DATE: Saturday, November 29, 1997           TAG: 9711270008

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   42 lines

CAREGIVERS UNSUNG HEROES

Gratitude flows like gravy during Thanksgiving week - after all, it is THANKSgiving. But this is also National Family Caregivers Week. Good timing, because family caregivers deserve our thanks, along with their turkey and trimmings.

Caregiving for a disabled spouse, a child or a parent may be a labor of love, but it's a lonely vigil. Caregivers labor anonymously - often around the clock, sometimes with help, other times with little support from family or friends, or from community or government agencies.

``It's difficult,'' said Carolyn Savinsky, a public health nurse in Chesapeake who works with caregiver support groups, ``because you're the same, in terms of what you're able to do, but inside you're dealing with loss and pain and dreams that aren't going to come true.''

According to the National Family Care-givers Association, one in seven Americans cares for a loved one with a debilitating illness or injury, and three-fourths of all home-care services are provided by family caregivers. It's hard to put a price tag on that kind of care and compassion, but if you did, the association figures it would add up to $300 billion a year.

Who are these caregivers? They are people like. . .

Kris Fontaine of Virginia Beach, who has raised two children while caring for her husband. He was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease 11 1/2 years ago. ``You have to take it day by day,'' says Fontaine, ``and enjoy life together as much as possible.''

Carroll Hurley of Chesapeake, who has been caring for his wife for nine years. She has Alzheimer's disease, ``A caregiver almost becomes a captive in his own home,'' says Hurley. ``You have to be here all the time. You're pretty much isolated.''

Margaret Green of Norfolk, whose husband had a stroke in 1994. ``Nobody prepared me,'' she says. ``I had never dreamed that anything like this would ever happen to us.''

On Tuesday evening, the Chesapeake City Council issued a proclamation recognizing caregivers. Such recognition is important. But caregivers are unsung heroes all year long. A hug or a helping hand goes a long way, too.

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