The Bow Tie Guy & The Whole Care Network
All Home Care Matters was honored to welcome a good friend, board member, and founder of The Whole Care Network, Christopher MacLellan. However, you may know Christopher as the “Bow Tie Guy”.
Christopher was born and raised in St. Louis, MO., and has five older siblings, 25 nieces and nephews, and over 40 great-nieces and nephews who lovingly call him the F.U…Favorite Uncle!
Christopher is confident that he got his ‘care-gene’ from his siblings who always demonstrated to him what Love, Care and Commitment is all about.
Christopher has been wearing bow ties since his 40th birthday, so if his math is correct, he will be entering his 25th year sporting the bow tie look.
And… Christopher loves to podcast!
When people ask him “why did you create the Whole Care Network”… he always come back to his caregiving experience and how fortunate he was to find resources that helped him and his partner Richard Schiffer manage their caregiving journey. Every caregiver has a story and through their stories, they find validation, resources and respite to help manage their caregiving day.
Christopher feels fortunate to have had their story chronicled in a 2015 Pulitzer Prize-nominated 3-part story “In Sickness and In Health: A Couple’s Final Journey” which told their journey of caregiving. The story told of the challenges LGBT partners have in dealing with the medical and legal system, but it also told of the love and joy of his partner Richard’s last years had on their relationship.
Their story has been read by over 500,000 people worldwide since it was published in April of 2014. One of the reasons their story was so successful was because readers could place themselves in their shoes; dealing with the healthcare system, the legal system, balancing work and life, while facing the reality their time together was short. It was an afterthought that the story just happened to be about two men.
When it comes to caregiving, there are no economic boundaries, no racial boundaries, no gender boundaries and no orientation boundaries. Caregiving impacts everyone, and it is through story sharing where diversity meets the road to collaborate on a common cause. And our common cause is to support caregivers before, during and after caregiving has ended.