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Janet's Story

Updated: 3 days ago


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At 58, Janet Yeo, became a caregiver to both her mom and husband in recent years. Her 87-year-old mother has dementia, while her husband underwent major cancer surgery last year. Balancing both, alongside running her own interior architecture firm, leaves her burnt out at times.


Her mother’s dementia presents daily challenges. At times, her mother misplaces items around the house, leaving everyone in a frantic search. Once, she even threw away her granddaughter’s expensive retainers. Her husband, being Malaysian, often has to travel back home to seek treatment every few weeks.


The load was heavy. “I was running here and there to different doctors,” Janet recalls. Even with the help of a helper at home, the responsibility weighed squarely on her shoulders. Things came to a head when both her husband and mother were hospitalised at the same time. Janet found herself torn in two directions, exhausted and overwhelmed.


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Attending Mindfull Community’s Caregivers-to-Caregivers (C2C) dementia programme gave Janet practical strategies to cope, better understand her mother’s condition, and how to stay patient amid repeated behaviours. More importantly, it reminded her that she was not alone. “It helped to know there were others walking the same road,” she says.



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But the real turning point came when Janet joined Mindfull's Respite & Resilience Retreat. The 2-day-1-night break provided a rare chance to breathe, reflect, and reset. “That one night was the best sleep I had in years,” Janet shares. With renewed energy, she could continue supporting her family without losing herself.


Today, she continues her caregiving journey with renewed strength, recognising that caring for herself is just as important as caring for her loved ones. Taking it a step further, she is now pursuing a course in gerontology to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our ageing population.



Read about Janet Yeo On Lianhe Zaobao:

 
 
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