Summary

In this episode, Mikayla Cluxton reflects on her recent absence from the podcast, sharing personal challenges and the importance of community support for caregivers. She discusses her plans for a caregiver conference, the significance of grace in caregiving, and the healing process after personal trauma. Mikayla emphasizes the value of relationships and being present in the moment, especially during life's ups and downs.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome Back and Reflections

01:35 Navigating Personal Challenges

05:08 Healing and Coping Strategies

06:44 Life's Roller Coaster: Engagement and Growth

08:13 The Importance of Relationships

09:01 Introduction and Accountability

09:55 Upcoming Caregiver Conference and Podcast Changes

11:09 Community Engagement and Resources

11:34 Encouragement and Reflection

In today’s powerful episode, Mikayla sits down with Logan Lee Lamson, a writer, cancer survivor, and former primary caregiver for his mom, Linda May.

Logan first stepped into caregiving at just 26 years old when his mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Fifteen months later, she passed away. Years after losing her, Logan received his own devastating diagnosis: Hodgkin lymphoma. Suddenly, he found himself navigating the same hospitals, treatments, and fears he once walked through as a caregiver.

In this conversation, Logan opens up about:

• What it was like to care for his mom during her cancer journey
• The moment he realized his own symptoms were being overlooked
• Why patients and caregivers both struggle to advocate for themselves
• The reality of anticipatory grief and watching someone you love change
• How humor, community, and small joys kept him going
• What he wishes the media told the truth about when it comes to cancer
• And the unexpected parallels between his mom’s treatment and his own

Logan also shares about his book, Losing Linda May: A Cancer Caregiving Memoir. a first-person, present-tense account that captures the day-to-day reality of caregiving with honesty, love, and vulnerability.

His book is available exclusively on Amazon as an ebook and through Kindle Unlimited.

The link to Logan's Book:

https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Linda-Mae-Cancer-Caregiving-ebook/dp/B0FDGW7F9J

If you want to continue following Logan’s journey, you can find him here:

Instagram / TikTok : @justsomehindsight

This episode is a reminder that caregivers deserve support too, and that even in the hardest moments, there can still be connection, humor, and hope.

If this conversation speaks to you, please share it with another caregiver or leave a review to help more people feel seen and supported. 💛

In this episode of The Care Collective, Mikayla dives into one of the most overlooked forms of grief that caregivers face: anticipatory grief. This is the grief that begins long before the final goodbye. Through real stories from past episodes, including Alicia’s grief over her mom never getting to hold her future baby and Sadie’s experience losing her dad to dementia as a teenager, this conversation brings voice to the kind of pain many caregivers carry silently.

You’ll learn:

• What anticipatory grief actually is and why it shows up
• Research-backed signs and symptoms caregivers often experience
• How caregiver burden, uncertainty, and emotional exhaustion contribute to early grief
• Practical, evidence-based ways to navigate anticipatory grief
• Tangible grounding tools you can use right away

Whether you’re caring for a parent with dementia, supporting a loved one through illness, or grieving the future you imagined, this episode offers compassion, clarity, and community.

Listen in and remember: you don’t have to carry this alone.

Find more information on Origins Training & Consulting (and how to build resilience) here: https://learn.originstraining.org/

Listen to Alicia's Episode here: https://rss.com/podcasts/the-care-collective/2318624

Listen to Sadie's Episode here: https://rss.com/podcasts/the-care-collective/2267182

Want to be a guest? Fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVabBbtdiZepNpjgPaewQdmfmjIV_RXqoQ-N-C8i1gyntRTA/viewform