Meet Keith, he is 56 years old and is a busy executive. He and his wife Jean have 3 grown children, with the youngest still at university. Their first grandchild was born 2 months ago. Keith is an only child.

Keith’s mom and father are both in their late 80’s and live in Barrie. Keith’s parents  have been living independently. Keith’s dad, John had triple bypass surgery a few years back and now suffers from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).  He also has osteoporosis.  He has limited energy and is often short of breathe. Keith’s mom, Janice was recently diagnosed with dementia, although by the time it was diagnosed, she was at a moderate stage of difficulty.

This past Monday, Keith received  a call from the Barrie hospital  emergency department stating that his dad had fallen and when the ambulance arrived at the house, John indicated that Janice could not be left alone, so she too was taken to the hospital. Keith dropped everything and drove to Barrie to be with his parents.

Some decisions had to be made quickly.  John had broken his hip and would be in the hospital for at least a week. Janice could not stay on her own so was Keith going to take her back to his house in Toronto or stay in Barrie with them?

Keith needed to return to work; so what was he going to do? Upon recommendation from the hospital social worker, he decided to explore respite care for his mom  in a retirement residence. Sadly nothing was available in Barrie so his other option was to bring in 24 hour care from a home care company.

How was all of this going to be handled and who was going to pay for the needed care?

Does this sound familiar? There are solutions to these issues.  Do you know what they are? Stay tuned for my next blog to find out.