Woman Who Left Fortune 500 Career to Care for Mother with Alzheimer's Faces Financial Hardship

Kathy Mullen, 64, left a successful decade-long career at Nike in Portland, Oregon to move to North Texas in 2010 to care for her mother, who had been diagnosed with early-onset dementia in 2007. Unable to afford professional long-term care facilities and facing family expectations as the oldest child and only daughter, Mullen became her mother's primary caregiver for six years until her mother's death in February 2016. She liquidated her retirement savings and relied on her mother's Social Security, but these resources were quickly depleted by medical visits, medications, and daily care expenses. Though she received some support from the Alzheimer's Association and an adult day care program, Mullen's own health deteriorated from the physical and emotional demands of caregiving. Her experience underscores the broader challenge facing American families who must choose between employment and caregiving, often resulting in financial ruin and health consequences.