y ae Where to turn when caregiver needs care? WE ALL hope that retirement will be like coasting downhill in the old Hupmobile. We'll turn off the motor and unplug the world and just live for cach other and do all that stuff on our list. For some, that’s the way it turns out. They travel the world. bicycle across Canada, they go to view whales and giant turtles and dis- tant grandchildren. They xo hand in hand. Some never get past the front door. Ina flash, ness or accident shuts down the future. Dreams are put on hold. One partner needs care. The other becomes care- giver. In our lives, at our age, the care-giver is most often the wife, because the husband succumbs first to the pressures we started putting on our men when they were born. They nad to be manly as soon as they shed their diapers. They mustn't cry, they mustn't show fear, they must go first into battle, and they must protect the weaker sex. Weaker? We outlive them by statistical years because of the perils they took on our behalf. Should it be the other way, and the wife stricken, the burden is manifold, because besides de- manding that our men conquer the world, we shooed them out of the housekeeping department. Care- giving for them is like moving to © the vintage years ¢ another planet. In any case, it's « long road a- winding. Not just tecause the daily focus has narrowed to medication and bowel movements and how to get to sleep, but that the cherished companionship is cancefted. The ancient jokes, the weil-worn catch phrases, the signalling cycbrow, these don’t work their private magic any more. Every day takes every ounce of love and cheerful devotion and optimism and resolu- tion that the care-giver can muster. How much of this intensive care can the care-giver give before the care-giver has to get care? Some will never accept that they, too, need respite. They can never be persuaded that an hour off, an overnight escape, would give the patient a chance at a change of face. Others feel pressure to the bursting point. This is where the CareGivers Support Society can help. Their aim is co bring together the about- to-burst and give them a chance to help one another. To be able to voice the anxieties. the despair, the discouragements. They want to forestall burnout, They presently work out of a dinky space on Third Street, but hope for more room just as they hope for a bigger presence in the hearts and minds of care-givers. They try, cach week, to bring together adults undertaking a rela- live’s care, (GO create exchange. They know the relief of having someone say, “Yes, | have the same problem.’' They have amongst them some of what [ call “universal care-givers,"" those people who care for the world, not just for kith and kin, They are in- spirational. They also can call in professionals with techniques for lightening the load. They teach you how to be vigilani without being a vigilante. To be able to open up freely, to let out the discouragement, to ad- mit you fear losing your nerve, this is relief. Once said, you know you really can keep on, you know you can take it as long as life lasts. There are other groups you shovld get to know, too. You don’t have to do it alone. It really is ail right to ask for help. Try these: CareGivers Support Socicty, 983-2141; Elderwatch, 984-4022; Margaret Fulton Adult Day Care, 980-6116; Seniors’ Hub, 988-7115. CONO TRANSMISSION BRAKE & MUFSLER TWO CONVENIENT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU FROM! GUARANTEED SERVICE, DOMESTIC/IMPORT CARS * SHOCKS * SUSPENSION * DIFFERENTIALS %* CLUTCHES * TRANSMISSION + EXHAUST 2 f ' COURTESY CARS AVAILABLE 1 OPEN MON. TO SAT., 8:30 AND 5:30 P.M. ‘ & LIGHT TRUCKS 860 W. 15TH ST. (across from Dave Buck, off Marine) | NORTH VANCOUVER 984-9581 t Also see our 2nd iocation at: 2639 Kingsway 436-1633 This x MINOR ENGINE REPAIR * OIL LUBE FILTER 33 - Sunday, June 10, 1990 - North Shore News Squamish gets new museum SQUAMISH AND the West Coast Railway Association signed a fease agreement May 25 for the use of five hectares of Crown property North and West of the town as a site for a railway museum. It will be called the West Coast Railway Museum and will have rail access to B.C. Rail near the railway’s repair shops. This access was made possible by the cooperation and support of B.C. Rail. Road access will be clearly marked off Highway 99 as the site is developed. The 250-member organization’s plans have been actively under way for more than five years. The West Coast Railway Association owns and operates various sizes and types of railway locomotives and rolling stock, hundreds of artifacts, and pieces of railway memorabilia. 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TOS PMC SUNDAY NOON TO § PM We’ re F'ree We’ re Rasy... or most retailers, manufacturer's cooperative advertising programs represent the best way to gain more visibility and to sell more products while keeping advertising costs to a minimum. The North Shore News operates a Co-op Depart- ment that’s both free and easy. Free, because we don’t charge for researching your product lines for available co-op dollars, for taking care of the claiming procedure, or for keeping track of the advertising requirements. Easy, because all you have to do is give us a call. We'll do the rest. THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER SUNDAY + WEQNESDAY - FRIDAY CO-OP 980-0511