People often think of the elderly when discussing caregiving and end of life. But there are parents, who give birth to a child, discovering their precious child will need lifelong care and have challenges they were not expecting. This sets us off on a journey we never imagined and often feels isolating and frightening. There are countless families and individuals living with extra challenges. On this episode of Healing Ties we visit with Lois Swope, as she shares her story of caring for her daughter Karly who was born with Rett syndrome; Karly blog, music and story continues to inspire all of us! Listen in and learn how Lois Swope is creating Healing Ties by sharing sharing their life story. Stick around until the end where you'll hear a track from Karly's CD In My Own Voice!
Healing Ties
Beyond Caregiving...How do care?
How do we care for our family, friends, and the strangers we meet? How do we care for the community we live in?
How do we heal the physical, social, financial, spiritual aspects of our life and the lives of those around us?
We do this by creating Healing Ties!
By sharing their stories with host Christopher MacLellan, our guests reveal how they are creating Healing Ties in their community by their words, actions, and deeds.
Meet the Team
Affectionately known as “The Bow Tie Guy" in the vast network of family caregivers, Christopher MacLellen is the Author of "What's The Deal with Caregiving" and the host of Healing Ties podcast featured on The Whole Care Network.
The story of Chris and his deceased partner, Richard Schiffer was chronicled in a 2015 Pulitzer Prize nominated story “In Sickness and In Health: A Couple’s Final Journey” about their journey of caregiving. Seen by over 500,000 people world-wide the story told of the challenges that LGBT partners have in dealing with the medical and legal system, but it also told of the love and joy that Richard’s last years had on their relationship.
Chris' masters degree thesis, Caregiving, Stress and its Impact on the Work Place was accepted by the faculty at Gonzaga University in 2016 where he earned a masters degree in Leadership and Communication.
Chris founded the Whole Care Network in 2016, presents regularly on topics that impact family Caregivers and now is Aging Gayfully after caregiving has ended.