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Margi recounts caring for her mum in rural NSW. Her mum moved to an Aged Care Residential Facility for the last 20 months of her life. Margi and her Dad visited regularly and were very involved in her care. Margi touches on grief, on preparing for death, and shares some useful tips for others.
“So actually grieving for someone who is still actually with us was one of those really difficult things.”
Leanne, from Southwest WA shares two caring experiences. The first one was of her Dad who died 48 hours after a surprise diagnosis, and was able to die at home. The second experience was of caring for her Mum who had a dementia diagnoses and required care for years and eventually died in hospital.
“We took him home and all he wanted to do was sit on the veranda and have a cup of tea. It was just so lovely to see. He passed away in his favourite chair and that was just a lovely thing.”
Susi cared for her Dad in rural SA and found unique ways for the community to support her and her Dad while juggling a full time career and parenting responsibilities. She found many benefits to caring in a rural community and feels very proud of the care she and her children provided to her Dad.
“I was able to drop my father off to an aged care facility during the day because I knew the people, which one does in a rural area. After work I would pick him up. It was unusual but it saved me in many ways because I could work off farm to continue to earn an income.”
Charmaine lives in Central Queensland with her family and cares for a relative who has a life-limiting illness. She shares how life is very busy juggling work, family, and caring responsibilities. This includes travelling for appointments and having end of life discussions.
“Although accessing supports is a huge challenge for us, we find the community is a major asset. We have got some great connections.”
Tina shares her experience caring for her Dad who lived on the Great Ocean Road (Victoria) while she lived in the city. She shares some of the challenges around traveling for care, transitions, end of life care in hospital, as well as the importance of palliative care and having important conversations about end of life.
“It’s important for people to have choices around end of life, but even when there’s no choice, you can still make it a fairly positive experience.”
For more Carer stories, visit the Carer Voice Page.
Alternatively if you would like to hear from rural health professionals who have more advice and tips for caring for someone at the end of life check out the Rural Health Providers page.