Editor:

This is my note of thanks to Gwen O'Mahony for taking the time to come to our Monday meeting of the Alzheimer Caregiver Support Group.

She sat quietly and listened then asked questions. Although she is the first politician to take any interest in our group she brought up no agenda. I did mention to her though that I thought before the Liberals came to office that the NDP were on the right track.

As soon as a diagnosis was made of a senior person with a mental or physical disability they were put on a list. The caregiver could then feel like there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The caregiver could immediately get help to keep their loved one at home as long as possible with the knowledge when the time came there would be a transition for their loved ones without the trauma of today with ambulances, emergency wards and warehousing. I also explained to her about our rallies 11 years ago and the 10,000 signatures to keep our newly renovated long-term care facility, Parkholm Lodge, open. Unfortunately, for the 86 resident seniors who survived the wars and depression to make B.C. a better place, our opposition to the closure fell on the deaf ears of the Liberals, including our then-mayor, John Les.

They quickly closed the facility forcing our most vulnerable senior citizens into the Hospital Extended Care Unit and other long-term care facilities in and outside the Chilliwack area where overcrowding suddenly became a problem.

M. Faulds Chilliwack