Keeping Marriages Strong:
Care Givers

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, April 15 and May 27, 2007
Show 409

Keeping your marriage strong and happy can be a difficult task, especially when both of you are caring for an aging parent. "First thing I have to do is understand that it's a time divided. It's not like it was in the first, second or third year of our marriage. It's a learning process," says George, a care giver. He and wife Arlene care for her Mom who has Alzheimer's disease. "Without my husband, I wouldn't be able to handle anything at all with this. He's the one who convinced me that we can do this, but that I need to learn to pace myself and take a deep breath and take steps backwards sometimes," says Arlene. Their story, a tremendous success when it comes to care giving, is also inspiring. "What I love about their story is they took time out to play chess. To ride bikes, to really engage as a couple not caring for her mom," says Dr. Jamie Huysman.