The young woman spent years caring for her mother with Lou
Gehrig's disease until the stress, fatigue and frustration became too
much for her.

At the age of 39, the caregiver suffered a heart attack.

It was only then that another family member stepped in to help
care for the mother.

This story is just one of the many examples of the millions of
family caregivers across the country going it alone.

But it doesn't have to be this way, said Suzanne Mintz, co-founder
of the National Family Caregivers Association.

Others can "share the caring" with those who are helping family
members with a wide range of conditions such as cancer, mental
illness, arthritis or Alzheimer's disease, she said.

"We need to reach out to American family caregivers and speak up
for them," Mintz said.

Mintz was the featured speaker Wednesday during Tulsa Senior
Services' 25th anniversary luncheon at the downtown DoubleTree Hotel.

Mintz congratulated the agency on its accomplishments over the
last 25 years, including its adult day services program, its
affiliate organization that provides affordable housing for seniors
and the agency's Anne and Henry Zarrow Center for Caregiver Support -
- the first in Oklahoma.

Mintz lives in Kensington, Md., with her husband, Steven, who has
multiple sclerosis.

After caring for her husband the last 20 years, she said she knows
the variety of feelings and ailments that family caregivers go
through, like depression and sleeplessness.

"We also share a remarkable inner strength that keeps us going,"
she said. "We all want the very same thing. We want normalcy."

Mintz urges family members and the community to "share the caring"
because that is the theme for the National Family Caregivers week
coming up Nov. 22-28.

Helping those in the caregiver role can be as simple as bringing
over a casserole or stopping off at the pharmacy, she said.

In a nationwide survey, 76 percent of the respondents said they do
not get consistent help from other family members, Mintz said.

Yet these family caregivers are providing a huge amount of free
service for the elderly.

"We can't keep doing that," Mintz said. "We need help."

When Tulsa Senior Services was established in 1973, the world was
a very different place. But the agency still fulfilled a need in the
community.

Mintz said the elderly population is expected to double by 2050,
and Tulsa Senior Services will be even more needed in the 21st
century.

"By the time people reach 85, 50 percent are likely going to need
care assistance," she said.

Although there is plenty of work to do, Mintz said she has seen
some progress made for family caregivers.

Information is available on the Internet, and a continuing stream
of research has been done on the topic, she said.