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My mom moved in with us in January 2020. She’s 84 & my other other full time job this past year has been elder care giver. My partner is amazing & I’d never have held it all together without his help. Here she is in the YYC airport a year ago bracing for the move to YVR. 
I rarely tweet details about my life or work. Im on here for the systems change discourse (& for #BlackTwitter obvi) but I have been writing & documenting our year. Who knows what it’ll become.
Let me say this about elder care: it is incredibly challenging & extremely rewarding
Let me say this about elder care: it is incredibly challenging & extremely rewarding
As I see the death toll climb in BC & that so many of those dying are our elders, I’ve had moments of gutting despair & inconsolable tears. How can we have let our elders die alone in facilities surrounded by strangers. How can we as a society sleep at night knowing this.
Before mom moved in with us I visited her & saw the conditions she was living in. She couldnt stay where she was & she’d resisted previous attempts to move her here. I told her she either moves in with me or I’d report that a vulnerable senior is living in a poor situation.
She stopped resisting. If she hadnt, she’d have likely ended up in a nursing home in Calgary. God only knows if she’d still be alive. We’ve spent the past year keeping her active while taking the strictest covid precautions. Summer farmer’s market & beach walks were big faves.
When she arrived last Jan she couldnt walk one block. She also had a strict no dogs policy. Now she’s up to walking 40 mins & Homie finally won her over. She has her appetite back & is generally doing well.
Not everyone can do what we did but many can. We have sacrificed for sure, but we also have jokes. For those who cant, long term care must be drastically improved—both for & non-profit. Just because ppl dont work doesnt make them less deserving of protection & living well.
