Training for a marathon is methodical, precise work. Run several times a week for several months, increasing your mileage gradually, until you’re crossing the finish line 26.2 miles later.
As longtime long-distance runners, Lena Chow MBA ’83 and her husband, Bob Kuhar, knew that training regimen well. But they were unprepared for an entirely different kind of marathon—of doctor’s appointments, support groups, medication protocols, insurance paperwork—when Bob was diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s in 2012.
There was no set route for Bob’s treatment, let alone directions for Lena as his primary caregiver. She was overwhelmed by information yet found little guidance. So she created her own training regimen of sorts: Bob’s Last Marathon is a podcast that compiles advice and resources for caregivers in concise, 10-minute episodes.
“I could not have survived the physical and mental demand of caring for Bob’s disease without taking good care of myself,” Lena says. “The self-care routine I established for myself—exercise, diet, socializing, music—has helped me become a healthier person today than I was 10 years ago.”