Filtered tag: Eldercare Assistance

  The joy that accompanies the holidays can often feel absent from the halls of a residential care facility or in a widowed grandparent’s home. Our aging loved ones can often feel more lonely or isolated as a result of changes in their senses, memory loss, illness or a loss of mobility. Visiting around the… Read more…

When I was 34 years old, my Nana Cumming died after very slow death from Alzheimer’s disease. I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time and was unable to travel back to Ontario. In many ways, I said “goodbye” a long time ago. I remember grieving most when her dementia was progressing and she was… Read more…

What is Caregier Burnout? At first most caregivers accept their new role as caregiver with a sense of idealism, hope and eagerness to do well. As time goes on fatigue may set in, disappointments and frustrations can and do occur. Caregiver burnout or compassion fatigue is a sense of being completely overwhelmed and unrewarded (Carter,… Read more…

  Unpaid caregivers, which are typically family but also include friends and neighbours remain an invisible pillar in B.C. health care system and yet make up over 25 per cent of our population. Canadian statistics on caregiving paint a very clear picture — “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when you… Read more…

“I feel like I’m the parent now and my mother is the child” is a statement I hear by many a worried and stressed out caregiver caring for an ailing parent. When my father had his first of three strokes, a defining moment in how he was cared for is forever etched in memory. We… Read more…

  It’s 5:30 pm on a Monday and I’m interrupted from a Board Meeting by a colleague. She says, “It’s your brother from Toronto calling.” The conversation is choppy. It’s Dad. He’s had a massive stroke. Don’t fly home. He was a candidate for surgery and is recovering in hospital. He should be fine. My… Read more…