The Long-Term Care Issue We’re Not Talking About When long-term care homes become the only option, what do families with disabled loved ones do when they have nowhere else to turn? K. J. Aiello Updated (Illustration: iStock) My brother-in-law, John,* says he wants to take me to Cuba. He swings his legs as he sits beside me, pulling his Blue Jays hat low over his eyes. I can see a shy smile underneath. “Can we take the whole family?” I ask. He doesn’t respond. I can’t tell if he’s thinking about it, or if his mind is already elsewhere. Just hours ago, we brought him home from the acute ward of a psychiatric hospital where he’d stayed for a month, with the realization that we can’t do this alone anymore. We need help. I think about John’s toes sliding into the sand, aware that this ongoing struggle isn’t just too much for the family, it’s too much for him, too. He crosses his arms, sighs heavily, and I feel the weight of it.