No, I guess I could say I had a fairly stable job and position that I was able to manage. It wasn't easy. This was an ongoing process leading up to her death.
This whole process lasted about a year and a half. At times, you would think things were levelling or getting better, and then there would be crashes again. I have a sympathetic employer.
One of the difficult things—and I've had some discussion with other people about this—and something that's unique about this is, let's face it, that I'm a male. Usually, it's the other way around. It's usually a male soldier, and a female dealing with that and having to take care of the children. I can say that—let's face it—women have more of a maternal instinct than men do. So the mere fact of having to take on now, on top of my job, the responsibility role and the care of our daughter is a completely new challenge.
In that regard, when I referenced in my statement the Military Family Resource Centre,those people have been absolutely fabulous about finding programs, resources, and in one case even some financial assistance to get a day care program so I could continue to work. I would think a lot of people might be in a situation where they might find themselves unable to work, because you can't afford to work and pay day care in some cases, depending on how many children you have. Some women may be in that situation.