YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES
In September, Catherine was testifying about Europe 1, during a show devoted to caregivers. Her companion has a very serious disability since encephalitis, which occurred in 2011. At 52, she takes care of him night and day. Nearly a year later and when the government promised to create compensated leave in 2020 for people supporting a sick or disabled family member, where is it? At the microphone of Olivier Delacroix, she says her concerns for the future.
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"[My companion] is gradually declining, but the situation has not changed overall, except that the more time passes and the better I organize, the better I anticipate and the better I organize myself. was really panic, he declined very quickly, in three months he lost the walk, the word, he lost everything, it was very fast, it was the panic, now the situation is stabilized, he declines very At home, I do everything to keep quiet, appeasement, we have a very quiet little life.
"Living with a mad person is something exhausting"
At the very beginning, there was a little misunderstanding. The doctors told me he was not going to survive, it was a matter of weeks or months. So me, I let everything go for him. I took a leave that allowed me to suspend my work contract while I was there for the last weeks. And then the time has passed, and he's still here. Actually at one point, there was a turn. Either I went back to work and asked for help at home, or I stopped everything.
I made the choice to stop working and I do not regret it because it would have been difficult to circumvent. Living with a demented person, with a severe dementia, who has big behavioral problems, it's something exhausting. I do not know to what extent I could have continued working. [...] I benefited from the support of two psychologists, it helped me a lot. It allowed me to keep my head out of the water when, at times, I drowned. It allowed me to find in us solutions to make it manageable on a daily basis.
"The eight years I stopped working, it's lost"
[Will aid promised to carers change anything?] Governments and politicians have become aware of it, it is easier to talk about. After, everyday, in our situation, I do not expect big changes. For us, the harm is done. I have no rights. The eight years I stopped working are lost, they are white years for my retirement. Nothing will replace that. What is good is for the generation of caregivers who are coming in now, and who will actually benefit from more rights than we have had. Now, we have to circulate the information.
My future? I do not consider it, I do it day by day. I do not know at all. I know very well that if my companion dies I lose the few rights that I acquired while taking care of him: I have an allowance that very slightly compensates for my salary. That, I lose it overnight. If he dies tomorrow, I have to find work. "