Sunrise Sunset – a Column by Jaime Christmas

persevering, stronger

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.

Finding a Path to Wellness for Diagnosed Patients

Having a chronic illness is never easy, both for the sufferers and their caregivers. My name is Jaime Christmas, and my husband, Aubrey, started feeling unwell in late 2012. It all started with numbness in his fingertips, but it wasn’t until he lost his taste for food that he…

It’s Important for Caregivers to Receive Care, Too

As I write this, my husband is in the hospital due to complications of hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. Aubrey, 58, was diagnosed in 2013, and this nine-year journey has been transformative. We both have learned to adapt to an ever-changing health situation and roll with the times. In a past…

Disease Awareness Can Lead to Better Outcomes

In 2018, Gov. Bill Haslam made Tennessee the first U.S. state to declare March as Amyloidosis Awareness Month. Since then, those diagnosed with the disease worldwide are acknowledged, recognized, and appreciated this month for the untold challenges they face with this condition. Setting aside a particular month to…

Lamentations Let Us Move On to Strength

Every week I write my column using my personal experience as a caregiver to a spouse diagnosed with hereditary ATTR amyloidosis. Writing demonstrates my competence to reflect on my words and actions. I can celebrate my strength and tenacity in carrying my responsibilities as a mother to four…