DWDV recognizes that the grief experienced by family/friends following the death of a loved one may be further complicated if that person accessed VAD.

VAD has been legal in Victoria for over 3 years now but still, unfortunately, has a long way to go before it is comfortably recognized as another end-of-life option. Hence, following the death of a loved one from VAD, some individuals may not want to refer to the VAD involvement. As a result, they are often burdened with this knowledge unable to fully share the nature of their grief with others – this is sometimes referred to as disenfranchised grief.

It is such people that DWDV wants to reach out to and assure them that assistance can be sought. They can seek professional help, which we strongly advise, if the grief becomes overwhelming. Two of our DWDV Board members and VAD providers, Dr Nick Carr and Dr Cameron McLaren, see these families as they accompany loved ones through the VAD process, and are concerned that, as yet, there is little support aimed specifically at VAD-grieving individuals.

In these videos, the doctors, talk about where these people can seek help. They also refer to DWDV’s VAD support group, that we emphasise is not a counselling service. It is a support group that facilitates conversation between those who have the shared experience of traversing the VAD journey with a loved one.