‘It’s a job, and a tough one’: the pain and privilege of being a millennial caregiver

Andrew, 33, cares full-time for his grandmother Elo, who has vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s. Isadora Kosofsky spent four years documenting their relationshipOn a Sunday afternoon in October, Andrew Rahal locked his grandmother Elo’s wheelchair in place – “click it or ticket”, he told her – before heating up a bowl of borscht from the Armenian grocery store near their home in Granada Hills, California. He then sat in front of her, patiently feeding her spoon after spoon.Yeghsabeth “Elo” Voskian, 83, has vascular dementia and advanced Alzheimer’s disease. For nearly a decade, Andrew, 33, has been her full-time caregiver, assisting her from bed to wheelchair, showering her daily, managing her medications and helping her at meals. He is one of approximately 12 million millennials caring for a family member, a diverse cohort that already constitutes 23% of the caregiving population in the US, according to a 2020 AARP report. The number of millennial caregivers will almost certainly increase exponentially in coming years. Continue reading...