--0000000000008d333705ed0d7d09 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Everyone, I hope you are all doing well. I wanted to give you all an update on the Canadian Eldercare Roadmap Initiative, the project that I started in 2021. In 2020, I saw a problems in the eldercare system through my experience caring for my parents, which was essentially the genesis for this project. Little did I know that my mother would end up in the hospital shortly after, in the fall of 2021. At that point, I had interviews lined up until the beginning of 2022, but the stress of what my mother was going through while taking care of my father, who also has dementia, was too great. I canceled the interviews, but vowed to come back stronger the next year. As 2022 arrived, my mother=E2=80=99s health declined rapidly and I put all my = energy towards her and my father. Sadly, she passed earlier in the year, of Alzheimer=E2=80=99s, and it took the wind completely out of my sails. I had= no time to mourn as my father needed a lot of attention and I felt I had to support him in his grief after he lost his wife of 60+ years. I tried to come back to the project time and time again, but I had no mental or physical energy for it, even though it meant so much to me. It=E2=80=99s only recently that I=E2=80=99ve felt that I was ready to resum= e the project. For the past couple of weeks, I=E2=80=99ve done a little catching up on the eldercare system. While there have been some changes, I=E2=80=99m not sure = how much of a real impact it=E2=80=99s had on the eldercare community. There has bee= n a shift in policy and law regarding eldercare, mostly driven by the unfortunate events of the pandemic; however, I fear most of it is smoke and mirrors used to drive political careers and financial gains. I've also taken the time to review all the interview notes and slowly came to the conclusion that the project should concentrate on actually building a roadmap rather than continuing the interviews. My intention is to use my experience as the backbone of the roadmap and build from there. I feel this is where it could have the most direct impact and be independent of the politics of the healthcare system. Whether that roadmap turns into an informational website, podcast, or social media channel, I=E2=80=99m not su= re yet, but it will take a form that is easily digestible and accessible for caregivers and the elderly. I=E2=80=99m sharing this personal information with you because you all shar= ed personal and professional information with me. The fact that you all took time to speak with me meant very much to me, so I didn=E2=80=99t want you t= o think that that the time you spent talking with me was in vain. The information you shared will help build that backbone and has inspired me to move forward even after all this difficult time. I want to thank all of you for speaking with me about the system, what could change, and the issues that affect