Throughout these years, as carers we faced numerous challenges, including the demands of our own jobs that required frequent international travel and other responsibilities.

I had to accept that I couldn’t always be there for my parents, physically, but I needed to be available around the clock for their calls and ready to drive the distance between cities more than once a month, often at a moment’s notice.

When my mother became seriously ill a while back, we had to make extensive modifications to their home to aid her recovery. Additionally, we incurred significant expenses for her recuperation in a frail care facility following her hospitalisation.

With my dad that was now permanently on an oxygen cylinder, travelling into town, seeing doctors, doing regular banking, scheduling appointments, or just going about daily business all become difficult at once. When I realised how badly management, so-called friends, and occasionally relatives had abandoned their integrity, I was left speechless and immobilised by the lack of general knowledge and help.

My job as a facilitator and counsellor motivated me to seek for solutions on how to better prepare myself to handle all these obstacles. These reasons inspired me to start my own Caregivers Counsel where I can share resources, equip and empower other caregivers. Currently there are few resources available in South Africa and Private caregiving will become a reality as Government Resources languish more and more.