In this episode, Michelle Jobin is joined by Holly Prince and Jessica Wyatt to discuss CERAH, a Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health at Lakehead University. CERAH was established in 1991 to develop and deliver educational programming to healthcare professionals. They discuss the four key research areas: Aging at Home, Dementia & Seniors’ Mental Health, Indigenous Peoples’ Health & Aging and Palliative Care. They both touch on their experiences with caregiving and what it means to them, and further topics centered around why this is so pivotal to Indigenous communities. We hear about a few of the free support services that The Ontario Caregiver Organization provides. For more information regarding CERAH, visit https://cerah.lakeheadu.ca
Episode 2: Caring for Someone With Dementia
In this episode, host Michelle Jobin is joined by Bhavini Patel exploring her journey on becoming a full-time caregiver for her father within the home as opposed to a full-time care facility. She touches upon the challenges and barriers that came with the experience and how that impacted her life. Bhavini gives advice to listeners and what this could look like for a family member considering this decision. The two speak on the emotional lens that forms when caring for a family member, and cultural obstacles she had to face whilst caring for her father. We hear about a few of the free support services that The Ontario Caregiver Organization provides.
Episode 3: Brenda Davie and Suzanne McKenna on the Ontario Caregiver Organization Coaching Program
In this episode, host Michelle Jobin is joined by Brenda Davie and Suzanne McKenna to discuss The Ontario Caregiver Organization Coaching Program. Brenda is a certified caregiver with over 30 years’ experience and Suzanne is a system navigator and caregiver – both individuals are coaches and mentors. The Program aims to reduce caregiver burnout by identifying and prioritizing needs when the caregiver is too overwhelmed or unsure of where to start. They discuss the timelines of caregivers and when they can expect burnout or points of stress and how to tackle these issues. The exploration of caregivers’ obstacles, barriers and their successes are highlighted as well.
Episode 4: Caring for a Terminally Ill Spouse
In this episode, host Michelle Jobin is joined by Chris Rosati to touch upon his journey caring for his beloved wife of 37 years after she got diagnosed with cancer and only having 6 months to live. He discusses his experience as suddenly becoming a caregiver for his wife and paints the story of their lasting moments together. He speaks on being a caregiver and making a conscious choice to take this circumstance and make it a profound, precious moment in his life. The two discuss how he navigated this time in his life, the support he received, and the transition he had to make in his life into becoming a full-time caregiver. We also hear about a few of the free support services that The Ontario Caregiver Organization provides.
Episode 5: Donna Fitzgerald and Creative Healing Through Transformation
In this episode, host Michelle Jobin is joined by Donna Fitzgerald to speak about her experience on becoming a full-time caregiver for her husband, and how that experience birthed her book: Creative Healing Through Transformation – Conversations with My Soul. Donna talks about the challenges that arise when caring for a significant other, the support she received during this period in her life and her overall caregiving journey. The two discuss her book and dive deep into what inspired her to create it and how it helped heal her. To discover more about Donna, please visit https://www.donnafitzgerald.ca.
In this episode, host Michelle Jobin is joined by Dr. Patrick McGrath, a Clinical Psychologist and an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University. Dr. McGrath has extensive experience with all forms of Anxiety, Depression, OCD and PTSD. The two discuss PTSD and how prevalent it is in caregivers and how it affects them. Dr. McGrath educates us on medical and psychological treatments for PTSD, and resources caregivers can access to help with this. He also touches upon the stigma of caregivers speaking about their mental health and how to navigate this.
In this episode, Michelle Jobin is joined by Rani Sinanan. Rani started her caregiving journey in 2016 when her mother was diagnosed with gallbladder cancer. Three months later, her father got sick, and she ended up having to care for both of them. Rani speaks about her experience caring for both her parents and what this looked like for her. The two touches upon what had to shift in her life, the challenges she went through, and the techniques she used to care for two people at once. Rani provides us with caregiving guidance and emotional support for those listening and who may be in the same situation.
Episode 8: Caregiving for your Family
In this episode, Michelle Jobin is joined by Tanya Hansler and Michael Jones. Michael and Tanya’s caregiving journey began when their daughter was born with down syndrome. Their story changes as Michael himself gets sick, and we dive into how that has affected their family unit. The two discuss the topic of dynamic changes within the family and the exploration into how this can impact finances, mental health, and overall wellbeing. Michael speaks upon the stigma of men not asking for help and how that becomes a barrier in the family. We see that through discussion, there are many challenges families can face and successfully overcome when caregiving for our family.
Episode 9: Amy Coupal and Erica Ehm on The Undercover Kindness Project
In this episode, Michelle Jobin is joined by Amy Coupal, the CEO of The Ontario Caregiver Organization, and Erica Ehm to discuss The Undercover Kindness Project, an awareness campaign for caregivers to receive some much-needed support. The goal of this project is for people to think about a family caregiver in their life and advocate as to why they deserve an undercover act of kindness. They discuss the stigma of asking for help and how the project overcomes these challenges. The two speak on why they got involved and how passionate they are about solving these caregiving issues that are not widely discussed. They touch upon resources and what is needed to start an initiative such as the Undercover Kindness Project for listeners who may want to start something similar within their own mental health communities.
Episode 10: Caring for Parents With Siblings
In this episode, Michelle Jobin is joined by Rick Lauber, who is a former co-caregiver who shared caregiving responsibilities with his two sisters to his aging parents. While caregiving, he discovered a constructive coping mechanism – writing. As a result, he published two books: Caregiver’s Guide for Canadians and The Successful Caregiver’s Guide. The pair discuss the two books, his insights and guidance on caregiving, along with his personal experiences. Rick has also provided some tips on how to choose the right long-term care facility for your care recipient, read them here. To read more about Rick’s journey, check out Rick’s Blog Post on The Joys of Caregiving on the OCO website: https://archive.ontariocaregiver.ca/the-joys-of-caregiving/.
