Overview: Crystal Foster, a caregiver for her son Tyler who has cerebral palsy and developmental delay, reflects on the challenges and rewards of caregiving. She describes the difficulties of living with the responsibility of caring for her son, but also the rewards of seeing him improve and knowing that she has learned a lot. Tyler’s care is reliant on Crystal’s own capacity, and she is concerned about ensuring his care as she grows older. The Inland Caregiver Resource Center provides resources for parent caregivers, including ongoing guidance, respite, counseling, care planning, education, and emotional support.
Aryana Noroozi
At age 25, Crystal Foster, now 52, gave birth to her son, Tyler Foster, in a traumatic pregnancy. Tyler, who has cerebral palsy and developmental delay, did not come home from the hospital until he was a year old. For eight years, Tyler was very ill and required a ventilator among other machines. Nurses would come to the Foster’s home for 16 hours a day to care for Tyler and then his parents were left to take over their duties for the remainder of the day…