Welcome to Season 4 of Caregiver Tea Time!
Episode 1:
Let’s Get Real with the tough stuff
This episode begins the final season of Caregiver Tea Time. It's called "Let's Get Real" and is about Val's toughest times as a caregiver. In this episode, Val talks about end -of -life decision making. She shares about the Ottawa Personal Decision Guide, a very helpful process for making important healthcare decisions.
Val shares that her situation is unique because her loved ones were young when they received their diagnosis. Her husband was 39 when he developed cancer in his tonsil and 50 when he developed leukemia from the radiation treatment 10 years earlier. Her son developed MDS because of a genetic disorder he had called Fanconi Anemia.
These events were unexpected and Val's family didn't have the life experiences to understand what they faced. Val felt a constant inner tension and she feels that our health care system is not set up to help young families like hers discuss end -of -life issues. This is what has led her to create this podcast.