Resident and Advocate on CBC Podcast
- NWN Staff
- Apr 10
- 1 min read
Ivany Place resident Melanie Gaunt featured on the CBC Sickboy podcast.
On March 26, Melanie wheeled into the studio in downtown Halifax to sit with hosts Jamie, Brian and Taylor to share her story of life with Multiple Sclerosis, and her journey through diagnosis and evential life inside Northwood Care.
From the podcast notes:
"What if you were too young for the place you had no choice but to call home? At 39, Mel moved into a long-term care facility because of her MS. Fifteen years later, she's navigating a world designed for people twice her age—where privacy requires special door signs, intimacy becomes a spectator sport, and a single shower per week is the norm.
With unflinching honesty and humour, Mel takes the fellas inside her daily reality: having meaningful conversations in a place where 90% of residents have dementia, fighting for basic dignities most take for granted, and hanging a "virtual meeting in process" sign when she needs... hanky panky time.
This episode is a window into the rarely discussed intersection of disability, aging care systems, and what it means to maintain your identity when the world around you doesn't quite fit. Through Mel's advocacy and refusal to be an afterthought, we discover her powerful mantra: "Inaccessible is unacceptable. Dignity matters."
You can listen to the full eposide for free, by clicking the link below:
You can also watch the episode on YouTube here:
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