Timothy Lubniewski Calls for Greater Recognition of the Hidden Toll on Family Caregivers

Drawing from his experience caring for his wife while raising two young sons, Timothy Lubniewski highlights caregiver burnout, the difficulty of asking for help, and the need to support the people providing care.

STATEN ISLAND, NY, September 16, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Family caregivers are often the people holding everything together during a serious illness, yet the physical and emotional demands placed on them can remain largely unseen. Business leader and entrepreneur Timothy Lubniewski is calling for greater recognition of those demands as he experiences them firsthand as the primary caregiver for his wife, KC, who is living with ALS.

Lubniewski stepped away from his position as General Manager at Rose Paving to focus on his family. In addition to caring for his wife, he is raising their two sons, ages six and five. The transition took him from a career spent building businesses, managing teams, and solving operational problems into a role where the responsibilities rarely follow a predictable schedule.

"With our boys and everything that comes with caregiving, there are a few times every month when I realize I am completely burned out," Lubniewski said. "At that point, I am not looking for a vacation. Sometimes I am just searching for a few hours of quiet so I can reset and come back ready to handle what needs to be done."

For Lubniewski, that realization has challenged an instinct developed over decades in business: when there is a problem, keep working until it is solved.

Caregiving does not always allow for that approach. A serious progressive illness can introduce new needs and uncertainties while the ordinary responsibilities of family life continue. Meals still need to be made. Children need attention. Appointments have to be managed. Household responsibilities do not disappear.

The Work That Often Goes Unseen
Family caregiving is widespread in the United States. AARP and the National Alliance for Caregiving have documented tens of millions of Americans providing unpaid care to relatives and friends. That work can include transportation, personal care, household management, medical coordination, and emotional support.

What those numbers do not always communicate, Lubniewski says, is the cumulative effect of being responsible for another person's needs while trying to maintain the rest of family life.

"There isn't really a point where you say the workday is over," Lubniewski said. "You are a husband, a caregiver and a father at the same time. My boys are still very young, and they need their dad. KC needs me. You are constantly thinking about what somebody needs next."

Lubniewski believes discussions about serious illness should better acknowledge the people providing day-to-day care.

That does not mean shifting attention away from the person living with the illness. Instead, he argues that supporting caregivers can help strengthen the entire family unit.

Learning to Recognize Burnout
One lesson Lubniewski has learned is that caregiver burnout does not necessarily arrive in one dramatic moment. It can accumulate gradually as rest, hobbies, social interaction and personal time are repeatedly moved to the bottom of the priority list.

That can be especially difficult for people accustomed to independence.

Lubniewski built his first company in his early twenties and spent much of his professional life as an entrepreneur and operator. His natural response to pressure has traditionally been to work harder, look for another solution, and keep moving.

Caregiving has forced him to reconsider that approach.

"I have always been someone who believed there was an answer and that giving up was almost never an option," he said. "I still believe in persistence. What I am learning now is that taking a few hours for yourself is not giving up. Sometimes that is what allows you to keep going."

He encourages caregivers to watch for their own warning signs before exhaustion becomes overwhelming. That can mean accepting an offer of help, asking a relative to take over a task, finding time to leave the house, or simply creating a quiet period without another obligation.

Asking for Help Can Be the Hard Part
Lubniewski also believes families and friends can make assistance easier by being specific.

A general offer such as "let me know if you need anything" can add another decision for someone already managing dozens of responsibilities. Offering to handle a particular errand, meal, school pickup, or household task gives the caregiver something concrete to consider.

For caregivers, accepting that assistance can require a mindset shift.

"If you have spent your life being the person other people come to for answers, asking for help does not necessarily come naturally," Lubniewski said. "You have to learn that you do not need to personally carry every single responsibility to still be taking care of your family."

His experience has also changed how he thinks about leadership. Lubniewski has long identified with servant leadership, including during his years building and managing paving businesses.

Caregiving has given that philosophy a different meaning.

There are no job titles or performance reviews at home. There is simply responsibility toward people who depend on you.

Making Caregivers Part of the Conversation
Lubniewski hopes greater awareness will encourage families, employers, healthcare professionals, and communities to ask caregivers a simple question more often: What support do you need?

He also believes caregivers need permission to answer that question truthfully.

Some days may be manageable. Others may be exhausting. Both can be true without diminishing a caregiver's commitment to the person they love.

"My family is my priority right now," Lubniewski said. "I would make that decision again. But loving someone does not mean you never get tired. I think we need to acknowledge both things. You can be completely committed to caring for somebody and still need somebody to care about how you are doing, too."

For Lubniewski, recognizing the hidden toll of caregiving is not about portraying caregivers as victims. It is about making sure the people providing essential support are supported enough to keep going.

About Timothy Lubniewski
Timothy Lubniewski is an entrepreneur and former paving industry executive from Staten Island, New York. A SUNY Albany graduate with a degree in economics, he started his first construction company at age 23 and went on to build and lead businesses in the commercial paving maintenance industry. He later served as General Manager at Rose Paving. Lubniewski stepped away from his executive career to become the primary caregiver for his wife, KC, who is living with ALS, while raising their two young sons. His experiences have shaped his perspective on servant leadership, family, faith, resilience, and the often-unrecognized responsibilities carried by family caregivers.

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