Page 25 - Possible Magazine - Issue 8
P. 25
With one son, four daughters, five grandsons, two granddaughters, three great grandsons, two great granddaughters and two grand puppies, Margaret’s got places to be and people to check in on.
Margaret has got places to be and
people to see.
We’ve got a big family, so there’s a lot of love to go around!” says Margaret, beaming. She lives with her daughter, Kizzy, in the
old gold rush town of Mogo, an important Aboriginal community hub in the south of New South Wales. If she’s not there, she’ll be swapping nature for the city and travelling about 160 kilometres to her second home, Kambah, which is Canberra’s largest suburb. It’s where another daughter Dolly, lives and where Margaret spends half her time.
The journey begins each Sunday, through the windy roads and national parks of the South Coast. It takes Margaret from A to B, connecting her to family members who respect and admire her. As she is partially blind, this is a routine that is only possible with the support of her Just Better Care team.
It’s the perfect situation for Margaret who is 76, an elder of a large Indigenous family from the
small Mogo community.
“It means I get to be home in
Mogo with my daughter and two
of my grandchildren. Then, a few days later, I’ll go on a small road trip to Canberra and I’ll see my other daughter and grand puppies,” she says. “Everybody wins!”
For Margaret, her large extended family includes her team of Support Professionals. She has Denise and Bonnie on hand in Mogo to take her shopping each week. On Thursdays they enjoy an afternoon out at a café, the movies or indulging in a little self-care, like a haircut.
In Canberra, Sharne and Emily are there to assist. If Margaret ever wants to visit family or friends, or enjoy quiet company over a cup
of tea, they’re right by her side. Dolly regularly speaks with care coordinators, Deanna and Kiri, who help with her schedules and those travel plans.
Some of them have supported Margaret and her family for years.
JUST BETTER CARE — 25