Caregivers often live in the shadow of the person they’re caring for, giving up their needs and desires as they stand guard over their loved one and do all they can to care for them.
They often live for years in fight or flight mode, burying their own stress and their own needs.
So, what happens when the need to act as caregiver is over? What happens when the crisis is over and all that stress and strain breaks free? It can leave the caregiver exhausted and broken.
That’s what happened to Paul Wayne Pennington. When his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, he put his own life aside to become her caregiver and when she was declared cancer-free after two years of aggressive treatment, Paul fell apart.
He’s written a book about it, called “Gut Punch: A Caregiver’s Life After Normal” and he joined Idaho Matters to share more of his story.
