A place where actual wellness education & boundary-setting tools come
without judgment

I didn’t realize how important it was to understand the healthcare system and eldercare in the U.S.—until I was the adult daughter sitting in the oncology clinic with my dad.

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My first real exposure to caregiving started as a teenager. My grandma had dementia, and since my dad was an only child, her care fell on him. She lived with us for a while, but our busy family simply couldn’t meet her 24/7 needs. She eventually moved to a nearby nursing home, where she lived for six years. Watching that slow, painful decline left a lasting imprint on me.

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Later, as a Registered Nurse working in Home Health, I saw the same story play out again and again: families overwhelmed, caregiving under-supported, and women—always women—burned out trying to manage it all. Home Health helped bridge the gap between hospital and home, but it didn’t fix the bigger system or the emotional weight we carry as daughters, wives, and mothers.

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Then, in my late 30s, my dad was diagnosed with metastatic cancer. I had three active kids, a spouse, a full-time job—and now, a front-row seat to watching someone I love suffer through treatment, complications, and decline. My mom was his primary caregiver, but as the nurse in the family, I became the translator, advocate, and emotional anchor.

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It was stressful AF.

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But here’s what helped: I understood how the healthcare system works. I wasn’t afraid to talk about illness, or death. And I had finally learned to take radically honest, compassionate care of myself.

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We say we’ll prioritize our health, but let’s be real—most midlife women don’t. We’re conditioned to sacrifice ourselves, to keep going no matter what. But that kind of stress? That kind of constant over-responsibility? It’s not sustainable, and it’s not healthy.

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That’s why I created Front Porch Nurse—to help other Gen X women like me stop running on fumes and start protecting their healthspan, energy, and peace. This space is about meeting ourselves where we are and deciding how we want to shape our health and lives so that the next few decades are enriched with all the things we still want to do! There are no gimmicks here, just straightforward info about creating the health you want for the rest of your life.

 

It is time to learn how to care for ourselves like we actually matter. Because we do. 🧡