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Episode 17: Caregiving From a Distance

Caregivers Out Loud

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Many caregivers are supporting care recipients from a long distance. This form of caregiving brings with it a unique set of challenges as we try to provide support from afar. In this episode, Bill guides a panel of long distance caregivers, Mary Chan, Karla Wilson, and Victoria Lougheed, through a dynamic conversation filled with positive energy and laughter. The foursome came together to talk about their challenges of caring while not being able to physically be there, and to share some insights including some beautiful moments along the path that have made their caregiving journey a memorable experience.

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Quotes

  • “For me a huge challenge and barrier was that I missed my own father’s death. I was far away at that time as well. I was on the plane on my way back from Australia when he passed away. And gosh, I tried so hard. I got to the airport that morning, as soon as I got the call and I was on that plane, but there were 20 hours separating us and I couldn’t make it. And so my sister met me at the airport and gave me the news, um, at Toronto Pearson.” – Karla Wilson 
  • “Seeing her as the primary caregiver and getting that chance to sort of experience her experience, really helped us understand the emotional work that she was doing and it really helped the both of us commit to supporting her. We’re not just supporting my parents, we’re supporting my stepsister because she is the boots on the ground.” – Victoria Lougheed
  • “I became the middle man. It was easy for me because I knew exactly what I needed to do, cuz I had all the information there. So it was nice to be at a distance, so you have that time to figure all of this stuff out. And mom can just focus on seeing dad. And she just knew that she could rely on me. And I could do that for her.” – Mary Chan

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Transcript

[MUSIC IN // INTRO]

VOICE-OVER: You’re listening to “Caregivers Out Loud”, powered by Family Caregivers of British Columbia and hosted by Bill Israel.

[MUSIC DEVELOPS]

Bill: Caring for someone living in the same house can be complicated. What changes when a caregiver doesn’t live with the care recipient? From an outside perspective, it may not be seen as having the same weight as caring for someone in the same house or even the same city, yet caregiving at a distance presents its own unique set of challenges. Situations such as how and when we connect at a distance; and how we arrange everyday tasks from afar is difficult.

I’m currently the family caregiver for my younger sister who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, while I live in Victoria, British Columbia.

We’ve never talked as much as we do now. We have weekly Zoom meetings but it’s a challenge that we live in different countries while her health is declining.

Fortunately, I am not alone. 

[MUSIC FADE]

Today we take a listen, to how caring at a distance has it’s own labyrinth to navigate. I’m joined by a panel of three other people who have cared for family outside of their own home, city, and even province. And as such, this episode will be a little different and longer than our previous episodes. We encourage you to stop when you need to and come back to listen when it suits your schedule, as this is one small way to create care for yourself while learning to care for others.

[MUSIC FADE]

Bill: First, let’s meet Mary Chan, who lives in Victoria and cared for her dad who lived in Vancouver. 

Mary: Sometimes people think . It’s not that far. But it still is, you know, it’s not like the rest of my family who’s in Vancouver can get in a car and drive the 30 minutes to see him. He’s in a long term care facility, where to get off the island. It’s a four hour ordeal at minimum, sometimes.

Bill: Mary’s dad had been in long-term care since 2019. He had mobility and cognitive issues. 

Mary: I ended up being the contact person for him through again, different reasons, but mainly because my parents both don’t speak English. And so we had that additional language barrier. My mom would visit him every week, but she couldn’t communicate her needs, uh, in, on a deeper level. Charades is great. She’s great at that to try and, and let the staff know, but it was up to me to make sure that all the messages were relayed back and forth and to figure out what all the medical stuff meant so that my family would understand.

Bill: Wow. significant challenges in there.

Mary: I dropped out of Chinese school when I was in grade three. So like my Cantonese is very minimal in some respects. So it’s, it’s kind of hard to figure out what a medical term is because I never would’ve said that to my parents, you know, and trying to just Google translate things and

Bill: Google translate,

Mary: ask friends and then be able to tell my mom what is happening.

Bill: Wow. Wow. Yeah.

[MUSIC ENTERS]

Bill: Sadly, Mary’s dad recently passed away.

[PAUSE A BEAT]

Bill: We’re also joined by Karla Wilson, who has lived in Victoria since 2003. She cared for her mom at a distance when her mom lived in Toronto. Karla’s mom has Alzheimer’s Disease. 

