Four generations support Valerie’s independent life

With the help of family and integratedliving support services, Valerie gets what she needs to remain happily at home.

Valerie has lived in north-east Tasmania all her life and is the matriarch of four closely bonded generations. She has three children, Philip, Murray and Carol-Ann. Their father and Valerie’s husband, Don, died in 2013.

Valerie’s granddaughter, Sherri, is close by in Bridport and daughter Carol-Ann, lives an hour away. In recent years, their hard-working and sports-mad matriarch Valerie, has needed some extra help.

Support to stay independent

Thanks to a Level 3 Home Care Package (now a Support at Home package) and integratedliving, Valerie has been able to continue living independently at her retirement village home.

Carol-Ann and Sherri say having the higher level of support has been a game-changer for the whole family.

Valerie has been using integratedliving’s services since she received funding via the Commonwealth Home Support Program after having a heart attack 10 years ago.

She says she wouldn’t consider using another provider as the support workers are so easy to get along with, and they seem to be able to help her with just about anything.

Valerie’s higher-level care package now includes personal care three times a week, and someone to take her shopping and clean the house.

Valerie’s granddaughter Sherri is the Assistant Principal at Scottsdale Primary School. “I was stressed if I hadn’t checked on Nan a couple of times a day,” Sherri said. “It was a lot to ask of my workplace, and with Mum living an hour away, it was hard for her as well.”

“My daughter Ebony used to spend time with Nan before and after primary school,” Sherri said. “But Ebony went away to high school in Launceston, and we could see Nan needed
some more company and support.”

Valerie was living in a unit in Scottsdale when her best friend died. Feeling lonely, her family suggested she move into the retirement village where her niece Jenny lived. Valerie took their advice, and the move has only strengthened the special bond between her and Jenny. “We call Jenny the favourite niece,” Sherri laughs.

A family history of service

All the family are proud of their history of service to our country. They take great pride in stories of Pop Walker (Valerie’s father-in-law), who received a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his service on the Western Front in World War 1.

In 2023 Sherri was awarded the prestigious Frank McDonald Memorial Prize, which allowed her to take part in the Anzac Day commemorations in Villers Bretonneux, France. In researching for her application, Sherri discovered that Pop Walker had a brother, Albert, who sadly lost his life in the Battle of Passchendaele.

“I was the first person in the family to visit Albert’s grave, which is at Tyne Cot Cemetery. It was very emotional,” Sherri said. “I wanted to take something with me, and Nan kindly crocheted a couple of beautiful poppies to place at his grave. She never misses an Anzac Day, and she suggested that it would be nice to have some poppies for the kids to use in the school service.

“She went crazy and made 200 poppies,” Sherri said. “Her integratedliving support worker took her shopping to find a pattern and buy the wool, and the school plans to use them every year for Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.”

Valerie grew up on a farm which she loved, but in line with norms of the day, her parents passed it on to her brother. She was also a talented sportswoman, selected for many representative netball teams, walking from one town to another to compete.

Valerie was a fast runner, and her enthusiasm for sports of any kind has not waned. Daughter Carol-Ann laughs, “Sherri played in a couple of back-to-back netball grand finals when she was 15 and 16 and Mum barracked so loudly, we had to ask her to sit down.”

The athletic gene has extended to Valerie’s great-granddaughter, Ebony, who has previously played state league netball and competed with the Tasmanian Institute of Sport in national cycling titles. Valerie never missed seeing Ebony compete and followed around as the support crew.

Adventures across generations

This close family likes to share adventures whenever they can. In 2015, Sherri was teaching in a remote Aboriginal Community called Yiyili in Western Australia’s Kimberly region. Ebony was in Primary School, and Sherri needed some extra help. She asked her grandmother to come over for a couple of weeks. Valerie enjoyed it so much that she stayed for 10 months.

While in Yiyili, the school lost their kindergarten teacher, so Valerie stepped in as the teacher’s assistant. She describes this time as special. “I just loved my time in the community,” Valerie said. “I helped the children with reading and drawing, and I even taught one of them to sew and cook. They shared their culture and bush tucker with me and took me to reaming holes and sacred sites. It was wonderful.”

Carole-Ann says that her Mum is always keen to get away and see different things and they have enjoyed some memorable trips. These include attending Sherri’s brother, Cash’s passing out parade in Wagga Wagga, trips to the snow and to Melbourne and Sydney to see musicals.

“Mum has looked after us so well,” Carol-Ann said. “We want to make sure she is well cared for at this time in her lifeand integratedliving has made that so much easier.”

“She has always kept a tidy house, so it’s great to have people to help her do that now – and when we have time, we can continue doing the fun stuff, making memories.”