caregivers Resources on Taking Care of Themselves
Kimla Hill compared a handful of hours at a caregivers conference Tuesday to a vacation: It felt that good for the burden to be lifted from her shoulders.
The conference taught her it’s OK, even necessary, to get help in taking care of her mom’s physical needs, even though her mom wants her alone for the job.
“Sometimes as a caregiver we try to own it all,” said Hill, 43, whose mother, Betty Hill, 70, is suffering from renal failure and lives with her daughter. “At some point I have to put my foot down. I felt like I was the child and I was obligated. I know now I have resources.”
The Caregivers Rest Conference in Olive Branch was the design of Janice Williams, a nurse who took care of her father until he died last June at age 89. While many agencies focus on providing for the ill, her organization, Caregiver’s Respite, focuses on the needs of the caregivers.