[MUSIC ENDS]

Karla: I’ve got a wonderful relationship with my mom. I always have. Since moving to BC, I’ve gone back twice a year to visit, on average. Over the years, of course, those visits have become increasingly to provide care for mom. Things like helping with doctors appointments, uh, setting up meal deliveries for her grocery deliveries, et cetera. Um, terrible things like having to dispose of her car when her license was revoked in Ontario.

Bill: Earlier this year, Karla and her siblings made the hard decision to move their mom out of her home and into Karla’s sister’s home. Karla’s sister was their mom’s primary caregiver for six months out of the year. Then as situations evolved, Karla made the decision to transition from being a long-distance caregiver to a full-time, in-person caregiver and move her mom into her home in BC. 

[PAUSE A BEAT]

Bill: Next, we’re also joined by Victoria Lougheed, who works as the education and learning lead with Family Caregivers of B.C, located in the city of Victoria. 

Victoria: I’m really enjoying the role. And it’s one of those pieces that has helped me both realize I’m a long distance caregiver and be able to be a resource, uh, because I’ve learned a lot along the way.

Bill: Victoria’s parents are in their 80s and live in Alberta. Her step-mom has physical challenges that impact her day-to-day. Her dad is physically able, but his memory isn’t as sharp as it used to be, so they both need support.

Victoria: My stepsister is there kind of as the primary contact for the family, but she needs support too. So as a long distance caregiver, I’m trying to be a resource for them, but also a resource for her.

Bill: In addition, Victoria’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law live in Sooke on Vancouver Island, close to the city of Victoria. 

Victoria: And you’d think that isn’t very far away, but you still have to plan things. You know, if my mother-in-law gets sick, she lives on her own. So then we’re all packing into the car, making sure that she’s got the care packages, she need, that she has the food she needs, that someone can feed her cat. You know, that sort of thing. Um, she’s got some, uh, issues that, you know, are not going to get better as she gets older.

Bill: Victoria is also a support for her sister-in-law, who has an intellectual disability and lives in support housing. She is also the primary caregiver for her daughter, who has an intellectual disability and autism. 

[PAUSE A BEAT // MUSIC IN]

Bill: With all their different circumstances, there comes specific challenges with planning and managing our own health and energy. Now that we’ve been introduced to everyone, I want to dig deeper into the challenges and the rewards of caring at a distance. One of the challenges I face caring for my sister in a different country, is that I’m not as familiar with healthcare in Alaska. I don’t always know what resources she has access to. An emotional challenge is that we haven’t had a close relationship. I find myself feeling guilty that I’m healthy and yet her health is starting to decline. And I’m trying to balance what I can realistically do with staying compassionate in a meaningful and authentic way at such a distance.

Mary was next to share the challenges she faces.

[MUSIC FADES]

Mary: My challenge is the family dynamics because I am the point of contact. So all the information funnels through me and then I have to translate it, share it with my brother and sister and in a way that will have them decide on things, but agree to decide on things

Bill: Mm, wow.

Mary: Know, like , how do you word something? Because I got all the information, I feel like maybe option B would be the best option. Do I present that as the best option? You know, navigating all of that and also when I do have the time to have a phone call with my dad, because those are also few and far between, because he didn’t have a phone in his room, he doesn’t even use the phone.

So if I do, I have to call the nurse’s desk and then to him. So it’s like navigating how to communicate and how to best do that without feeling the guilt of bothering the staff or making sure that the right piece of information is getting across as well, because my dad’s cognitive abilities were failing here and there. And so just trying to also not talk to him like a little child, because I also have a six year old. He didn’t want to take his pills. He had never been a pill taker up until he got into the long term care facility. The nursing staff would always call me and say, can you talk to your dad, please? He hasn’t taken his medication today. And so I try and talk to him. And then when he kept saying, Nope, Nope, Nope. I don’t take medicine. Why do I need medicine? And I slide into angry mom mode. And so it’s just that navigating of, okay. I’m trying to help the staff get him the medication he needs, but also not flailing into that, uh, screaming at my dad, becuase I’m just his daughter scenario.

Bill: It’s a difficult border to cross , and sometimes you need to cross it. Dad, you need to take those bills. Yeah. How do you, how do you get there?

Mary: Yeah, cuz he is still my dad. So it’s navigating all those relationships and how to communicate was my trouble spot.

Bill: Karla.

Karla: Oh, many challenges to speak of for sure. I think, uh, the biggest one for me was emotional being so far away. So, um, that inability to feel effective, um, in helping someone I love. Not being there day to day and having those short bursts of impact, which were probably very jarring for my sister and brother when I came into town, quite frankly, you know, I was a, um, a bit of a hurricane. I have been right. Making changes, seeing things that needed to be done. Perhaps because I had that external vantage point of coming in and saying, oh, wow, mom needs extra support in so many ways. You know, there’s a lot of guilt to long distance caregiving.

