Who cares for the carers? A story of duty, love and Alzheimer's

When Fiona Parrant's sister Charlene was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Fiona moved from Levin to Napier to help care for her - and for Charlene's husband, Alister, who had early onset Alzheimer's at just 60. After Charlene died, Fiona stayed in Napier to continue caring for Alister and help support his two sons.

New Zealand's dementia care system is broken. Despite being our biggest looming health crisis, dementia isn't even in the National Health Plan. Getting a diagnosis takes over two years, early onset cases fall through funding cracks, and Alister had to be falsely classified with mental illness just to access speech therapy. Fiona says families battle a system where "nobody wants responsibility."

But Fiona refuses to give up hope. Her philosophy is simple: if you can't have option A in life, you "kick the ass out of option B." She dreams of something better - small, supportive homes where people with dementia can live well right to the end, with dignity.

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If you need support, here are helpful links, phone numbers and resources: https://ember.org.nz/resources/in-a-crisis/