September 11, 2018. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Katie.

Ken calls her his angel. She helps him with everything. This weekend, when I was fumbling to help remove his shoes, he laughed Nd suggested that tomorrow his angel would come to help. We got the job done. But Katie does everything better. She helps Ken with his exercises twice a day and heckles him if he slacks off. and she joshes him if he gets cross. In addition to helping with Ken, Katie also helps in the home. Every few days she does laundry. Tomorrow she will change the beds. First thing in the morning when she arrives at 9:00 she unloads the dishwasher. Ken can dress himself but Katie helps, which makes everything faster. And she makes Ken’s breakfast every day. Katie’s lot in life is not easy. Both her parents died early. She has made some bad choices. She lived with a man she thought she would marry but when she got pregnant, he left and now has nothing to do with either her or the child. Legal aid told her that if she asks for child support, he will demand partial customary. So she is raising her daughter on her own. Money is an issue and she is having trouble getting ahead. This morning she broke a tooth, which ached all day so this afternoon she was able to get a dental appointment at 4:30 which means she must leave work early, thus missing 90 minutes of pay. She has no savings at all. During the years when Ken was in medical school and I was teaching, Ken and I were poor. We spent no money that was not essential. But we always had savings we built up bit by bit so there was money available for emergencies. Our own safety net was each other and our good family. katie has neither. These young women with whom we have gotten to know have a difficult row to hoe. We wish Katie well. She has helped us this summer. Getting ahead is not easy. All I know is that Katie is trying very hard to raise her daughter and stay solvent. Ken and I hope she makes it.