August 31, 2026
The Family Caregiver Needs a Plan Too
Aging Wisely Basics
The Family Caregiver Needs a Plan Too
You may have a plan for Mom or Dad. But what happens if you’re the one who suddenly can’t help?
For many families, one person quietly holds everything together. They manage medications, appointments, groceries, transportation, finances, and the unexpected problems that come up.
But caregivers get sick. They travel. They have surgeries. They have their own family emergencies.
A good aging plan should not depend entirely on one person.
If you are the primary caregiver, ask yourself:
- Who could step in for me tomorrow?
- Would they know the medications, doctors, routines, and appointments?
- Do they know where important documents and information are?
- Who could provide hands-on help if I were unavailable for a week or longer?
- Has my loved one already met the people who might need to help?
If the answer to most of these questions is “I’m not sure,” that is a sign you need a backup plan.
You don’t necessarily need more help today. You need to know where that help will come from when you need it.
Because your loved one needs a care plan, but the person providing the care needs one too.
Technology Spotlight
AI That Helps Carry the Mental Load of Caregiving
Family caregiving is not just about the time spent physically helping someone. It is also the mental load of constantly tracking medications, doctor appointments, symptoms, changes in behavior, sleep, activity, test results, and all the little details that can signal something is changing.
Fitbit founders James Park and Eric Friedman are trying to use technology to help.
Their new company, Luffu, is developing what they call an “intelligent family care system.” Instead of tracking the health of just one person like a traditional fitness app, Luffu is designed to help families coordinate the health and wellbeing of multiple people, including aging parents.
Families can add information through voice, text, photos, health devices, medical information and other sources. AI then helps organize that information, learns normal routines and looks for meaningful changes. It could potentially flag things such as a missed medication, unusual vital signs, or changes in sleep or activity.
One feature I especially like is the ability to simply ask questions about a loved one:
- “Has Dad’s sleep changed recently?”
- “Is Mom taking her medication consistently?”
- “What has changed since Dad’s last doctor’s appointment?”
The goal is not to replace the family caregiver. It is to give that caregiver another set of eyes and make it easier to know when something may require attention.
That is where I believe technology can have a huge impact on aging. Families should not have to choose between constantly checking on Mom or Dad and having no idea what is happening. The best technology can quietly work in the background, helping families stay informed while allowing an older adult to maintain as much independence as possible.
All About Aging
Do You Know Your Numbers?
I’m keeping with the family caregiver theme from top to bottom of my newsletter.
Family caregivers do not always get as much attention as they should in the aging journey. A lot of the focus naturally goes toward the person who needs care. The caregiver is often considered the “healthy” one, so we assume they are doing fine.
But who is paying attention to their health?
I read something this week that asked a simple question:
Do you know your numbers?
Your cholesterol? Triglycerides? Blood pressure? Resting heart rate?
I stopped and thought about it. I’m not sure I could answer all of those questions. Even more concerning, I’m not sure I could easily pull up the answers if I needed them. I do wear an Apple Watch in the gym, so I can get my resting heart rate.
Yet think about how many other numbers we know or can find within seconds.
We know our bank account balance. Our 401(k) balance. The temperature on our thermostat. Our phone number. The score of a game. How much gas is in the car.
We track numbers all day long.
But many of us do not know the numbers connected to something far more valuable: our health.
That seems especially important for family caregivers. When you are focused on medications, appointments, meals, safety, finances, and everything else for someone you love, it becomes very easy to put your own health on the back burner.
Maybe there is a simple takeaway here for all of us: know your numbers and keep them somewhere you can easily find them.
You do not need to become obsessed with health data. You just need to know where you stand.
Because if you are the person everyone else is counting on, taking care of your own health is part of taking care of them too.