I truly love it all and wanted to share my story with you. I really enjoy their company through good times and bad. My husband and I live 25 minutes outside of Nelson in British Columbia. My four siblings and my husband’s seven siblings do not live in our town. I am now 65 and left work over 10 years ago to care for all my family seniors, as family is very important to me.
I had worked for non-profit societies supporting seniors (in an Adult Day Centre and also in an office that supported adults with disabilities in group homes) for over 25 years.
My five seniors are my father and mother, my mother-in-law and step father-in-law, and my uncle. All are between 84-88 years of age. None of them drive anymore and they all live independently. Living out of town adds a challenge in the winter for driving for seniors needs. After five years, I started a daily diary and found that it was very helpful in co-ordinating appointments and eased stress for both them and me. I started going to town every day then and still go six-seven times a week. My days and nights consist of co-ordinating appointments so that there are no conflicting times.
Planning ahead is very helpful, of course, and I am a list person for everything. Like all of us, seniors require life needs too. Some of these appointments are for haircuts, foot care, doctor visits, regular blood tests, banking, groceries, shopping, eye check-ups, hearing aid check ins, bookkeeping , and laundry. Occasionally I have three in my car going to and from shopping, bill paying, or appointments. There are also daily phone calls back and forth.
I am the Power of Attorney for all and am on everyone’s bank account. I am familiar with all their meds and have updated med lists for their wallets. These have come in handy several times for the paramedics and ER staff. Our local hospital is great but we have lost our ICU so we must travel an hour and half for special tests, emergencies and surgeries.
On special occasions throughout the year I have big family dinners for everyone. This also means driving all folks back and forth, and sending them all home with dinners for the next day. When I bake, I make double batches of everything so I can share with them all.
My husband is always on call for fix its and repairs.
Sadly, last fall we lost our sweet little father-in-law to dementia, and my uncle has just moved into a care facility in our town. I visit him two or three times a week.
Personal care, attention and visits surely add value and quality to my seniors’ lives.
We have just had our first grandson and on occasion it seems that seniors and babies have very similar needs. I fit baby-sitting into my weeks now and love the ups and downs of happenings of every day life in my world. Thank you for recognizing Canada’s caregivers.
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