In the rush I had forgotten to mention to these nice ladies that not only are both my parents veterans, they are both disabled veterans because of service-related hearing loss. The Veterans Administration pays for their housekeeper, their lawn maintenance and snow clearing, their hearing aids, and sends them a handsome tax-free pension every month.

Allison was very pleased to learn they were both disabled veterans. That would make everything much easier. Who was their VA rep? I told her. She knew the rep, and she knew Jackie at the Palliative Care clinic and the Palliative Care physician. She also knew my mother’s doctor. The network of care was starting to weave itself around my mother, which gave me some ease. The amazing thing was, this had taken four hours, and was performed by telephone from four provinces away.

Next: Seamless Care

Keywords: caregivers, diary