Jaime is a caregiver to her husband who is afflicted with the hereditary ATTR amyloidosis disease. Since his 2013 diagnosis, Jaime’s experience dealing with the effects of the disease on her husband and family have seen her go through many challenges in her vital role as caregiver. She’s required constant personal growth and flexibility to be successful in this complex, demanding, and stressful role. She is also the CEO and founder of the New Zealand Amyloidosis Patient Association, a not-for-profit charity formed in 2019 to promote and advocate for education, awareness, and treatment for patients and their families in New Zealand. Join her on this journey as she shares on the importance of being a caregiver, the role’s demands, how she’s risen above it all, and how everyone can do their part to ensure better outcomes for both the patient and caregiver’s health and well-being.
On Sunday, March 19, I appeared on New Zealand’s 1News to discuss my journey as a caregiver to my late husband, Aubrey, who had hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. I now face the reality that any of our four children could have the genetic mutation that causes the…
This column has been a year in the making. When my late husband, Aubrey, passed away in May 2022 from hereditary ATTR amyloidosis, I couldn’t articulate my thoughts and feelings to paper or screen. Instead, my mind was filled with questions about how to move forward as a…
In the blink of an eye, we’re already approaching the third month of 2023. For me, the ushering in of a new year came with poignancy and a new aspiration to do better as I move forward into a future without a beloved family member. My husband, Aubrey, passed…
I have previously written about the importance of staying positive despite our circumstances. Whether you are a patient or a caregiver to a loved one with a chronic illness, keeping yourself above the waterline to avoid drowning in your circumstances is essential. As the legendary basketball player Michael…
This column will be my 94th since starting “Sunrise, Sunset.” My caregiving experience has taken me through many ups and downs and countless joys and heartbreaks. I’ve had to reset and reestablish my footing many times. I’ve learned that situations don’t last forever; whatever phase I find myself…
Late last week, to drive disease awareness, I took to the streets in downtown Auckland, New Zealand, and asked random people if they had heard of amyloidosis. None of the 15 strangers who were kind enough to answer my questions had heard of it. This does not surprise me…
It’s been over four months since I lost my husband, Aubrey, to hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. The vacuum he’s left behind in the lives of our four children and me may not be immediately apparent, but one only needs to dig a little deeper to see how much we…
Life is full of twists and turns. I was a caregiver for nine years until this past May, when my husband passed away from hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. Aubrey was diagnosed in 2013, and despite the many challenges we both faced, we never once thought to give up. Unfortunately,…
I recently attended an amyloidosis scientific conference in Heidelberg, Germany, that was a productive and empowering experience. As a former caregiver to a spouse with hereditary ATTR amyloidosis and a patient advocate with New Zealand Amyloidosis Patients Association, learning about the advancements in the field of disease…
Two weeks after the passing of my husband, Aubrey, my four children decided that the company of a new puppy would be the best way to cheer me up. Looking back now, almost four months after Aubrey left us on May 22, Akira — an…
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