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Episode 1: The Garden She Built, The Woman She Is | Part One

Still Here

Release Date: 08/01/2025

Host Jason Flinn sits down with Patrick Sulley, a devoted caregiver, entrepreneur, and passionate advocate, to explore his powerful and personal journey supporting his wife Anita through her diagnosis of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). 

 

This two-part feature offers an intimate look at the emotional, practical, and spiritual realities of caregiving from the early signs of FTD to Anita’s move into long-term care, and the profound love and resilience that continue to shape their story. 

 

Patrick’s path has been anything but ordinary. After earning Arts and Education degrees from Memorial University, he began as a musician, then spent over a decade in corporate sales before launching five businesses in fields like franchising, telecommunications, software training, and real estate. 

 

He and Anita, a Master Gardener and one of the first graduates of Dalhousie University’s Master Gardener program, traveled to 110 countries together, building a life defined by curiosity, connection, and purpose. 

 

Everything changed in 2020, when Patrick took on the full-time role of caregiver as Anita’s dementia progressed. Since her admission to long-term care in August 2024, Patrick has become a vocal advocate for caregivers, partnering with the Windsor Elms Village and the Master Gardeners Association of Atlantic Canada to move Anita’s extensive garden to her new residence creating a space of beauty and memory for all residents and visitors to enjoy. 

 

He has also been invited to speak to Dalhousie University’s medical students about the emotional and practical realities of caregiving, and he is currently writing a book to help others navigate the challenging but meaningful journey of supporting a loved one through dementia. 

 

We are honoured to open this caregiver-focused series with Patrick’s heartfelt story a conversation about love, resilience, loss, and what it means to remain “still here.”

 

Music by Vivian Khor, https://www.viviankhor.com