Rebekah Dowhy’s Caregiving journey began at a young age, as her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis the year she was born. She grew up helping to care for her mother, taking on more responsibilities as her illness progressed and her siblings moved out. By age 17, Rebekah was one of her mother’s primary caregivers, handling tasks like feeding, medications, and wound care. This took an emotional toll as she realized her mother’s illness was terminal and felt isolated in her caregiving role.
Despite facing challenges, Rebekah maintained a close bond with her mother and found joy in their shared small moments. After her mother passed away in 2017, Rebekah struggled with a loss of purpose and identity but found fulfillment in nonprofit work. This led her to establish the Caregiving Support Network in 2020 at just 27 years old. Through her own experiences, Rebekah understood caregivers’ isolation and the need for practical support. The CSN aims to elevate caregivers and fill gaps in care through services like home care, meals, and emotional support.
Rebekah’s caregiving journey from childhood through founding CSN shows remarkable strength and resilience. By turning her hardships into help for others, she is making a difference for caregivers nationwide. Her work honors the care she provided for her mother and ensures no one feels alone in their caregiving role.
About Rebekah:
Rebekah is the founder and President of the Caregiving Support Network, a ministry dedicated to giving hope and practical relief to unpaid family caregivers.
Rebekah knows firsthand how relieving respite care is to a caregiver. Her mother was diagnosed with MS the same year she was born. Rebekah’s earliest caregiving memories include brushing and braiding her mothers hair. Those caregiving duties grew to administering medications, managing feeding tubes and complicated medical equipment as her mothers illness progressed.
Rebekah says although she had a relationship with God and loved her Mom, at times she felt so alone, hopeless, and tired. Relief only came when kind neighbors and friends would give a few hours of their time to sit with her mother.
In 2015 the idea of the Caregiving Support Network was placed on my heart when I was still caring for her mother because she knew other caregivers had to be facing the same hardships and joys. She felt compelled to tell them they were not alone. In 2022, that idea became a reality.
Social Media:
Website: https://www.caregivingsupportnetwork.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caregivingsupportnetwork
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caregivingnetwork/?hl=en
Email: info@caregivingsupportnetwork.org
The sisters proudly partner with the Caregiver Action Network. CAN’s Caregiver Help Desk offers free support to family caregivers via phone, chat, or email Monday through Friday, 8:00 am – 7:00 pm Eastern. Get answers, resources, support group info, or a listening ear. Visit www.caregiveraction.org/helpdesk/ or call 855-277-3640.
Known since childhood as “The Elliott Girls” or simply, “The Girls”, it makes sense that we work together to support our mother, and each other. Our trio begins with Jenefer Jane “JJ” who was and always will be “in charge”. She’s the peacekeeper. The responsible one, ensuring Natalie and Emilie remain alive. Next is Natalie, the middle child, who was and always will be Miss Congeniality. She’s the athlete. The rebel responsible for three babysitters exiting the summer of ’84. Then there is Emilie, the youngest, who was and always will be “the baby”. At 6’1”, she is the sensitive and quiet soul. The one responsible for the guinea pig that begged for lettuce and the stray dog we adopted from the bus stop.
After high school we went separate ways, from New Mexico to North Carolina. JJ would go on to get her Master’s in Business Administration and work in the finance world before partnering with her now husband, Dexter, to run a variety of businesses. Natalie would go on to get her Master’s in Social Work degree, and work in the mental health field, advocating for children and families to receive the most appropriate services. Natalie would marry and divorce early on but later marry Jason. Emilie would exit college early to marry and gift us with Owen and twins, Maxx and Natalie Jane aka “The Kids”. Emilie would later divorce and work with county government, focusing much time on caring for the kids.
The source of the sisterhood falls to Jim aka “Big Jim” and Connie, small town high school sweethearts married for almost 40 years.
In 2005, at the age of 52, mom would be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. She hid the disease for years behind dad’s 6’2” frame. The tremors and sudden inability to move were both calmed and steadied by his arm and simple presence. He was her rock. Our rock. Close family and friends knew of her chronic illness, but to the rest of the world, everything was “fine”. Life would turn upside down when our dad unexpectedly passed in 2011 of a massive heart attack at the age of 58. The assumption was Dad would always be mom’s caregiver but that wasn’t God’s plan.
Mom would spend the years following our father’s death desperately seeking a cure for Parkinson’s while trying to manage her symptoms. As the years went by, the cruel symptoms associated with the disease increased, negatively impacting her body while her mind remained clear and in tune. We lived our lives checking in to make sure she was “okay” but knowing the day would come when we had to do more. And then it did. The summer of 2019 changed everything. That’s where the real caregiver story begins for us. Little did we know she would be only the beginning of our caregiving journey.
In March 2022, Natalie’s husband, Jason, was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. From the first time Jason detected something off about the swollen lymph nodes in his neck, to the formal diagnosis, and the decision to move to New York City to participate in a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the journey would push them to their limits. The silver lining of his diagnosis was the cancer brought them closer to God, restoring their faith in Him while also experiencing a myriad of blessings through the kindness of family, friends, and strangers. Their story is a testimony that will inspire and offer hope.
