02/20/2026
From our Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement, Katharine Provencher:
Before today ends, I want to acknowledge National Caregivers Day.
Caregiving has a way of reshaping your life without asking permission. It becomes part of how you think, how you plan, and how you move through the world.
When IgG4-RD entered my family’s life, I stepped into responsibility. Into advocacy. Into learning medical language I never expected to understand. Into appointments, research, second opinions, insurance calls, and the quiet decisions behind the scenes.
Caregiving is steady. It is consistent. It is showing up again and again.
It is asking thoughtful questions in exam rooms.
It is tracking symptoms and small changes.
It is managing logistics while trying to hold onto normal life.
It is carrying hope on uncertain days.
As a caregiver, and as Director of Advocacy at the IgG4ward! Foundation, I see every day how much of our rare disease community is sustained by caregivers.
Spouses. Partners. Parents. Adult children. Friends. People who rearrange their lives without hesitation.
Caregivers are central to this work.
If you are caring for someone right now, I hope you feel recognized today.
Your presence matters.
Your advocacy matters.
Your steadiness matters.
We move 4ward together. 💙
Kat
