ONE thing I love about being a GP is that it has allowed me to understand and be there with people through the ups and downs of their lives. And as a support, I try to help them gain some reflection, as things unfold in the moment, especially when things are down. 

I remember one lady in her late 70s, Patty, who became extremely jittery when her husband entered a nursing home. Patty’s sudden sense of isolation was made worse by her stepchildren, who somehow accused her of abandoning him. All of that emotional trauma was harrowing and disorienting. And as her mental health deteriorated, her physical health deteriorated as well, and her knee pains, chest pains and daily nausea all got worse. At the time, I must admit, I was really worried that Patty would fall apart at home, and end up soon in a nursing home herself. However, as a team of health professionals, carers, and even her gardener, we rallied around her, making sure she felt supported and listened to on a daily basis. And when she fell at home around that time, she knew she still had us to turn to. Fortunately, as well as that, she had a butcher she loved chatting to whilst picking up her favourite sausages (herb and garlic) and a neighbour across the street who was kind enough to lend a hand and an ear. Amazingly, Patty made it through, and today, when her carer brings her into the clinic after their cuppa, and I see her have a chuckle, it fills me with hope. 

Or another patient in his mid-80s, Doug, who had a bad run. First, Doug’s unit flooded due to a plumbing problem in the bathroom. Then he lost his licence and had to get a scooter. All virtually at once.

The insurers were remarkably quick in helping him get new carpets, but losing his licence was a big blow, as it often can be. At that time, Doug started to get increasingly forgetful and irritable. I always remembered him as a jolly soul. Indeed, we’d shared a laugh and hearty fish n’ chips in the past. He loved those chips! The change in who Doug was then, to who he became, was dramatic. Again, as a team, we helped him work through his problems piece by piece, and like a jigsaw puzzle, together his life started to come back together. These days, working with our OT, he looks increasingly happy with his new set of wheels – his shiny red scooter! 

When I was in medical school, I read about “pseudodementia”, the name given to the phenomenon when sadness becomes so profound that it causes you to lose your memory, mimicking dementia. As a GP, being involved with Patty and Doug gave me examples of what it really meant in the real world. And it strengthened my purpose to work as a team across social and health care, to help people live at home. When I reflect, I have no doubt that if not for the system of home care packages in Australia, Patty and Doug’s lives would have likely continued to spiral downwards, and the heavy fog of pseudodementia, cut their functioning independently at home short. And I might have missed those many laughs we have shared since. 

I feel grateful that I’ve been able to find people who share that purpose of helping older people fulfil that simple but precious wish, to live in and enjoy their own home, for as long as they can. From nurses to carers to cleaners, to doctors, to specialist geriatricians – in creating Mark & Sylvie’s Home Care, we created a diverse team of people to support the Pattys and Dougs of Australia. And walk hand in hand with them, through dark days, till together, we again see the light (and have sausages, chips and a cuppa!). 

Newsflash*** It was welcome news recently that the government will release another 40,000 home care packages by the end of this year. If you’ve just got a home care package, looking to change providers, or know someone who is, please call us – Mark & Sylvie’s Home Care on 1300 888 256. Our website mshomecare.com.au. We’re here to help.