Caring for a sick or disabled elderly relative exacts a toll -- physical, emotional, financial -- on any family member, but being a spousal caregiver brings particular challenges. Today's longer life spans, in which once-fatal conditions such as heart disease have become manageable, mean that the "sickness" part of "in sickness and in health" can last for many years. Eighty-eight year old Bob Treanor, of Maryland, took care of his wife Ruth for more than 5 years.