There’s also a lot of these practical situations for me. The cost of travel is a real deal. I think it is for most people. We only get so many vacation days, you know, I’ve been working full time for, you know, 20 plus years, you know, you get a certain number of days. And so using those, you want to use those to see your care recipient. And then you also think, oh gosh, I need some time for me as well. And a feeling of guilt around that. Personally, I will share that, um, for me a huge challenge and barrier was that I missed my own father’s death.

Um, I was far away at that time as well. I was on the plane on my way back from Australia when he passed away. And gosh, I tried so hard. I got to the airport that morning, as soon as I got the call and I was on that plane, but there were 20 hours separating us and I couldn’t make it. And so my sister met me at the airport and gave me the news, um, at Toronto Pearson. And I have to say, I think that’s just resonated and been a challenge for me since mom’s diagnosis and feeling like that cannot happen again. And I have to do everything in my power to be there as much as possible, physically, and also at a distance for her and to support her and to support our family.

Bill: Sure. And it’s difficult because that experience still lives in your heart. It’s never gonna go away, but I need to balance myself here. I don’t wanna be caring for this parent on the basis of what I didn’t do for that parent. I have to find this path that I don’t find myself getting exhausted either emotionally, uh, or spiritually tough trail to walk down there. Thank you for that sharing. Karla. Victoria?

Victoria: It’s interesting. Yeah. Karla’s um, mentioned a couple of things that really resonated with me around, what my challenges are. The hurricane landing in the middle of the situation really struck me because I went home for Easter and went back to Calgary for Easter. The first time I’d seen my parents since COVID had started. And the first thing I noticed was my stepmom really needed to be using that Walker as a mobility aid inside the house, not just outside the house, she was cruising furniture, which is dangerous even for toddlers to be doing, but toddlers get up when they fall down. 

And I could see these things so clearly too many area rugs. You know, not enough using the equipment, to keep mobile and I could be verbal about it and I could express my concerns and all of a sudden everything changed. And, I felt quite badly for my stepsister, who had been trying to get that change for quite a few months before my sister and I showed up for Easter. And all of a sudden this whirlwind of activity happened and tables got moved and rugs got cleared and the walker began to be much more present. And she’s like, I’m, glad you’re here but Huh.

Bill: Mm-hmm

Victoria: And I really felt that paying for her because as the day to day person, who’s there more, she would raise her concerns. My parents are strong willed. She’d, you know, not necessarily get the air time that she maybe felt that she deserved. And it’s tough watching that happen for her, where we can kind of come in from a distance and kind of go, blam and change things and then disappear again.

Bill: Yeah. And a lot of times the folks who are that right there on the scene, get resentful about that. Both to you and to the care recipient. You know, I’ve been telling you that suddenly sister comes along, who is she? [laughter]. That sort of dynamic and it’s difficult to keep the balance that everybody on the scene has their own life, their own sense of what’s happening here. And so people will often say, oh well but you’re doing this from a distance. You don’t understand. Well, sometimes we don’t. On the other hand, we become the interlocketer for the whole scenario, sometimes that there are, conflicts are going on that we can actually relieve in a certain way. But boy, is it expensive emotionally to do that.

Victoria: It is. And there was a value that my sister and I both realized in coming in and looking at the situation and then sort of turning and saying, she’s right, you need to take care of this because suddenly it was three against two instead of two against one.

Bill: Wow. Wow. Interesting.

Victoria: And that did help. So as a result of that, my sisters and I now have a little group text, that’s just for the three of us, it gives my step sister a chance to sort of unburden herself of some of the things that are maybe frustrating her. It also gives my sister and I the opportunity to kind of touch base with her, make sure she’s doing okay. But then also to kind of come up with some ideas and strategies around well, who might be the best person to talk to mom or dad?

Bill: Wow. What a lovely segway right to our next piece here is to address some of the things that we are now doing or attempting to do, to manage ourselves as well as  this scenario. And that’s a lovely, uh, illustration about well side chats, you know, we need to go to coach’s corner as it were and have a little talk here. Let mom have her space over there, uh, because we need to get on the same page. I’ll use a brief illustration of my own because it’s been about four years since I was actually in my sister’s home. I can’t always remember. 

