Caregiver Journeys
Emily
Emily is the proud new mom of Aiden who was born just two weeks ago. She has worked as an administrative assistant at her current company for 5 years. Emily was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy as well as high blood pressure. It was important she keep track of her blood sugar and blood pressure throughout her pregnancy. She had to take maternity leave early because of her condition. Emily used the alska Connected Caregiving solution to track her biometrics as well as keep family updated on her progress. She shared ultrasound photos with her carefully chosen team of family and friends and even links to her baby registry. She now uses alska to get updates from her nanny who is home with Aiden when Emily and her husband Matthew are at work. Emily is a more empowered, less stressed, working caregiver.
William
William is a single dad to Charlie who is 6 years-old and was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. William travels quite a bit for his job and has a full-time nanny, Caitlyn. William is able to stay connected even when he is traveling because Caitlyn enters daily updates in the care portal along with photos of Charlie’s soccer games and school field trips. She also keeps track of Charlie’s blood sugar and insulin levels and enters them into the portal. It gives William peace-of-mind knowing he’s on top of things even when he has to be away from home. William also likes the virtual support groups where he can connect with other parents who have a child with diabetes.
Eric
Eric's wife Amanda was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. They have been married for three years and have a daughter, Sophie, who is 2 years old and the light of their lives. They moved to Seattle when Eric received a promotion but this meant moving away from both of their families and a strong support system. They are both very grateful for the great health insurance benefits Eric's employer provides but Eric worries about the security of his job with all of the time he has taken off since Amanda's diagnosis. Family alternates visiting from Michigan to help take Amanda to her chemotherapy treatments and other appointments and taking care of Sophie. They keep track of everyone's visits and of Amanda's appointments in the alska care portal Eric is able to get notifications whenever family enters an update on Amanda's doctor's visit or if she has a medication change. Chosen friends and family are able to stay connected and offer words of support and encouragement even though they live far away. Amanda securely stores clinic visit notes, laboratory results and other testing into the poral so she can easily access it and share it with her healthcare professionals. Eric utilizes the virtual support groups to learn tips on how to take care of himself and be a good advocate for Amanda during this challenging time. Sometimes they utiliize the virtual care advocate service when they have questions about medical resources.