Summary: Kathryn Fudurich was 21-years old when her 55-year-old mother Pat was diagnosed with dementia. Pat's memory loss began with small things, like leaving the TV remote in the pantry. But soon, she was forgetting to take her medication. Then she could no longer remember the route to get to her teaching job outside of Toronto. Soon it became clear that Pat could not manage living on her own, and Kathryn quit her job in London, Ontario and moved back home to care for her. Kathryn is among the youngest of an estimated two million Canadians who put their careers and lives on hold to care for an ailing loved one. In this rebroadcast from October 2016, Kathryn reveals the challenges of being a young caregiver to a parent with early-onset dementia: The struggle to find programs for a dementia patient who was still relatively young; the loss of connection to her peers who were pursuing careers and relationships; and the pain of watching the vibrant woman who had been her 'everything" slip away to the point where she no longer knew her daughter's name. Now 28, Kathryn reveals how she eventually found a balance between caring for her mother, and caring for herself. * This program originally aired in Oct. 2016
