7 minute read

She fought to build a family. Now she's caring for the mother who raised her.

Most afternoons, Kelly Hutcheson pauses in her car before walking into the memory care center where her mother now lives. She lets herself feel the ache of watching her mother’s declining condition reshape the woman who has long anchored her world. Then she breathes, centers herself, and gathers the warmth her mother still recognizes.​

Inside, Kelly might help Mary with a craft, or simply hold her hand. Words come and go, but presence remains: one generation leaving home, another needing her more each day.​

Her daughter, Lily, recently left for college, a milestone Kelly spent years hoping she would one day witness. Her teenage son, Grady, is becoming more independent, while Mary, 83, depends on Kelly and her sisters Molly and Jennifer to make an increasingly unfamiliar world feel safe.​

Amid college check-ins, caregiving, and her family’s everyday needs, Kelly turns to the people around her and the practical tools that make daily life easier. The CVS Health® app gives her one place to manage prescriptions, refills and deliveries, as well as schedule MinuteClinic appointments.

“Having a place to go for health care needs, questions, and support means one less thing to carry when you're already carrying a lot as a caregiver,” Kelly says. “That helps me have more time and energy for my mom, my family, and myself.”​

It’s a life Kelly once feared she might never have.​