Eva Sharpe, Lansing, MI is a family caregiver, raised among an extended family of primarily Mexican descent that modeled caregiving for elders. She started helping her grandmother when she was age 12 and now cares for her uncle who has mild dementia. The family respite it provides makes home care possible. Family caregivers differ from non-family DCWs in many ways, particularly the shared history, emotional ties without professional boundaries, and the dynamics across relationships and generations.
Eva often teared up as she relayed family stories told to her by her uncle and others. “I don’t know if I’m just helping him pass the time but I like to ask him questions about when he was a little boy or how his parents met and it seems like he is happy to talk about those things. You know, he helps me too because…when he’s gone, who can I ask about those things? I mean you’re saying that I’m doing good stuff but I feel guilty. I don’t want to accept praise because it’s so good for me and my kids get a chance to meet him. They’ll never know his sister, but you know, they’ll know him.” Eva told the story of her uncle playing Mexican songs on his guitar. She videotaped it to show her girls someday. “It’s nice to have these worlds—not colliding, but you know, overlapping.”