Caregivers Out Loud: Full-Time Caregiver and Mother: How Jean Ellison Balances Two Essential Roles

Full-Time Caregiver and Mother: How Jean Ellison Balances Two Essential Roles

Sep 19, 2023

How do you honour both yourself and your family member when giving full-time care? In this episode, Jean Ellison speaks about her experience as a full-time caregiver to her daughter, Brooke, whose story of life as a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic is well-known and inspirational.

For more than 30 years, Jean Ellison has balanced the roles of full-time caregiver and mother. While it was always clear to Jean that Brooke would live at home and not in a care facility, accepting her new reality and career trajectory was not a simple process. Jean strives to find happiness and laughter in every day, treating each one as a clean slate for both herself and her daughter.

Get a glimpse into Jean’s challenging and heartening experience:

What it was like to be trained and tested to care for her own daughter
Who she has become despite an unforeseeable change in her life’s direction
Where she finds the middle ground between home care and motherly compassion
How hope and acceptance can combine to create a fulfilling life despite the obstacles.

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