Alison Donnally: From Lifespan to Joyspan
Alison Donnally shares about taking care of elderly family members.
I used to think of aging as something that happened slowly, naturally, and that support only became necessary when someone reached the point of needing a hospital stay or long-term care. That thinking changed when I watched people in my own family struggle with the realities of growing older.
One relative fell in the shower and wasn’t found for 24 hours. Another was living with Lewy body dementia and, because he lived in a remote area, his rapid decline happened largely out of view.
What stayed with me was less about what happened and more about how familiar the pattern felt. Too often, older adults are left to navigate the challenges of aging without enough support until something goes wrong.
What’s missing is consistent support with the everyday needs that arise in between.
In many ways, we’ve built a culture of waiting until there’s a problem to solve, and naturally, it’s influenced our approach to aging. Elder care doesn’t always have to begin with a medical need. The simplest things, like connection and practical support, can be exactly what’s needed to make the difference between maintaining independence and losing it.
Adult children have become one of America’s fastest-growing unpaid workforces. They step into caregiving roles because they love their parents, but they’re often balancing that responsibility with their own careers, children and lives.
What we’re experiencing is the result of a system built around moments of need rather than the everyday realities that lead up to them. Each unique, complex obstacle is met with a binary solution—either someone is expected to live independently, or they need significant medical care.
Navigating this space taught me a lesson that gives me strength in the throes of motherhood—independence doesn’t mean the absence of interdependence. The human experience isn’t just about preserving lifespan, but also strengthening healthspan and championing joyspan. That’s where the real promise of aging lies. With a Perspective, I’m Alison Donnally.
Alison Donnally is the founder of a company that matches university students with older adult homeowners for shared living arrangements. She previously led teams in healthcare innovation and holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in business and communications.