And I was saying to her things like, have you had anybody come in to do an assessment about your handrails in the bathroom or whatever? And she said, no? So my tiny little brain said, okay, how about we make a deal here between you and I? I need for you to go to the senior center and find somebody who can do that. You can do it by phone, or you can do it by zoom or however, but before we have this conversation, next week, I need for you to help me in this process by doing that.

Now long story short, it took her three weeks to get to do that because nobody really wants to go out and say, I need to move, I have to leave my home. She wasn’t interested in that, but she did it. So that’s one of the little tiny things that I say to myself. Okay now what’s next. So any other illustrations about how you have begun to tease out ways of managing the process from this distance.

Victoria: There’s definitely a lot more sort of triangulation that happens now.  I think before my sister and I came in at Easter to the picture. We like the rest of our siblings, and there are six of us, had sort of taken it for granted that my stepsister was there and therefore she could deal with the stuff and things, and we would kind of him and haw, tell her how great she was. But seeing her as the primary caregiver and getting that chance to sort of experience her experience, really helped us understand the emotional work that she was doing and it really helped the both of us commit to supporting her. We’re not just supporting my parents, we’re supporting my stepsister because she is the boots on the ground and she needs that perspective. She needs someone to vent to.  She needs ideas. Sometimes she needs another voice in her corner.

It’s even just between mom and dad, because they’re both strong-willed people and they’re both very accustomed to doing things in their way. And each of them doesn’t like to be told what to do or feel that way. And so you have to be careful how you have the conversations. And sometimes when you’ve been having the conversation for a year and a half, it’s hard to be delicate. So someone else has to have it. That’s when you know, we tag each other off and she’ll say, here you go in and do it. It happened at the beginning of COVID. 

Dad does all the driving because my stepmom is, it’s very difficult for her to get into and out of a car because of her lower back issues. So he kept shopping and kept going out and having to get this thing or that thing. And everyone was quite concerned about the amount of exposure that he was risking and doing that. I don’t think he intended any harm by it, but he had just sort of underestimated that factor. And so, my step sister was like, I don’t know how to have the conversation with him. And my sister was like, oh, I don’t know if I can have the conversation with him. And I was like, I’ll have the conversation with him, bring it on. [Laughter]

Bill: Okay. 

Victoria: I did.  And he was really receptive to it. And a lot of changes happened there. Yeah. As well. But it was interesting because that was my first real experience of the difference in the dynamics each of us has in those relationships with our parents. 

Bill: Absolutely. So it really needs the team in that sense.

Victoria: It did, it really did.

Bill: We have to investigate the scenario. Karla?

Karla: Yeah. So I would say, firstly, one of the ways I’ve approached the challenge is to identify to self-identify as a long distance caregiver. So I think that’s a big piece to this. I think many of  us who are experiencing this and going through it, don’t see ourselves as full-fledged caregivers. We don’t see ourselves as part of a community or as even having the right to give ourselves any kind of title. And I think that’s one big piece for me, especially, as I work for family caregivers of BC, recognizing that my gosh, this is an important role and there’s many people who are in it and experiencing the same thing. And so to that end, I would say that conversations with Victoria have been really helpful for me.

Victoria: For me too.

Karla: So finding a supportive community, finding even just one friend who’s going through the same thing. Is absolutely useful. And, you know, it’s interesting through these conversations with many of my folks in my friend’s circles. Absolutely there’s many people going through this. You know, a lot of people move to Victoria cuz it’s a beautiful place to live and they’ve left family members behind who, who are aging, for example. From the practical perspective, I’d  say, obviously using technology to contact my mom phoning her often checking in with my sister whose been more of the primary caregiver and offering her some support. 

One of the best things I’ve done as a long distance caregiver is to book time away as an extended family. When I’ve been in Ontario, along with my sister and done some trip planning so that we can take mom away with all her grandkids, with her three kids, and we can make those memories together. I will say, I don’t think she remembers the vacations that we’ve planned. Um, but I’ve made photobooks and she flips through constantly.

Bill: Wonderful.

Karla: And it brings a lot of joy. So what my siblings and I always say to each other is she might not have, the memories of everything that we do and the places we’ve been, et cetera. But I know in my heart she knows the feeling of love and that is for me really important, um, to always share that love and make my mom feel like she is part of this family that is surrounding and supporting her.

Bill: Wow. That’s that’s that’s beautiful. Cuz we’re become more and more aware of cognitively challenged people. They still taste, they can hear the music. Uh, they love the pictures. They still have a life, you know, they’re still in there. How do we make contact with that? So what a great example, really.

