An estimated 21 million men across the country are now in caregiving roles, according to AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving, and one of them is sharing his family’s story with the Suncoast and beyond. Dugan Meredith cares for his mother-in-law, Granny, who lives with frontotemporal dementia. He documents the journey through his “Taking Care of Granny” social media feeds and recently appeared on The Aging Untold Podcast to talk about the diagnosis, the daily realities, and the lessons he’s learned.
Those realities are heavy. Meredith said memory care facilities can cost $10,000 to $15,000 a month, a number that pushed his family to keep Granny at home. Today that means pureed meals and a hospice medical bed. His advice for other caregivers, especially men stepping into the role, is to stop trying to fix what can’t be fixed: swallow your pride and meet your loved one where they are. When asked whether the family will keep Granny home until her last breath, his answer is simply, “We will.”
Meredith turned his online following into a nonprofit called Taking Care of Granny, offering guidance and community to families facing similar challenges. For a region like ours, with so many retirees and multigenerational households, his story lands close to home. If you’re a caregiver, what’s the one piece of help you wish someone had offered you earlier?
