Returning to work after caring for family - what worked for you?

I stepped out for 13 months to care for a family member and now want to return. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. I am unsure how to describe the break. Are there returnship programmes?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 13 months ago, and it got easier once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It made the follow-up calls so much easier.