Sandwich generation navigating work, elderly parents and kids at home

Nicole met Kylie Minogue at the singer's Tension tour, a connection that led her to a fellow nurse, Janelle, who now faces a different kind of tension at home. Janelle's 93-year-old father, Ernie, moved in with her, her partner Nicole, and their teenage sons after a fall fractured his hip. Ernie, despite his age and health issues, maintains an optimistic spirit, even getting a puppy at 90.

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This year, following a bad fall, he and that puppy Bella moved in with Nicole, Janelle and their teenage boys.

Janelle manages Ernie's daily care, including bathing, toileting, and feeding him, while also supporting her sons' soccer activities and working a full-time job from home. Her life is a complex schedule, meticulously organized in a color-coded diary, with a closed-circuit TV allowing her to monitor Ernie while she's away, even from the soccer sidelines. This constant juggling act defines the demanding world of the "sandwich generation."

Australia is home to over 1.5 million people in this generation, many of whom are around Kylie Minogue's age and live lives in constant motion. As the baby boomer generation ages, living longer than ever before, they are also experiencing more complex health problems and frailty. This demographic shift is creating a "tsunami of care" needs, while aged care services are struggling to keep up, with long waiting lists for both assessment and assistance.

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Welcome to the multi-tasking, physically and emotionally demanding world of the sandwich generation.

Sarah Macdonald, who has been part of the sandwich generation for 15 years, caring for both her father and mother, shares her experience. The article points to a critical shortfall in aged care beds, with only 800 produced last year against a need for 10,000, and many individuals dying while waiting for support.

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We need 10,000 more aged care beds every year for our elders, and last year we produced just 800.