Losses, Moves, Too Much

35-year-old Kate Southern lost her mother, Dorothy, to brain cancer last week, and it’s unclear where she’ll live and who’ll take care of her. Today’s Illawarra Mercury describes Southern’s situation: Her two sisters, Jane Southern and Jenny Wilson, have been caring for her along with an in-home respite worker. But the worker will not be provided after December 22nd and there’s no residential placeent for Southern in Illawarra, where she currently attends a day care group. A placement in Queanbeyan, far from her family and her familiarity, has been offered and the Illawarra Mercury notes, Southern has been “pulling her hair out in clumps, terrified at the prospect of being separated from her family.”

An article in today’s New York Times about adult children (and men in particular) who’ve become the primary caregivers for their elderly parents reminds me even more of how we need to start preparing for Charlie’s, and our, tomorrow, today. Kate Southern’s story, and the recent death of 28-year-old Tara O’Leary, underscore this.