Support Paul Gibson with Dementia care

Hello Friends, Family and Supporters,

Thank you for taking the time to read about our beloved Father, Grampa and Uncle Paul. We, our father’s daughters; my sister, Bonny, and myself, Samera, are reaching out to connect with you for support and to raise money for the medical expenses we’ve incurred in order to keep dad at home until January 2024 and to further support Dad with as much love, compassion and dignity, while living with Vascular dementia, while in transition, to a care-home.

In 2016, after returning home from a family reunion in England, Dad was diagnosed with stage three Bladder Cancer and quickly underwent a procedure to remove his bladder and prostrate called a radical cystectomy. All cancer was removed, but with the anesthesia used, there are serious risks for elders, which can have longterm negative effects. Soon after his surgery, Dad was diagnosed with Vascular dementia.

Vascular dementia has affected Dad’s performance and ability; such as his ability to communicate and reason, it has caused short term memory loss, his ability to empty his ostomy bag, dress, feed, and drink without help and recently walk without support, which is all caused by brain damage from impaired blood flow to his brain. Dementia causes damage to blood vessels and circulation, depriving his brain of oxygen and vital nutrients. Dad has also survived a skull fracture and other concussions which have likely played a roll as well.

We are reaching out after seven busy years to share with you our story and to connect with family and friends to ask for your support for the current medical expenses we are faced with (namely the cost of care-aids). As his primary caretakers, we were unable to keep dad at home and in early January, Dad was rushed to emergency with an infection and the flu, which coupled with Dementia, caused dad complete incoherence. Dad has been in hospital for over three months, and will be, until a bed opens up, in a care-home. Thank you for your heartfelt messages, prayers and visitations thus far, it has made this journey possible and if you so feel the wish to donate to contribute in supporting Dad, as we navigate through this difficult transition, we are eternally grateful.

For myself, travelling from Squamish to White Rock with my young son, Ari, who is now four, has been a challenge in itself. Leaving every two weeks to stay with Dad, we have been taking shifts with my sister, who is still travelling from Vancouver and who has also cared for him faithfully from the beginning — together in the last seven years, we have aimed to provide full care for Dad, to allow him to have the best quality of life as possible with family and his grandson, in the familiar surroundings of home.

My son and I moved to White Rock eventually in April of 2023 to White Rock and moved Dad out of an unsafe suite into a house — an enormous undertaking. Dad adjusted very well into a house beside the sea, thanks to a dear friend who offered his abode very close to dad’s original home. The move helped dad find peace and harmony and has helped us organize and prepare the future transition for him, with as much grace as possible.

Caring for Dad has been a challenging life experience for all of us and it has also been an honour to care for our beloved Papa. Always thinking of others before himself, we care for him as he has honoured and cared for us and others throughout his life. It has been a beautiful, challenging and emotional journey that has placed an enormous strain on us, but with daily care-aids and home support, visitations and walks with friends and with our best ability, to offer him full care throughout the nights, to be able to empty his ostomy bag, the culmination of support has enabled dad much stability. Frequency healing, intravenous vit C, light spectrum sessions, ionic detoxes and supplementation etc. are some of the treatments Dad resolved many ailments with and although he struggles, we strive to keep as much harmony and quality in his life, despite the challenges of the rapid progression and nature of dementia.

At this point, with tender hearts, we are unable to maintain the physical, emotional and financial strain to keep our father at home ($7,000-10,000 a month) and my sister and I can no longer offer him the complex care he so urgently needs. All donations go directly to Dad’s current medical costs for the extra care-aids at our home in the last few months and for his hospital stay over the last 3 months.

Your support is more than a donation; it’s a gift of comfort, love and dignity. We thank you for your kindness and empathy and for being a part of our father Paul’s (Dad’s) life’s journey.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to visit with Paul in hospital or at his future home.

All our Love ~

Samera, Bonny & Family

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