In Sickness and In Health: Elderly Caregivers

Caring for a sick or disabled elderly relative exacts a toll — physical, emotional, financial — on any family member, but being a spousal caregiver brings particular challenges. Today’s longer life spans, in which once-fatal conditions such as heart disease have become manageable, mean that the “sickness” part of “in sickness and in health” can last for many years. Eighty-eight year old Bob Treanor, of Maryland, took care of his wife Ruth for more than 5 years.

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<h1>In Sickness and In Health: Elderly Caregivers</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2010-05-25T00:30:00-04:00">
			May 25, 2010		</time>
		</div>
<p>Caring for a sick or disabled elderly relative exacts a toll — physical, emotional, financial — on any family member, but being a spousal caregiver brings particular challenges. Today’s longer life spans, in which once-fatal conditions such as heart disease have become manageable, mean that the “sickness” part of “in sickness and in health” can last for many years. Eighty-eight year old Bob Treanor, of Maryland, took care of his wife Ruth for more than 5 years.</p><p>      <strong>Related Article: </strong>      <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/legacy/C1426E69-8931-4476-9406-C87C96157646">        <strong>Spouses Face Hurdles When Caring For Themselves, Ill Loved Ones</strong>      </a>    </p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/052510-elderly-caregivers/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/052510-elderly-caregivers/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/052510-elderly-caregivers/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20In%20Sickness%20and%20In%20Health%3A%20Elderly%20Caregivers&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2Fnews%2F052510-elderly-caregivers%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/052510-elderly-caregivers/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/052510-elderly-caregivers/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/052510-elderly-caregivers/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=11092&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

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