Sky Blossom Parent Guide

Reflecting on paratroopers who came to the rescue of their fellow soldiers, Colonel Jack Jacobs of the 82^nd Airborne, described their parachutes as looking like flowers; like sky blossoms.

Director Richard Lui sees a new generation of sky blossoms. This cohort isn’t in the military, rather it’s children, teens, and young Millennials who are frontline caregivers for disabled family members, a sizeable number of whom are military veterans.

It’s estimated that 5.4 million American children serve as caregivers, and this documentary introduces us to six of them, all across the country, coping with a variety of circumstances. From Tennessee to Pennsylvania, Michigan to California, and all the way to Hawaii, these young people summon up deep reserves of love, compassion, and just plain grit as they care for their parents and grandparents. Some of these youngsters are helping a parent in caregiving duties, but some have no adult support at all.

It’s the young people in the latter group – the ones carrying the burden alone – who will break viewers’ hearts. There’s Jenna Ploof, a 21 year old with a full course load at college, a full time job, and another shift at home, cooking, paying bills, and looking after her father. Any of these would be a heavy load for a young adult but her father is a diabetic with a history of stroke. The US Navy vet lost a leg and his job as a truck driver, throwing the family into homelessness for months. But for the indomitable Jenna, nothing ever dents her desire to help her ailing parent: “My dad took care of me for the first 18 years,” she says. “The least I could do is step down on the step and let him put my hand on my shoulder.”

This sense of love and loyalty pervades the movie. From the Hawaiian siblings who step back on their college studies to care for a grandfather to an 11 year old girl in California who tries to protect her father from curious stares and hurtful comments, these are young people who feel a deep sense of responsibility for those they love. They even take remarkable steps, with Deryn Allen of Tennessee, deciding as a little girl to be her dad’s nurse, a conviction that would see her changing his IVs, pouring medication into open wounds, and now, as a teenager, helping him with prosthetic legs. Spouses, too, demonstrate the deep empathy that comes with profound love. Ricio - whose husband suffered both throat cancer and an autoimmune muscle wasting disease and can no longer eat food - eats the food he craves, so he can vicariously enjoy his favorites. She even offers to cut off her hair to be with him as his hair falls out.

This is a movie that can’t be watched without emotion. There’s amazement at the unselfishness and courage of these families. There’s grief for the losses and pain they have suffered. There’s concern for the physical and emotional burdens borne by these young people. There’s anger at a frayed social safety net that leaves men who put their bodies on the line for their country in poverty or struggling to find and claim their rightful stipends. And there’s gratitude to director Richard Lui for letting us meet these remarkable people.