Articles of Interest:
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Life After Caregivng
What do caregivers do when their loved ones die? The aftermath can be very difficult, leaving caregivers feeling lost, lonely, and useless...
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Caring for the Caregiver
A middle-aged man, dragging a stiff, immobilized leg behind him, forces himself to cross the room. A blonde woman is talking with a bottle cap in her mouth...
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Legacy of Caregiving
In 1976, Catherine Isgrig resigned an executive position at Southwestern Bell and returned to Columbus, Texas, to care for her ailing mother...
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Home Becomes a Hospice
Many a traveler has driven by the Calo-oy's nine bedroom home in northwest San Antonio and wondered what kind of people would live in such a big house...
A Legacy of Caregiving
by Linda Owen
In 1976, Catherine Isgrig resigned an executive position at Southwestern Bell and returned to Columbus, Texas, to care for her ailing mother. All the pampering and attention helped Ada Isgrig to live until she was 99. In the meantime, Catherine watched the others in her household grow more and more frail—and for the next 20 years, she cared for her sister, who had an extreme case of emphysema and her brother, who had dementia.
Catherine Isgrig with her brother and mother When all her loved ones were gone, Catherine lived alone in the Isgrig's historical home—the very house where she was born. Seven previous surgeries on her arthritic legs, knees, and hip began to take their toll. Even with a cane, it became harder and harder for Catherine to move around the house, not to mention maneuvering the front steps to and from the garage. Every step was a struggle.
Because she had never married nor had children, no one was aware of Catherine's deterioration. She spent her days talking to solicitors on the telephone and entering every sweepstakes she could find. She gave her money away without regard for her low bank balance. She became unable to remember family members' names. Eventually she was diagnosed with the beginning symptoms of Alzheimer's.
Catherine's niece, Brenda Howard quickly embraced the responsibility of caring for her favorite aunt. Since Brenda lived and worked in Yoakum, an hour's drive from Columbus, she took Catherine into her Yoakum home during the week; but they lived in the Columbus house during the weekends.
"I didn't want her to be in a nursing home," Brenda says. "I wouldn't want to see anyone in a nursing home—she was family and I loved her. She took care of so many people and she deserved to have someone take care of her the rest of her life, too."
After three years of Brenda driving Catherine back and forth to the homestead, Catherine died in a Columbus hospital. "Although it was sometimes frustrating, I wouldn't have traded those three years for anything," Brenda says. "I think caregiving is rewarding—it gives us comfort because everything we do for them we do for ourselves."
After Catherine died, Brenda moved to Columbus, but she continues to work in Yoakum, where she is the chief patternmaker for Double D Ranchwear. Almost immediately, she began taking care of 92-year-old Ilsie Miller. Although Ilsie has hired caregivers during the week, Brenda became her "weekend helper." For years she had taken Catherine and Ilsie to lunch after church, so Brenda and Ilsie continued the tradition. Because Ilsie has macular degeneration, Brenda assists her in her job as record keeper of Sunday attendance and drives her to events in Columbus, like the monthly dinner theater.
Brenda insists she is just one of millions of people in this country who care for loved ones. "What I do doesn't make me special—just lucky," she says. "Being a caregiver teaches you self-sacrifice and unconditional love—perhaps it's part of God's plan to help us be better people."
What happens if Brenda, 62, needs living assistance one day? She asserts "without a doubt" that her daughter, Lynna Davis will care for her. How can she be so sure? Several years ago, Lynna cared for her grandmother when she was in hospice.
"Lynna has already learned that caring for someone else gives you a sense of accomplishment you can't get anywhere else," Brenda says. "It was modeled for us by Aunt Catherine. It's our legacy."
