Hello everyone. My name is Antoine Hall and I am the Information and Technology Officer for the Kidney Coaching Foundation, Inc. (KCF). Also, I am the husband of our Founder, Deidra Hall, which places me in a pretty unique position. I get the opportunity take on the role as a caregiver (in the time of need) as well as her officer for our organization.
According to the American Medical Association, a caregiver is defined as “anyone who provides assistance to someone who is in need of care.”1 At the KCF, we realize that caregivers play an important role in the lives of our patients. This is the reason why we have designed a program that not only focuses on coaching the adolescent patients, but their caregivers as well. Have you ever heard the phrase that “your team is as successful as your weakest link” (or something similar to it)? This principle applies here as well.
“Evidence shows that most caregivers are ill-prepared for their role and provide care with little or no support…”2 You can only imagine what could happen to an adolescent if their parents/guardians did not know how to treat their illness and/or care for them. If you couple this with the fact that most people do not take care of themselves, then you could have a recipe for disaster. The good thing is that this is a problem that can be fixed, but we must first recognize that the importance of a caregiver cannot be overlooked. In order to help someone we must first help ourselves by filling up with knowledge and keeping in good health. It’s like the instructions a flight attendant gives before take-off – “If the cabin loses pressure, the masks will drop from the ceiling. If you have a child please be sure to apply your mask first, then assist your child”. We typically think help the child first worry about ourselves later, but if we are gone then who is there to help the child through the long haul?
Education and training is the key. I can speak from first hand experience. Over the past 9 years, I have learned more about kidney disease than I could have ever imagined. The great thing is that I can recognize signs and symptoms and I know what to do in order to provide the appropriate care. You will never know it all as a caregiver and that is to be expected, but the more you know the more you grow. The success of patients hinges on the very success caregivers.
1. “Caregiver Health”. American Medical Association.
2. “A Population at Risk”. Family Caregiver Alliance.
