Katharina Buczek
This woman is twenty-eight years old and has a twenty-four-year-old sister who has Down syndrome. Her sister is also, unfortunately, unable to look after herself, so her parents have always been her sister’s primary care providers.
But, just last year, her father tragically passed away in a car accident. So, while dealing with that grief, her mother was also left to care for her sister alone.
On top of that, her mother– who is sixty years old– was just diagnosed with stage three lung cancer a few months ago. In turn, her mother has been virtually unable to care for her sister anymore.
“My mother has been extremely ill from the treatments and is constantly at appointments,” she said, “And I have been doing my best to try and support her and my sister during this difficult time.”
Nonetheless, her mother recently sat her down to have a discussion about her sister. Apparently, her mother admitted that caring for her daughter is no longer an option.
But, her mother also thinks her sister would not cope well in a care home.
In turn, her mother now wants her to become her sister’s sole care provider. But, after learning that, she told her mom now.
“The reason I refused is that I am currently working as a registered nurse and am also going to school to become a nurse practitioner. It has been my lifelong dream to become a nurse practitioner someday,” she explained.
So, if she were to care for her sister full-time, she would need to drop out of school and give up that dream.
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