Aiding Her Dying Husband, a Geriatrician Learns the Toll of Caregiving

Living with emotional, physical demands of caring for a loved one gave an expert new depths of understanding

Dr. Rebecca Elon, an esteemed geriatrician and policy expert specializing in long-term care, saw first hand what caregivers face when her husband, Dr. William Henry Adler III, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia with motor neuron disease in 2017. Dr. Kris Kuhn

The loss of a husband, the death of a sister, and taking in an elderly mother with dementia: This has been a year like none other for Dr. Rebecca Elon.

The 66-year-old Elon has dedicated her professional life to helping older adults. But her experiences over the past year have taught her what families go through when caring for someone suffering from a serious illness as nothing has before.