Bill:  Mary.

Mary: Well, for me, it was again what Karla was saying, identifying yourself. And I specifically took on that role because at the time when he was transferred from the hospital to the long-term care facility, they automatically put my mom’s name in as the point of contact person. And so she was getting phone calls and not knowing how to speak English and understanding what they’re saying. She immediately would then call my brother who lives in Vancouver as well. But my brother had been working overnights at the time. So he never answered his phone. And so my mom would be at a loss on what is happening, what am I supposed to do? So she calls me and eventually after this went on for a while, I just said, I’ll just do it. I’ll handle all the communication. So, you don’t have to have this anxiety and stress over these random people are calling me with  requests and my brother’s still sleeping during the day. And he’s got two young kids. I’ll just do it. 

And when I took that role and I had the official title, [laughter] you know, then it came down to what does that mean? So, because I was at a distance, I had the luxury of time to actually sit down with my partner, my husband, and say to him, like, what does that mean for us as well? Will that take away from my time with you, my stress levels. What does that role entail? And so I told myself, okay, I am the person that’s gonna gather all the information.

I am, the person who’s gonna distribute this information and figure out what would be best for dad. But not making those decisions, just still sharing the information so we can all make a decision together, but being that funnel. I decided that’s what I’m gonna do. I let my family know. Is that okay? And they’re like, yep. We can’t handle information. We don’t know what’s going on. Oh my gosh. [laughter] So, you know, we all have young kids too. My brother, sister, and I, and so I was like, it’s fine. I can do it. I love being organized. I’m a note taker, that was my role. 

And that’s how I worked because then from that, I was able to figure out who do I need to talk to at the long term care facility? Who’s the point of contact there? Who is the dietician? Who is his doctor? How do I reach to these people? And I had it all laid out and I knew who to call. So whenever my mom would visit, through COVID since the long term care facility was closed for a while, she was a designated visitor. And so I had to make the appointments for her because she didn’t know how to work zoom or know how to work the online scheduler to book a time to go see. And so I became the middle man. It was easy for me because I knew exactly what I needed to do, cuz I had all the information there. So it was nice to be at a distance. So you have that time to figure all of this stuff out.

Bill: Not caught right up in the tangle.

Mary: And mom can just focus on seeing dad. Yeah. And she just knew that she could rely on me. And I could do that for her.

Bill: Yeah. So another segway thanks to Mary for the lead in, let’s talk for a little bit about some of the rewards that happen in this process. In my own case, it was, I’d already arranged with my sister that we would meet at least once a week over zoom, we would have at least an hour a week. And, uh, so we could then do some of the mechanics about go to the senior center and let’s get a case assessment here. In that process, she began speaking to me about some of the things that she remembered from our family life together, which wasn’t all that swell to be Frank. But she began telling me stories about, I know she had never told anyone and was looking for someone to talk to about, and as we come toward the end of our life, we all do that, you know?

Oh, wow. I hope they remember, you know, what I need to tell. So, and so is. So we’ve had moments that are actually are tearful. Uh, as she starts speaking, I can hear she goes into the center of her heart and says, you know, I’ve never told anybody this, but I want to tell you. And it’s just so spiritually meaningful. You know that here we got all these complications about her care at this time of her life, but she’s still this lovely human being who wants to have the life she can have, uh, at this time. Anybody else wanna share any surprises or successes or beautiful moments in this caregiving process?

Karla: I’d love to share. Um, when I went back to Toronto in January, my mom was going through a health crisis. I got in really late at night, she didn’t know I was even in the home, you know, surprised her in the morning and she surprised me. Because she was so unwell, but in the first few days that I was there you know, I had a grocery delivery delivered to her house and I was making healthy meals and getting her back on meds and ensuring she was hydrated.

Not to say, sorry that my siblings hadn’t been there to also support, but I really, this, this was my role. I was going back , to make sure mom was on the mend. One night as I was putting her into bed and tucking her in, she, uh, with absolute clarity, looked at me and said, I’m so happy you’re here. You may not realize or I might not show you, or I might not tell you how much I appreciate this, Karla, but I really am so thankful. And it was just a moment of clarity in her own mind. I

t was the most beautiful statement and,  just that moment alone, that was 10 seconds. It was worth the flight, the travel, the drama, the, you know, working remotely from Ontario, all of these, these things, the sleepless nights. And I just thought, oh my gosh, this is it. This is meaning and this is love. And this is me sharing love and her sharing love in return and appreciation.

