We Are Samoa Gala - Caring for our Elders

Caring for our elders is a natural part of our culture that often gets underestimated as a huge undertaking. It’s a bit like becoming a parent … you can never really grasp the level of responsibility, patience, care, and compassion you need to have to tend to the needs of your ageing parents or grandparents.

When you layer in something like diabetes or heart disease and all of the extra knowledge and understanding and empathy that has to come with it, it’s a jolt to the system.

Fa'anana Jerome Grey's daughter Ana shares her insights on how things played out with their dad when he had his first stroke, and then a second. She also gets pretty vulnerable about witnessing their Mom’s battle with diabetes slowly getting more difficult and eventually taking her from their family. Both diseases run prevalent in our Pacific Islands community.

So what DO you do when you learn that your parent has been diagnosed with these diseases? How do you fully know that THEY understand what it means to be diagnosed with diabetes or heart disease? What are all the meds for? How do you keep track of what each pill does or how it impacts another thing … and then what about nutrition? How do you tell your Sāmoan Mom or Dad that they can’t have their kalo, or pisupo, or eleni? Is there a balance that can be struck between living a healthy life while indulging in cultural favourites? It can be overwhelming.

Especially for our elderly parents, who often are simply nodding their heads graciously to doctors and nurses not wanting to be a nuisance, yet are unable to register something as devastating as ESKD (end-stage kidney disease) or that the unnatural rhythm in their heart could lead to a blood clot. But truth. We too (in the younger generation) aren’t able to understand what these medical terms mean ... until it’s too late … so… how have we advocated for or supported our parents?

So, in memory of the Grey childrens mother, Emily Ta’iuta ‘Aoloalagi Grey, they are raising money to help create programs and a safe and effective space to have these tough conversations and to learn how to change that narrative.

For more information on the Diamond Gala event, where to buy tickets and how you can donate to the fundraising efforts click here: https://jeromegreymusic.com/we-are-samoa-diamond-gala-2022