'Walking the Talk'

Poem: One Carer's Purpose.

Hello, Dear Reader! Welcome to our new Carer Mentor community members!

I’m Victoria. You can read why I’m publishing Carer Mentor here: Who Started Carer Mentor and Why?

In short, after a career climbing the corporate ladder and 18 relocations across 10 countries, I made a head-heart-gut-aligned decision to help my Mum care for my Dad. He had a litany of health issues that were destabilised by a major hospitalisation in 2015: congestive heart failure and rheumatoid arthritis were compounded with a diagnosis of vascular dementia and then bladder cancer.

I stepped away from work for a year, returned for six months, and then resigned from the ‘big’ corporate job in 2017 (Belgium has medical leave as part of their employment law¹). Dad passed in January 2020. Shortly after his funeral, we moved to another rollercoaster— treatment of two separate primary cancers for Mum.

Today, we count our blessings and greatly appreciate monotony, small moments, and SLEEP. As every cancer patient and caregiver knows, you never really leave or get out of the ‘cancer’ rollercoaster, especially on targeted therapy.

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Dear Friends,

To close out the August series ‘Walking your Why’, I’m sharing the first article I published in October 2023.

It still holds today and speaks to the mission — why I do what I do.

It’s also the 150th Carer Mentor article.

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A Poem of Intent

By Victoria

Whole, feeling right, I think I've found the way to be me.
A purpose with a medium that could fit like a lock and key.
Opening new possibilities for the mission I've made my own
To offer other carers a place and space that could be their tribal home.


A hope, a prayer that it turns out to be
True to its potential, an empathetic community.
Of course, it depends on the people & carers it attracts
I just hope, in my heart that the mission can remain intact.

To be a beacon, a lighthouse  for others to truly see
The whole truth and storm that carers face at sea
The burden, tsunami events and emotional strife
That make me feel the full amplitude of human life.


Every story has its own dynamic & unique thread
A rollercoaster of crises and conflict and dread
So no one can judge, critique or claim it's like their own
No one has the right to cast a single stone.


Adrift until more people see, the truth, the love and simplicity
of valuing each other, each carer, and leveraging their strengths
Because Caring Is an essential foundation, of any community health.


The wealth that's so undervalued,  & that no one's able to see
The bountiful mine of skills, experience, & knowledge 
that could feed a NEW type of care-centred community. 


A hidden topic AND untapped source society cannot discuss
Because it's not cool to acknowledge or make a fuss, 
that life's not only about being fit, happy, healthy and well
but also about how to navigate the strife and living hell.


So here I am, my path is now set,
On a mission to change the way Carers are perceived, valued, respected & met
Opening new possibilities for the purpose I've made my own
To offer other carers a place and space to call their tribal home.

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The Carer Mentor Collaboration starts this Sunday, September 1st.