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.

I’ve Experienced 3 Phases of Caregiving

Life experience plays an integral role in shaping our behavior and thinking. I have come a long way from being an unsettled 18-year-old to a wiser and more focused woman in her 50s. Looking back, I see how the ups and downs we face shape our individuality. We are…

Staying the Caregiving Course Using Humor

I look for humor in every situation. Humor can be lifesaving in times of despair. U.S. Congregational minister Henry Ward Beecher said, “A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.” As a caregiver to a husband…