Bill: Wow. How beautiful is that? Really?

Victoria: Wow. That is beautiful, for my dad and me. It’s been genealogy, my dad has taken an interest in finding his family roots. He was born and raised in Great Britain and was a post-war baby born in 1940. So he grew up, during Britain’s recovery from the war. So he has a lot of memories of hardship and challenge and in his young life, made a point of escaping all of that sort of thing. Working around the world. He landed in Canada in 1973 and was followed by my mom and sister and me. Shortly after that, it was just my dad and my sister and me when they were divorced. And we traveled a lot as a family and I felt very rootless for a very long time because we’d go where the work was.

And we never really had a big social circle or a connection. There was never any other family in the country, it was just us three. And we got Christmas presents from the cat and the dog to kind of pad things out a little bit, [laughter] but you know, that lifelong rootlessness  And so his interest in discovering the familyline and the roots. Really tweaked something in me. And so, it’s been a thing that he and I can talk about. And I love listening to him tell the story of this line that he’s discovered, or this name that he’s found and where it goes back to. And goodness, there are actually people here in Utah that have the name and they’re related to us and it’s just such a nice way to connect with him over things more than just the, the day to day life. So it gives us a focus for conversations and something to bond over.

Bill: Yeah, it makes me think of a saying, I heard just that not too long ago, this a woman filmmaker said, uh, you know, the shortest distance between two people is a story. And that illustrates that so much. You know, we think we know somebody until they start to tell us their story. Mary?

Mary: For me again, going back to the language barrier issue. [laughter] And having a young child too. You’re so caught up in your day to day life. And, you know, you are at that distance. So you’re removed enough that I didn’t talk to my mom for, it would go for weeks or maybe months before my dad ended up in the hospital.  And so, you know, you just have your day to day life, but because of this whole situation with my dad, I ended up calling her every single Saturday after her visit. 

You know, sometimes she would just give me a quick rundown. Oh yeah. Nothing happened I just did my, you know, during COVID it was an allotted half an hour to an hour visit. So she just did her visit. He was half asleep the whole time nothing happened. I’m like, great. But then we talked, you know, we shared our days. It might not be exciting, but I think too, that human connection that we’re just all grasping for right now and it was a great way to go beyond the voice notes and text messages and little, you know, pictures I would send to her of my daughter, but explain those pictures cuz I couldn’t, I couldn’t type it to her and text it to her right in English. So I normally would just send her photos and she would look at the photos and it’d be nice, but I was able to explain and share and connect all through this process with my mom.

[FADE MUSIC IN]

Bill: Thank you Mary, Karla, and Victoria for sharing your stories. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to tell some of my story too. Through these stories from this panel, you heard a very personal point of view from the long distance caregivers, yet we have to realize that caregiving is not an isolated challenge. It takes a community which is instrumental to provide care from a distance. These long distance caregiving stories honour that role and does not diminish the work that happens on the ground.

There are, of course, challenges related to caregiving and end of life – and as you heard sharing your thoughts as a long distance caregiver in a group setting is helpful. It normalizes the emotions that come up and breaks the isolation that long distance caregivers experience. Support groups offer a way to share in the comfort of knowing that others are going through the same challenges as you.

Share your experiences and questions by going on our website under the heading “Get Help” at familycaregiversbc.ca to find a caregiver support group for you. You can also call our BC Caregiver support line at 1-877-520-3267 to speak with our trained and compassionate support team. 

[PAUSE A BEAT]

In this episode, you heard some of the emotional challenges of caring at a distance such as guilt of being far away, and the practical challenges as well, such as the cost and time it takes to travel. 

But we also heard the beauty of these moments that call upon us to not be miracle workers, not to be superwoman or superman, but to be human. These moments of humanity can make a difference for our care recipients, even if those moments happen at a distance.

[MUSIC DEVELOPS // OUTRO]

VOICE-OVER: Thank you for listening to “Caregivers Out Loud”, powered by Family Caregivers of British Columbia and hosted by Bill Israel. Produced and sound edited by Organized Sound Productions. We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia and the BC Ministry of Health – Patients as Partners Initiative.

If you like what you’re hearing, discover more episodes, and find more caregiving resources at familycaregiversbc.ca. And if you find these episodes helpful, please share them with your family and friends who may find it enlightening to hear these stories.

Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to our show on your favourite podcast listening app, so you can take us with you wherever you go. Thank you for listening and taking the time to learn and care for yourself with other caregivers, out loud.