(CBC News) – It’s a seemingly simple goal, but for Jodi and Cheryl Graham, it’s been nearly 14 years in the making.
This summer, Jodi, 38, hopes to walk one of her friends down the aisle at his wedding. In some ways, it will be the culmination of countless hours spent with physiotherapists, speech pathologists and eye specialists after a 2006 car crash left her in a deep coma with a traumatic brain injury.
In another way, it’s no culmination at all: once the big day’s over, Jodi will still need around-the-clock care, mostly provided by her mother, Cheryl, and their close-knit network of health-care professionals, friends and family.
It’s a reality that hundreds of caregivers face in Ontario each day — and for Jodi’s parents, it’s complicated by the knowledge that their daughter will likely outlive them. CONTINUE