Pha Sai started her four-year nurse training at the Asia-Pacific International University in Bangkok in August 22. But she is spending her semester breaks with us in Chiang Mai.

Chaa and Ni have successfully taken on a new assignment, but I need to elaborate a bit on that:

I met Verena and her husband, Luigi, in May 2020. Verena came to Chiang Mai in January 2020 with her husband, who has Frontotemporal Dementia (a rarer form of dementia), because she could not find a care option for her husband in Switzerland that was acceptable to her. When her husband was diagnosed with the disease in Switzerland a few years ago, she was initially still able to pursue her profession. And at home, a Lithuanian caregiver and friends, cared for her increasingly dependent husband during her absence, but at some point that just wasn’t enough and Thailand seemed the only option for her. 

Between Verena and me quickly developed a real friendship – this deep friendly feeling and mutual trust, I previously knew only with long-time friends. Maybe it happened much faster with us because we were in similar situations – wanting the best possible for our husbands, but also looking for a piece of quality of life for ourselves.

Luigi was cared for in a good nursing home with private nurses and Verena moved into an apartment, in the same house as me. We helped each other – shared our worries, but often also had a lot of fun together.

When I was in Switzerland, she regularly visited Martin – he and his angels were very fond of Verena and were always happy to see her. She was also the first contact in case of an emergency when I was not there. What a luck that she came into our lives!