How do I handle a long gap on my résumé?

I took time out to care for a family member after working as a medical assistant. I worked as a medical assistant before this. I am nervous about being filtered out. Did anyone get past it?

I listed the volunteering and course under the same dates and kept the explanation to a sentence in the cover letter.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 8 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.