Before the COVID-19\u00a0pandemic, life was plenty busy for Jason Trujillo and his family.<\/p>\n
He and his wife, Sherrie Jong, have two children, who in 2016 were ages 4 and 1. Jong \u2014 a civil engineer \u2014 was the family\u2019s breadwinner as Trujillo completed his first year at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. As the couple raised their family and juggled work and school, Jong\u2019s parents, Engie and Monty, were getting older; 82-year-old Monty, especially, struggled to see and hear.<\/p>\n
When they found out Monty had Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the family knew he needed someone to care for him. That job fell to Trujillo. At first, he resented the stressful and unexpected role. But his mother helped him put things in perspective. \u201cShe said, \u2018I didn\u2019t raise you to leave an old man that needs help. Take care of this,\u2019\u201d he recalls. \u201cShe was 100% right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trujillo paused law school and became his father-in-law\u2019s main caregiver, making sure Monty saw his doctors, got his medication and stayed connected to the family. When his condition worsened, Monty moved to an assisted living facility, and Trujillo visited him every day.<\/p>\n
Then came COVID-19. Around the world, the pandemic abruptly separated residents of assisted living facilities from their loved ones. Caregivers like Trujillo have faced an increasingly difficult and isolating task as they\u2019ve tried to offer support from afar while taking care of kids at home. Even with video calls and other technology, staying in touch \u2014 especially with people who have dementia and may not understand the situation \u2014 has been tough.<\/p>\n
The devastating impact on seniors has\u00a0pushed caregiving to a crisis point. But according to USC researchers, the pandemic isn\u2019t the cause of this societywide problem \u2014 it\u2019s only amplifying challenges that have been there all along. And for these experts in aging, it has never been more urgent to address the social, racial and economic inequities behind these issues and pave a way forward. Now is the time to care for caregivers.<\/p>\n