White Coat, Black Art –the back story!

I so love this show, and not just because I'm going to be on it! Dr. Brian Goldman is a medical journalist, author and ER physician based in Toronto.

The two men looking at the Tay River

Dr. Goldman interviewed me and my husband, on July 11th, for his show on unpaid caregivers, which will air November 19th. He is a fabulous interviewer. He makes you feel right at home, actually he was *in* our home! While the tape was running my cat started playing with his audio cable. We both kept on trucking. It was a hoot.

He spoke to me about my Unpaid Caregiving, both for my late parents and the volunteer hospice work I do. I consider myself a patient advocate, and work hard to improve the conditions of my clients; helping them find services, pain relief, a good death, and creating a Life Review. My most recent video of my friend, Kay Devlin: Celebration of a Life Worth Living.


After interviewing the two of us, we went into town. 

Meals on Wheels

Next, Dr. Brian went in with my husband, Joe, as the team was putting together the Meals on Wheels lunch delivery in Lanark Lodge. Hilarity ensued. There is a large team of people in our community that put together the supports to enable seniors to stay in their homes for as long as they can. We took him on a meal delivery. We consider ourselves a small part of this team.

Joe prepares to dispatch
Meals on Wheels

Next we headed off and treated Dr. Brian to lunch at Fiddleheads, where I told a guy to turn off the rude video he was playing loudly on his Crackberry! 


Then, we took Dr. Brian into the long-term care residence, where I volunteer on a weekly basis. 



Now, I made nothing in royalties for my book sales from January to June of this year. NADA! It is very hard to market a book in Canada if you co-publish, or self-publish. A 'best seller' in Canada means selling 5000 copies! Not that I am complaining, as it won't make very much difference to complain! I have given away more books than I have sold. I want people to read it and hopefully learn something from it.

Mildred (1940 - 2011) and her puzzle cat

The reward came in the writing of my story, and the research I did for the book, while I was working on my M.A. in Counselling Psychology. You better understand your life if you use a journal, and put pen to paper. This is an essential tool for caregivers to fight Caregiver Stress.

The joy has come from the people I meet when flogging my book. Since then I have been speaking to groups. I spoke at the NSM Palliative Care Conference: Stories in Palliative Care, and volunteered with Hospice Muskoka, and now Community Home Support Lanark County, near our new home.

My inspiration comes in understanding what  A Good Death can look like, and making it possible. Many cannot deal with death and dying. You can read about my efforts at finding a comforter for a Sens fan: #ComforterQuest. It was a small thing to do, but meant a great deal to a dying man.

End-of-life and palliative care is a specialty many of professionals cannot face.  For those dedicated to improving health, it is often difficult to face death. The barriers to a good death can be immense. The impact on caregivers is huge, and can have lifelong effects. There are many out there who can help. Check out the hospice associations your area. Volunteers can make a difference.

White Coat Black Art Program

—Saturday, November 19th at 11:30 a.m. and again on Mondays at 11:30 a.m. on CBC Radio One.

Also, Chris Must came to the house to interview us, and to take a photo for his article.

Author's research aimed at caregivers - EMC Perth

Chris Must, Perth EMC

Medical broadcaster Dr. Brian Goldman interviews Perth resident and author Jennifer Jilks July 7 for a CBC radio show (WCBA: "White Coat, Black Art") on the plight of unpaid caregivers, to be aired in the fall.