Aging With Dignity

06/25/2026

Part 2 of 6: Caregiving: What I Wish I Had Known Earlier
… Navigating the System

This post: Caregiving often means managing an entire system.

I wish I had understood earlier how fragmented the system can feel. Healthcare, home care, palliative care… they don’t always connect seamlessly. Very quickly, you become the coordinator, the advocate, and the translator … whether you’re ready or not.

And for many families, there’s another layer. Cultural values. How families make decisions, how dignity is viewed, how care is approached. These things are deeply personal. At times, I felt like I wasn’t just navigating the system, I was also explaining our values to the system.

What would have helped? Someone who understood both the services and the community context we came from. Caregiving is often far more than emotional support. Context is just as important.

06/22/2026

Part 1 of 6: Caregiving: What I Wish I Had Known Earlier
… No One Told Me I Was a Caregiver

Caregivers - especially caring for a parent or spouse or other loved Older Adult - are often unprepared, without a handbook of rules and tips for the journey! There is little shared about the practical responsibilities, but even more staggeringly, there is little to address the isolation around the emotional, cultural, and personal realities that come with the role.

This is the first of a 6-part series that I will share over the next 3 weeks.

Part 1 - The moment your role changes… before you even realize it.

There’s something I wish someone had told me earlier… “you are now a caregiver”. Because until you name it, you don’t know what to ask for. You’re just reacting… trying to keep up.

Once we understand that this is caregiving, we can also understand that support is needed too. It helps us seek support, resources, and community.

06/18/2026

I recently completed the Age-Friendly Business Foundation Course and found it incredibly informative and eye-opening.

The course explores many aspects of aging, including ageism, arthritis, dementia, healthy aging, and the changes people experience as they grow older. It also highlights the importance of creating services and communities that are welcoming, respectful, and responsive to older adults.

The experience has encouraged me to continue my education in this field, and I am currently working toward my Certified Professional Consultant on Aging (CPCA) designation.

Through Aging With Dignity, I am passionate about helping people better understand aging, caregiving, and the resources available to support individuals and families. I look forward to sharing what I learn along the way.

06/16/2026

Welcome to Aging With Dignity - Season 3, Episode 12

For our Season 3 finale, we took Aging with Dignity to Angrignon Park for the Alzheimer Society of Montreal Walk.

We spoke with caregivers, families, volunteers, and community leaders about why they walk, who they walk for, and what living with dementia has taught them about love, resilience, and hope.
Their stories are heartfelt, inspiring, and a reminder that no one walks this journey alone.

This episode also marks the close of Season 3. Thank you for your support throughout the season. We'll be back on June 30 with Season 4, more video episodes, exciting guests, and the celebration of Aging with Dignity's first anniversary.

WATCH & Listen here: https://youtu.be/TTkVzX7cTvY
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In this Season 3 finale, we join the Alzheimer Society of Montreal ...

06/10/2026

Save the date! October 1st is AGE-WELL's pan-Canadian AgeTech Discovery Day.

Love seeing this initiative come together! Mark your calendars for October 1st as AGE-WELL launches the national AgeTech Discovery Day to celebrate National Seniors Day.

As the Montreal representative, I’m thrilled to share that we will be hosting two in-person events right here in the city! Stay tuned for the official Montreal location reveals and registration links soon!

06/09/2026

Welcome to Aging With Dignity - Season 3, Episode 11

There are moments in life that don’t come with a roadmap, only responsibility.

Avi Parmar thought caregiving would follow a certain path. But after losing his mother, he found himself stepping into a very different journey with his father, now living with early dementia.

This is a story about being the only one. About navigating grief that ends and grief that continues. And about choosing, week after week, to still live life in the middle of it all.

WATCH here: https://youtu.be/l7zLQSOclRo

Avi Parmar shares his journey as an only child navigating his mothe...

06/02/2026

Welcome to Aging With Dignity - Season 3, Episode 10

What happens when the responsibility of caring for aging parents quietly becomes yours alone?

In this episode, Charlie Pechousek shares a deeply personal journey - navigating the care of both parents, now living separately, after a major family transition that included selling the family home.

This is a story shaped by duty, cultural expectation, sibling distance, and the emotional weight of doing what often feels unseen. This is caregiving in real life. Not idealized, not evenly shared, but lived day by day.

Listen here: https://youtu.be/NfJb1y41_iQ

Charlie Pechousek shares his caregiving journey supporting both par...

05/26/2026

Welcome to Aging With Dignity - Season 3, Episode 9

Some caregiving journeys don’t end, they evolve.

In this episode of Aging With Dignity, three sisters open up about caring for their mother through dementia until her passing in January 2025, and now navigating the early stages with their father.

What unfolds is a deeply human story of love, imbalance, cultural expectation, grief, and resilience… set within a South Asian family living in Quebec.

This is not just about caregiving. It’s about what we carry, what we don’t share equally, and how families find their way through it anyway.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/Aci4zyoCZg0

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Three sisters share their family’s caregiving journey: supporting their mother through dementia until her passing, and now caring for their father in early ...

05/22/2026

Aging well means having a voice in shaping it.

I’m pleased to share that I am serving as the Montreal-based Central Region Representative (Volunteer), Older Adult and Caregiver Advisory Committee, for AGE-WELL - Canada’s technology and aging network.

In this role, I help connect older adults, caregivers, and community members in the Montreal area with opportunities to share their needs and experiences while engaging with new technologies, insights, and solutions in aging.

Over the past several years, my work as a caregiver advocate, podcast host, and community connector has deepened my commitment to improving the experience of aging in Canada.

My focus is on aging issues that impact older adults and families, with an emphasis on supporting dignity, independence, and quality of life. I am also passionate about culturally informed, inclusive approaches to caregiving and aging that ensure diverse communities feel seen, understood, and respected within care systems and community spaces.

Through this role with AGE-WELL, I look forward to helping amplify the voices of older adults in Montreal and connecting people to meaningful opportunities that shape the future of aging, caregiving, and Age-Tech in Canada.

What continues to inspire me about AGE-WELL is its national leadership in bringing together researchers, caregivers, innovators, healthcare professionals, and older adults to co-create practical solutions that support independence, wellness, and quality of life for aging Canadians.

If you are:

• An older adult interested in participating
• A caregiver wanting to stay connected to innovation & resources
• An organization serving seniors
• A researcher, healthcare professional, or community leader interested in collaboration

- I would love to connect!

Montreal has an important role to play in shaping the future of aging in Canada, and I’m excited to help contribute to that work.

You can learn more about AGE-WELL here:
https://agewell-nce.ca/about-age-well