Today's story belongs to Deb Bakti, of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Deb's story belongs like many love stories do: girl meets boy at a bar and the two fall for each other. The "boy" in question was Ty, Deb's late husband. Deb and Ty had built the perfect life together with happy, healthy kids, and a gainful career working as a seniors' home executive. This idyllic life would be shaken to it's core when Ty, out of the blue, started to experience the debilitating symptoms of an extremely rare disease.

The next few years of their lives were dedicated to the search for answers. As Deb ferociously pursued a diagnosis for her ailing husband, an inevitable conclusion lingered on the couple's horizon: that Ty's needs would eventually bring him to a long-term care home.

Ty would live his final years in a care home, an experience which forever changed the trajectory of Deb's personal and professional lives. Her credentials as an industry executive and her experience as a resident's wife uniquely positioned Deb to become a conduit for the empathy and care she felt the industry needed. Following Ty's passing, Deb would quit her corporate job and start her own consultancy and training business, dedicated to preserving the memory of Ty by helping to foster the kind of human, relational conversations between staff and family that lead to better care for the residents.

At the centre of each of these conversations is empathy, curiosity, and of course, love.

Presented by Charm Diamond Centres

Hosted by Nancy Regan

Produced by Podstarter

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