1Day1Week is Moving On…for now
Although there’s sadness, it’s with great pride that I am moving on from the 1 Day 1 Week blog. At its inception back on August 22, 2021, the blog was meant as a platform for me to share about the caregiving journey with my parents. As I’ve shared since then in the blog, as well as countless conversations and podcasts, the intent has been to help other individuals walking in caregiver’s shoes.
1 Day 1 Week turned out to be much more and gift for me. It turned into a cathartic exercise, which helped me process all I had been through with my mom and dad…and continue(d) to go through. Considering that upon my mom’s diagnosis of Systemic Scleroderma she was hospitalized 17 times in the following 22 months from June 2018 to March 2020, that alone provided plenty of stories and wisdom I knew could help other caregivers in various ways. I unexpectedly and informally relocated from California to Florida during that time be primary caregiver/advocate. Plus, every time I turned around she was back in the hospital — often in isolation to prevent imminent death. Having experienced all of that, it’s miraculous she’s with us and her tests have been coming back in relatively healthy ranges for 2+ years.
Along the past 6+ years…my dad’s cancer journey also took center stage. Chemo and radiation saw the cancer spread to his lung, with the doctor stating on average he had a year to live. The next round of chemo and radiation led to scans miraculously being clear — for the past 2.5 years. Last week, his oncologist said that because his DNA “tracer” test came back negative twice in a row he can take an immunotherapy holiday. Possibly forever and it’s VERY rare that an aggressive bladder cancer that spread is cured. But, that’s what may have happened and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that today’s scans continued to reveal all is clear.
Back to this blog…
From my first blog entry, I received incredible support and praise about what and how I was sharing. It felt great for many reasons, but none more than when people told me it was helpful to them. That encouraged me to look for a bigger platform to help caregivers and patient advocates. So, I created Caregiving Insights, a podcast with great guests that also helped caregivers deal with a myriad of caregiving and advocacy topics.
Based on the feedback about Caregiving Insights, I was motivated even more to help. So, I conceptualized My Care Friends, an online community for caregivers and advocates to connect, share and support each other. I approached some friends to join me in the endeavor to build out this platform and 2+ years later we launched. My Care Friends is not only a free platform to make connections, it provides access to news, events, mindfulness guides, and more.
In fact, MCF also collaborates on various education programs on topics that include:
- Women and Autoimmune Diseases, focusing on the challenges of diagnosis, gaslighting, living (and thriving) with the disease, and building a healthcare provider team.
- Caregiving Youth, an often unseen caregiving population — right in everyone’s backyard.
- Alzheimers and Dementia, launching in 2025, a unique program featuring a soon-to-be-released documentary.
- Caregiving Continuum, launching in 2025, looking at many topics along the caregiving journey.
- Virtual Reality in Healthcare, launching in 2025, a first of its kind program sponsored by Magic Horizons (a global leader in providing VR applications that successfully address stress, anxiety, and much more.)
Considering everything this blog has spawned over time, in combination with my ongoing caregiving/advocacy for my parents, and life in general, that is why it’s with sadness and pride that this is my final 1 Day 1 Week blog post.
Thanks to everyone who ever read the blog and cheered me and the My Care Friends’ team on. I’m so grateful to friends Yolanda Santana, Jack Salvador, Jeff Wang and Katie Seymour for their time, commitment and belief in My Care Friends — and me. We’re incredibly excited to bring forth additional resources and programming in 2025 and beyond via My Care Friends and the My Care Friends Network on YouTube (formerly Caregiving Insights.)
I hope you’ll follow My Care Friends on YouTube, LinkedIn and other social platforms to stay updated on all the exciting initiatives we’ve got going on for caregivers, and anyone who cares about a caregiver or someone facing health challenges.
I wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday season, joyous 2025 and the best of health!
In kindness,
Todd (todd@mycarefriends.com)
Photo: Dad and Mom (circa 2022) along their healthcare journeys.
