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

When you’re in your 30s, you don’t expect to be caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s. But for Alicia, that became her reality, and it changed everything.

In this episode of The Care Collective Podcast, host Mikayla Cluxton sits down with Alicia to talk about the hidden side of caregiving in your 30s, from the emotional weight of moving her mom into memory care, to the financial strain of selling her childhood home, to the grief of losing pieces of her mom long before goodbye.

Alicia opens up about the guilt, anxiety, and strength it takes to make impossible decisions, and how she’s slowly learning to give herself grace.

Whether you’re caring for a parent, supporting someone with dementia, or just trying to survive the holidays while missing the person your loved one used to be, this conversation is a reminder: you’re not alone, and what you’re doing matters.

💛 Listen for:

• What it’s really like caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s at 33
• The emotional and financial realities of choosing memory care
• How to cope with guilt, grief, and the loss of “what could have been”
• Why self-care isn’t selfish, it’s survival
• Practical advice for friends and family who want to help caregivers

✨ Keywords: Alzheimer’s caregiver, young caregiver, dementia support, adult children caregiving, memory care decisions, caregiver guilt, caregiver stories, caregiving in your 30s, caregiver mental health, caregiver grief

In this heartfelt episode of The Care Collective Podcast, author Jocelyn Jane Cox joins Mikayla to share the story behind her memoir Motion Dazzle, a powerful reflection on losing her mother to dementia while becoming a mother herself.

Jocelyn opens up about navigating grief, the emotional and financial realities of caregiving, finding humor in hardship, and learning to hold both joy and sorrow at once. Together, we talk about redefining self-care, the challenges of the “sandwich generation,” and what it truly means to be a caregiver.

🦓 Order and read Motion Dazzle now—available wherever books are sold or at jocelynjanecox.com.

💛 Enjoyed this episode? Take a second to leave a review and share it with another caregiver who could use a little encouragement today. It truly helps more people find our community!

00:00 – Introducing Jocelyn Jane Cox & Motion Dazzle

02:45 – Losing a parent while becoming a mother

09:00 – Finding family through friendship and caregiving

14:30 – The financial cost of 24-hour dementia care

19:50 – Balancing newborn life and caregiving burnout

24:00 – Grieving without your mom to call for advice

31:00 – The meaning behind “Motion Dazzle”

42:00 – Caregiving as heroism and honoring the journey

45:40 – Final reflections + where to get the book

Episode Description

In this powerful episode of The Care Collective Podcast, Mikayla sits down with Ashley Larimore, a caregiver, entrepreneur, and third-generation farmer who splits her time between Charleston, South Carolina and her family’s farm in Maryland.

At just twenty-three, Ashley became the primary caregiver for her mother during an aggressive breast cancer battle, an experience that changed her life and led her to advocate for caregivers and patients everywhere. She shares what it was like to navigate long drives to treatment, advocate in medical appointments, balance work with care responsibilities, and process the layers of grief that come after loss.

As we honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Ashley’s story is a reminder that behind every patient is a caregiver carrying an invisible load, and that asking for help, setting boundaries, and finding gratitude are essential parts of healing.

Whether you’re a caregiver yourself or simply love someone who is, this episode will leave you feeling seen and inspired.

Key Topics Covered

• What it’s like to be a caregiver for a parent with breast cancer
• How caregiving can inspire advocacy and purpose
• Balancing work, grief, and family responsibility
• Learning to accept help and set healthy boundaries
• The emotional ripple effect of caregiving within families
• Why advocacy matters in medical settings

This episode blends real stories and emotional truth with practical lessons about resilience, empathy, and what it means to show up for the people you love, even when it’s hard.

📣 We want to hear from you!

If this conversation moved you, please follow, rate, and review The Care Collective Podcast wherever you’re listening. Every single review helps more caregivers find this community and reminds them they’re not alone.

Tag @carecollective.podcast on Instagram and share your favorite moment from the episode, we’d love to hear your story too.

When we talk about caregiving, we often focus on keeping someone alive, but what about helping them finish well?

In this week’s episode of The Care Collective Podcast, host Mikayla Cluxton sits down with Kristy, a nurse practitioner with over 20 years of experience in palliative and end-of-life care.

Together they explore what it means to prepare for the end with peace, love, and legacy in mind, and how these conversations can transform the way we live, not just how we die.

You’ll hear stories from Kristy’s time at the bedside, learn how to start difficult end-of-life conversations, and gain new insight into how caregivers can find meaning in moments of loss.

💛In this episode:

• How to start honest conversations about death

• Why legacy planning matters for families and caregivers

• Simple ways to leave love and guidance behind for those you care about

• How caregivers can find peace and purpose in letting go

Find more information about the work Kristy is doing here:

👉 Check out @ownyourend.co on Instagram

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts, and follow us on Instagram → @carecollective.pod

💌 Have a caregiving question or situation you’d like advice on? Submit it to us! We feature listener questions in weekly posts and future episodes, and if we can’t answer, we’ll find a professional who can.

At just 11 years old, Sadie became a caregiver for her dad after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

In this emotional and inspiring conversation, she shares what it’s really like to be a young caregiver — navigating grief, anger, and resilience while learning how to heal.

Join us as we explore the emotional journey of caregiving through Sadie’s story — a powerful and heartfelt look at what it means to grow up too soon. From the exhaustion of balancing responsibilities to the moments of connection and love that make it all worth it, Sadie’s honesty and courage remind us that caregiving isn’t just about sacrifice — it’s about strength, love, and holding on to hope.

Through vulnerability and reflection, Sadie opens up about:

💛 Becoming a caregiver at age 11

💛 Learning to separate the disease from the person

💛 The hidden grief of dementia and loss

💛 Anger, fear, and finding peace

💛 Growing through therapy and faith

💛 Her advice for other caregivers who feel alone

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About The Care Collective Podcast

The Care Collective is supportive space for caregivers and those who love them, a place to feel seen, encouraged, and less alone.

Each week, we share real stories, honest conversations, and reminders that you don’t have to carry it all by yourself.