Annalee Kruger: The Invisible Patient and the Cost of Caregiving

In this episode, Eric talks with Annalee Kruger, founder of CareRight Inc., longtime senior care consultant, and author of The Invisible Patient. Their conversation explores what family caregiving really looks like behind the scenes and why the people providing care often become the most overlooked ones in the system.

Annalee draws from decades of experience working with families in crisis to explain how denial, lack of planning, and misunderstanding of aging and dementia compound stress for spouses and adult children. She shares why waiting until a medical emergency forces decisions almost always leads to worse outcomes, higher costs, and fractured relationships.

They also unpack what an actual aging plan includes, why “aging in place” is more complex and expensive than most families expect, and how caregivers quietly sacrifice their health, careers, and relationships while trying to hold everything together.

They cover:

Why most families wait too long to plan and what triggers crisis mode
What adult children commonly misunderstand about dementia and caregiving
The hidden emotional, physical, and financial toll on family caregivers
Why denial is often the biggest barrier to action
What an aging plan really includes beyond paperwork
How caregiver burnout shows up and why it’s so often ignored
The role of neutral third parties in preventing family conflict
How planning restores dignity, agency, and sustainability for everyone involved

This is a grounded, practical conversation for anyone caring for aging parents, supporting a spouse, or trying to understand what caregiving actually demands over time.

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