My mother-in-law had a second hip surgery late last summer in an attempt to seek pain relief from a first surgery a couple of years ago. It was a tough decision that was ultimately made by her after careful consultation with medical staff and family.
In the weeks after the surgery it quickly became apparent she would no longer be able to live in assisted care at KinVillage. She was unable to transfer herself from bed to her wheelchair or to the bathroom. She spent several weeks at Delta Hospital and was recently taken in at the Mountainview residential care facility here in Delta.
My wife has been pretty much been by her side for a few years now, making sure that a few visits a week kept “Nana” emotionally engaged. In recent months, Peggy has been by her mom’s bedside every day before or after work. The past couple of months have been particularly challenging as Nana begins to succumb to dementia.
It has been an emotional struggle for all of us but particularly for Nana who weeps uncontrollably in lucid moments wondering why she is where she is and why her sons aren’t visiting her every day.
Her youngest son lives in Calgary and he has, bless his heart, come out a couple of times to visit but he can’t come every day and it is unrealistic to quit his job and sell his family home to move here at this stage.
This is not a new account of the stages in life we all experience and many of you have, are or will participate in this journey.
I know from talking to the caregivers in these facilities over the past couple of years that many residents do not have regular visits from family at Christmas, a birthday or any day for that matter. This is usually because family members have had to move away for school, work, housing opportunities or a variety of other reasons.
When I think of my own family, I think of wanting to stay in my community throughout various stages of life.
How is this going to happen? Can it happen for those that want to keep generations of family close by? Is this a realistic concept today?
Millennials are suffering from anxiety at an unprecedented rate. Careers, incomes and housing are at the top of their angst list. Their collective concerns will undoubtedly have a political impact, perhaps sooner than we think.
In the recent mid-term elections in the United States, 40 per cent of millennialvoters turned out to vote compared to 20 per cent in 2014. The broad majority voted Democrat, citing desired social change as the main driver.
Are politics, health care and community planning interconnected? You bet they are. Keeping family together is a lofty but achievable goal. Political will is needed to recognize opportunities in community planning and capitalize on rezoning strategies that will help to keep our city vibrant and our extended families close by.
That can only be good for everybody.
Mike Schneider is founder of Project Pickle and likes to write about growing, cooking and eating food. He is a Jamie Oliver Food Revolution ambassador.
