What It Takes Stories of love, burnout and resilience from the frontlines of caregiving
Special Series
What It Takes
Stories of love, burnout and resilience from the frontlines of caregiving
Caregiving traces the history — and unique challenges of — caring for family members in the U.S. In the documentary, viewers meet caregivers like Malcoma Brown-Ekeogu, who now helps her husband, Kenneth, with even his most basic needs, like walking and bathing. "I never let him see me cry," she says. Ark Media hide caption
Medicaid pays for nursing home care and for some in-home and community based care, such as aides like Lidia Vilorio, who gives her patient Martina Negron her medicine and a snack in her home on May 5, 2021, in Haverstraw, N.Y. Proposed cuts to Medicaid could hit such home-based services first, making life harder for family caregivers. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption
Amanda Cruz took care of her mother, who died of cancer late last year. The experience changed her sense of identity. She is still sorting through what that means. Laura Bilson for NPR hide caption
Dakota Heath, 26, and Jordyn Glick, 27, at their apartment building in Lubbock, Texas. Heath takes care of Glick, who has an unpredictable and painful gastrointestinal disorder. Roughly a quarter of family caregivers are young adults. Annie Rice for NPR hide caption
Young girl assisting a senior man in a wheelchair at park, Support, Help and Assistance, World Disability Day uniquepixel/iStockphoto/Getty Images hide caption
Dawn Shedrick, left, is one of roughly 106 million unpaid caregivers in the U.S. For 30 years, Shedrick taken care of her mother, Nathalia Shedrick, right, who has multiple sclerosis. Eugene Richards for NPR hide caption