Ian McGarry Foundation – Support for Family Carers

There are far too many sole family carers sacrificing their careers and income, sanity, freedom and independence, sleep, health and social life, as they stay trapped at home caring for the person they love. Sometimes willingly, sometimes there is simply no option.
If the carer is looking after a spouse they may be sharing a bed, with the carer afraid to sleep lest the loved-one get up, get injured or try to get out of the house; they are probably changing the bed several times during the night as it’s only possible to protect from the mattress down, not the layers above including duvet and pillows. Often someone with dementia will try to fight off a carer trying to change, or shower them, especially during the night. During the day the changing or toiletting are interspersed with cooking and feeding and trying to entertain. Cleaning the house is out of the question. As is going for a cup of coffee with a friend. Bills become harder to pay, life is intolerable for the carer and their life expectancy is compromised in a measurable way. Sleep deprivation alone would result in shorter life and poorer health.

In Ian’s case, on top of all this Ian had no ability to comprehend or to communicate, because his dementia was the rare Primary Progressive Aphasia with Parkinsonisms.
Ian was a truly exceptional person who touched, and improved, an enormous number of lives, gaining love and respect for his abilities and his generous nature. He didn’t deserve to get PPA, no-one does, and for a while I could honestly say his condition nearly took my life as well as his own.
In his honour Ian’s family would like to raise as much as possible to help family carers in Ireland, every cent will be used directly to enhance the lives of those caring full-time for a family member. The plan is to organise a Gala Dinner, perhaps annually, to support as many family carers as possible by funding alternative care for 24 hours whilst the family carer enjoys a night away. The McGarrys are actively seeking a hotel chain to sponsor the nights away so that the foundation can use the foundation’s resources to support more family carers.

With love and thanks,
Jane, Tamsen and Kirsty