This is a typical day........ Today I arrived at a facility not long after breakfast, one of the carers approached me and asked if I could look in on a resident that was palliative and with not long left to live.  I approached the ladies room to see a very frail lady curled up in her bed with her eyes closed sleeping, her breathing irregular and with a pale complexion...... I was about to leave the room when I noticed sitting in the opposite corner of the room, some way from the bed, a man hunched over in a chair sobbing. I walked over and extended my hand to him, I pulled over a chair and sat down beside him.  We talked together for over an hour whilst he shared his sadness and tears, he explained that they had been married for 67 years!!  He was loosing his life long partner and had no other family as his wife was unable to bear children.  He was alone and afraid, and would not accept his wife was going to die.  It turned out that the reason why he wasn't sitting by her side holding her hand, he was frightened that if he did his wife might think it was alright to leave him and he couldn't bear to lose her. Another hour passed and we talked about their wonderful life and travel together before reaching the point were he was able to talk about the sad reality of the journey ahead without his lovely wife..... he finally said that it was time to let her go and with that we pulled our chairs closer to the bed and he held her hand and I left him in privacy telling her the things that he felt he needed to.......... The next lady I visited had been very ill and was frightened that if her condition got worse they would send her to high care and that would be the end of her, she needed reassurance and recognition, after only half an hour she was brighter and talking more positively expressing her concerns without fear...... On to another facility, a gentleman that I have seen several times, he has been burdened with feeling of guilt and fear for a secret he has kept close to 40 years, as a result his emotional and physical condition was deteriorating.  (Whilst he was married he had an extra marital affair and no one new! ) This is common that towards the later stages of life that many people feel debilitated by their 'secrets', shame and frustration become internalized and there is a need for an independent, non-judgmental ear to listen to them.  He always vocalizes the sense of relief he feels having someone to share it with and we are gradually getting to a place of acceptance..... Now back to my first facility to check up on how my brave gentlemen is getting on.  I walk in, this time I'm greeted with a warm hug and he is more able to express his feelings with less physical emotion, we talk again about the wonderful talk he had with his wife and that he was grateful that I had come before it was too late for him to express what he felt he needed to, he explained how he had thanked her for always been a wonderful wife and for loving him when sometimes it must have been difficult.... we shared a few laughs together and I left once more, this time with him sitting holding her hand.   Tomorrow I will call in and check on him again! Not quite time to go home, I just remembered I was close by to another facility were there was another gentleman that has been suffering depression and was very low last week when I called in, so I decided to very quickly say hello!   I walk in the room, his face is beaming with a big smile and he says... "you have made my day, I was so miserable!"   I only stopped for 10 minutes but that's all it took to make someone's day better. This is what I do 5 days a week, sometimes more that depends on the need but mostly 5 days a week.  I have a wonderful husband that supports me and understands how passionate I am in doing this work, but like the rest of the world I have financial commitments and 6 hours of funding just doesn't cover it!!! I'm just hoping that someone will listen... and maybe have a solution so that I can continue my work. If you could continue to forward this email to people you know then maybe together we can find a solution that will make a big difference to many !! Thank you for your time in reading what I hope touches your hearts too xxx 

Well it's been a disappointment day today! Looks like our federal government doesn't share the same passion for the elderly as I do! I've spent years trying to make the needs of the elderly become a focal point, and unfortunately I just received notification that I've had the very little funding I did receive which was available to see clients unable to afford support... reduced again.... how does six hours a week sound to service well in excess of 40 residents in care facilities!  Don't want to sound ungrateful for at least having six hours, but the need is growing as families deal with the financial burdens of the growing cost of living and very little spare cash, care workers are stretched to their limits, and we listen to gobbly goop from our government telling us how they are supporting mental health.... Yeah I can see that!  GOT ANY SUGGESTIONS MY FRIENDS, LET ME KNOW???

I thought I'd share something that took place last week that really touched me.  I was visiting a lovely lady in an Aged Care Facility (Low Care) for some emotional support (part of my role as a Counsellor) who had just recently been moved from her small room to a larger one. She informed me that the lady that was originally in the larger room had gone to high care and she was suffering dementia so she didn't really know she was being moved. .That sound feasible I thought!Then she said to me, "how do I know that I haven't always been in this room and that I too are suffering dementia and it's all been in my mind and people are just being kind and going along with it?

My new website, hope you like the changes, and thank you so much for giving your time to visit!