Marc makes little money as a caregiver, but he is not worried. This is a choice he has made.
Transcript
Yes. If I had wanted material possessions, luxury and comfort, I would have chosen another path for sure. I’ve chosen this path because for me human value is more important than material values. It has always been like this and will always be. Again, what will be the financial future? I was able to put a little bit of money aside every year. We will see with the Canada Pension Plan… Whoops! We will see, it’s… It is a choice that you make. At the financial level, of course I don’t have a revenue, it is lower than average for sure, because the money for home care is quite low, it’s like a student’s pay, but it is the choice I made. And also… That’s it. Therefore at the financial level, well let’s say that… it’s more important as you get older of course because you are thinking of afterwards. Because you will lose some salary for sure. This is what I experience during each hospitalization, because my salary is from home. So if he is hospitalized, I don’t have a salary. Of course, this is what could eventually happen. Will he be in the hospital one week? Six months? Several years? I don’t know what’s coming, but it is part of… I don’t know. I don’t know what to answer because it’s not the case at the moment. I have stable revenue at the moment, it is small revenue but with the three of us contributing, we are able to pay the bills. We are lucky to have an adapted minivan because when his parents died they left money that allowed buying a minivan. We are lucky that this money allows him to travel once in a while. Of course for other trips, it’s fund raising, grants, and we have to knock on doors. And also some trips are paid by the conferences. Because it is a lot of work to organize fund raising activities through foundations, associations or donors. What will happen with his health, we’ll see. We will adjust as we go along. I can’t tell you. There is no need to worry. We need not to worry unnecessarily. It’s exhausting to worry about the future. We need not to worry unnecessarily.
More from: Marc
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- Travelling, holidays and respite – MarcMarc and the friend he cares for love to travel. Travelling helps them get through more difficult moments.
- Navigating the system – MarcIt can be “hit or miss”; sometimes Marc knocks on the right door, and other times the wrong door.
- Resources – MarcYou don’t always know where to ask for help. It would be easier if there were one single place to turn for good information, says Marc.
- Effects of care recipients’ behaviour – MarcMarc is very touched and inspired by the friend for whom he is caring.
- Trying to find the right balance – MarcMarc gives a lot of time to care for his friend, but also needs time for himself. He has learned to reconnect with himself during his free moments.
- Caring for yourself – MarcIn his experience, Marc was confronted with an existential dimension to caregiving: “Caring for someone is also suffering; it is suffering through love.”
- Financial impact – MarcMarc makes little money as a caregiver, but he is not worried. This is a choice he has made.
- Impact on health – MarcMarc lived through two periods of depression, but feels that now he has found a better equilibrium.
- The future and caregiving – MarcMarc doesn’t know what the future will bring but believes "where there is a will, there is a way."
- Providing support – MarcMarc’s friend is only able to speak with his eyes. Marc describes how this made his hospital stay more complicated.