Dobell MP Emma McBride is hosting a carers conference, inspired by her mum and dad
EXCLUSIVE: The McBride family share their personal story to shine a light on the plight of the Central Coast’s 30,000 carers.
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DOBELL Federal Labor MP Emma McBride says her beloved mum Barbara is an inspiration.
And, so are the many other thousands of carers just like her living on the Central Coast.
Barbara has been married to former The Entrance State Labor MP Grant McBride for 46 years.
Together they have eight children and 12 grandchildren and in 2013 Barbara became Grant’s full-time carer.
The 67-year-old former NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing had been diagnosed with early onset dementia and has been living with the debilitating condition ever since.
After Grant’s initial diagnosis, Barbara said the couple were “devastated”.
“The day he received the diagnosis he lost his driver’s licence so it was a lot to take on. We had no retirement. Grant just left work and was ill,” she said.
“People say, ‘it’s a tough job being a carer. Why would you do it?
“Basically, you do it because you love them, so you do what you do. People don’t sign up to be carers, it just happens.
“For people with dementia, you learn that they are more than their memories.
“They have an emotional memory and an emotional relationship.
“Grant can experience joy and happiness, as well as frustration and disappointment. He’s still participating in life at a level.”
She said when Grant was diagnosed, “it was a case of go off and deal with it”.
“There’s no cure,” she said. “You get a devastating diagnosis and you can’t fight it. I’m someone that likes to fight and make things better.”
The McBrides live at their Wyong home — the same place they raised their enormous brood of eight.
And while moments of clarity for Grant have become less and less, Barbara still gets a “buzz” when those rare moments arise.
Having lived on the Coast for so long, the McBrides have a solid support network that Barbara said they were very grateful for.
“We have met so many people in the same situation. We are blessed to have so much support,” she said.
She said her “wish list” as a full-time carer would be a drop-in centre for people requiring care to enable carers to get jobs done, along with improved footpaths.
“There are definitely gaps, particularly for people with younger onset dementia,” she said.
“Grant was physically able but the only services available are for frail and elderly people. It also needs to be easier for people to find services.”
Barbara said it’s about helping people live well with dementia and other illnesses.
“My favourite saying it, ‘there’s still a lot of living with dementia’,” she said.
EMMA: CARING FOR OUR CARERS IS KEY
EMMA McBride, who dedicated her election to the seat of Dobell to her father, said there were 30,000 carers across the Coast.
“As a community, there is more that could be done for carers,” she said.
“We are at just the tip of the iceberg with people on the Coast dealing with this. We need to boost research and look at care that’s available. People don’t know where to start. You stagger around and it’s all trial and error.”
Ms McBride has channelled feedback from the community as well as her own family to organise the Walk in my Shoes carers conference, at Mingara Recreation Club on December 13.
She said the forum was designed to be a one-stop shop for local carers.
“It’s all under the one umbrella. We want to work towards an aged and dementia friendly community. This is a beginning. We hope that things might be able to change.
“We want to make peoples’ experiences better than dad’s. Dad did so much for the community and I hope that as a community we can support him. I made a promise to mum that we would do something to try to make things better for carers. She is so optimistic and through every set back has tried to find a way to walk through it. Mum, along with other carers in our community, are remarkable people and often invisible.”
For tickets call 4353 0127 or visit emmamcbride.com.au
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