Hawaii Caregivers Face Many Challenges

Need For Island Caregivers Growing

HONOLULU -- A promise to a dying grandmother forever changed the life of an Oahu woman. Her story may be unique but the challenges she faced mirror those of thousands of caregivers around Hawaii. Former elementary school teacher Marianne Shimada has been a caregiver for the past ten years. She took in her aging aunt, Hideko Kagimoto, and took on her responsibilities. Shimada managed bills, took Kagimoto to dozens of doctors appointments each month and prepared her aunt's meals -- all an unpaid labor of love. "When you have a loved one who needs your help, in our culture we're taught to take care of our loved ones," said Shimada. In fact Kagimoto, a nurse, had cared for Shimada's dying grandmother herself. Before her grandmother died, Shimada made a promise to repay the kindness to Kagimoto. But over the years, instead of getting easier being a caregiver became more difficult. Meals she prepared before work and put into the fridge for Kagimoto to eat would still be there when Shimada got home. "When I asked her if she ate lunch, cause it would still be there she said 'I ate something but I don't remember,' " said Shimada. After years of juggling her own career and her care giving, Shimada said something had to give and she retired. She then cared for her aunt full-time. It was a difficult move but one supported by her husband. "He could see the emotional toll it took on me," said Shimada. Her story as a caregiver is not an unusual one. In fact, nearly 250,000 people care for aging parents or relatives in Hawaii, many of those spend at least 20 hours a week providing care while still working. Some are also suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver because of an injury or ailment to an aging relative. "You're talking about a huge amount of stress on the average caregiver and they don't know it until it happens. And then it is like falling into the big black hole where it takes over your life," said Barbara Stanton with AARP Hawaii. Because Hawaii's aging population is expected to greatly increase, there is expected to be a huge need for caregivers in the future. Shimada hopes to help new caregivers learn from her own lessons. She plans to go back to teaching, a caregiver instructional course through Child and Family Services.