b'LIVED EXPERIENCEThe vital role of long-term care:One familys journeyA daughter celebrates care that was personal, compassionateand life-affirmingBy Matthew BradfordW hen Laura Vita got marriedCaring at home in the registered nurse, moved home in 2018 outside her fathers long- early years to help. Despite their training and term care home, it wasntdedication, the strain was relentless, the wedding she once imagined. YetMike Vita was a vital person and aexacerbated by an overburdened care for her and her family, the setting wasloving husband, father and friend. Thesystem that offered little consistency. exactly rightbecause long-term careVita familys caregiving journey beganPersonal support workers were often had become a cornerstone in theirin 2013, when Mike started showinglate or failed to show up entirely, journey of love and support for hersymptoms of dementia. Initially, hisLaura says, and the family struggled to father, Mike, who had been diagnosedcondition was manageable at home.qualify for more reliable support.He stayed active, volunteering in the with early-onset Alzheimers disease acommunity and participating in art few years before. With his early-onset disease and the therapy at a long-term care homesfact that he had family caregiving Their familys story illustrates whyday program in London, Ontario. support, our situation didnt fit neatly long-term care isnt just aboutBut as Mikes condition progressed,into a box, Laura explains. It looked housing or healthits about dignityso did the demands on his family.like we didnt need as much support. and connection through the mostHis wife, Joan, carried much of theAnd because of that, we couldnt challenging moments of life. caregiving responsibility until Laura, aaccess the help we truly needed.54 LONG TERM CARE TODAY Fall/Winter 2025'