About Caregiving With Purpose . . .
Welcome to CaregivingWithPurpose.com 
This site is designed to help you care for yourself while also caring for your care recipients.
The title of the site comes from the power you as a caregiver find when discovering your purpose — or purposes — in caregiving.
About “The Knitting Dr.” . . .
Hi! I’m Ina Gilmore and for many years I defined myself as “Dr. Gilmore.”
After college I went straight to medical school, earning my doctor of medicine from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. I went on to complete a residency in Internal Medicine, and practiced primary care adult medicine for several years.
While working in a multispecialty group, I developed a passion for Infectious Diseases. So, I went back to train as an Infectious Disease specialist. After completing my Infectious Diseases fellowship, I became an Assistant Professor of Medicine at an inner city medical school’s HIV Clinic.
After three years I left to assume more care of my ailing elderly parent—and to take a much-needed break from inner city subspecialty medicine. Initially I combined Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases in a rural practice, later moving to a suburban Infectious Diseases practice.
After 9-11, I realized the full impact and stress of combining a demanding career with primary caregiving.
Especially noticeable was the isolation of caring alone for an elderly parent while working odd hours, with the nearest family four hours by car . It affected my life profoundly—both professionally and personally.
Taking charge, I made some changes including leaving active medical practice. I moved closer to family.
There I found solace in knitting and other crafts. I realized most of my life has been spent as a caregiver—both informally for family and professionally as a physician. Finding myself without losing myself to the burdens of caregiving became my mission.
In the depths of the darkness of caring for a dying loved one with a seemingly unconcerned health care system I found my voice. My family and I realized without my medical expertise we could not have navigated that time. In the dawn of realization and recovery from this experience I found my life mission:
Helping others more than survive—to thrive—in caregiving.
Yes, you can find joy and personal growth in assuming a sometimes thankless — but increasingly necessary — responsibility for acute or chronic care of your loved one. If life is a journey, this is one leg of it.
While you may feel like you’ve been traveling without a map or a compass, you can change that starting now.
The first step is often recognizing and managing caregiver stress.
About the logo . . .
You’ll notice on the right side of the header a logo. This logo is for this site and its sister site, TheKnittingYarn.com.
The open hands express the desire I have to help you find yourself in caregiving and crafts.
The stethoscope represents my medical background.
The yarn and needles represent knitting and all crafts. Crafts can help you get through the stresses of life.
The multicolored yarn is a reminder that caregiving and crafts are multicultural, and include all people. It also symbolizes the community of caregivers.
You may be wondering about the white needles. They show up best on the blue background, and have no other significance. However if you can think of one, be sure to let me know. 
The heart is knit of red yarn with a crocheted border. This signifies the passion and love you must have to be a caregiver. Combining the crocheted edging with the knitting is a reminder that crocheting and knitting can coexist together.
No matter what your favorite craft–knitting, crocheting, tatting or something else–you are welcome here. And if you don’t yet have a favorite craft, you’re still welcome. There is no craft better than another, and no reason they cannot coexist. Even in the same project!
Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore M.D. (ret.)
“The Knitting Dr.”
Ambassador of Elder Care, HowToLiveOnPurpose.com
Founder, CaregivingWithPurpose.com and TheKnittingYarn.com
Disclaimer:
The information on this website is for educational purposes only. It does not replace information or recommendations from your own physician or other health care provider. This site does not advocate medical or other health-related self-care, and encourages you to obtain advice from your own personal physician or other health care provider.
This web site is not intended to replace medical, financial, legal, or any other professional advice. Please use your own good judgment and consult with your own professionals before applying any ideas found within this website.
