Carer Story: A Lifetime of Caring, and a Well-Earned Holiday
A Lifetime of Caring, and a Well-Earned Holiday
This National Carers Week, we spoke with the mum of one of our SDA Living Australia residents
about caring for her son, finding him a home, and what came next.
For most of her adult life, she and her husband cared for their son. They ran a family business,
raised their children, and when things became difficult at home, found a way to give him a
space of his own, close enough that they could be there within minutes.
When they retired, one question stayed with them.
"What happens to him when we're no longer here?"
Together with their daughter and their son's support coordinator, they began searching for a
permanent home. Location mattered as much as the home itself. They wanted him to stay close
to the people and places he already knew, so that moving wouldn't mean starting over.
"If we'd moved him somewhere new, the reactions and acceptance would have been extremely
challenging for all."
To help him settle in, her son asked to host a family Christmas in his new home. The family
squeezed around one table, with a Christmas tree in the corner.
"We did everything we could to make him feel things were still the same for him with family."
She also made a point of getting to know each of his support workers, introducing herself and
building a friendly relationship from the start.
"I always came and made friends with them, so he could see we're all working together."
Today, he is settled and confident. He has his support team, his local community, and a growing
sense of independence. Changes in staffing can be challenging but his team work well to
resolve.
"He very much wants to be in charge of his own life."
Then came something the couple hadn't done in four decades: a proper holiday, three weeks
away together. "Forty years. We'd never had three weeks to ourselves."
And her son? He coped beautifully.
"He actually managed without phoning us."
- Mum of an SDA Living Australia resident and lifelong carer
