By Julia Fairclough

Chris Gartland describes his experience as a love story, though one that is not about romance. It’s about the love that a son has for his mother.

Gartland, 50, has spent the past 11 years taking care of his mother, Rose. She suffered an aneurism and a grade four hemorrhage and has been bedridden every since. She has been on a feeding tube for the past six years. It was a family choice to have Gartland, one of four brothers, move to his mother’s Somerville home so that he can take care of her. He works at a homeless shelter in Nashua, New Hampshire, that has been supportive of his need for a flexible schedule. The family hired a couple personal care attendants, who have also become part of the family.

“The care can be more meaningful at home,” Gartland said. “It is an incredible experience of vulnerability; cleaning and toileting and allowing someone to do that for you. It brings an amazing connection.”

And Gartland is grateful that his mother, at age 83, is still alive. After suffering the aneurism, she was in a coma for two months. She spent a couple months at Spaulding Hospital before returning home, a place where she had told her sons she wanted to spend her final days.

The family made her room a comforting place; the walls covered with “I Love Lucy” posters (Rose’s favorite TV show) and family photos. She is a spiritual woman. Religious images also hang on the walls.

Rose was a hardworking mother who taught her children—Chris, David, Joey, and Paul—the values of ethics, family, and honest hard work. She taught her sons the importance of looking after others, as she was always taking care of people, Gartland said. The sons all volunteered at nursing homes, alongside their mother. A native of Somerville, Rose was one of eight children, of which only one, Vicky Coleman, is still alive.

Rose’s husband, Joe Gartland, had left Rose after celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. It was devastating for Rose, but her spirituality saved her from anger, Gartland said. Joe Gartland passed away a couple years ago.

Though caring for his mother is a 24-hour job, Gartland would not have done this any other way. He sees how life comes full circle and the children often become the parent. He has learned how to navigate the healthcare system and fight for what he needs, because, “sadly, the elderly and chronically ill are never valued,” he said.

“I’ve come to learn about courage and faith from my mother,” he added. “She has never complained in 11 years. She was an independent woman and then when she came out of her coma she had lost all that.”

And Gartland is readying himself for the day when his mother will die.

“I prepare myself on a daily basis,” he said. “I cry my way to work a lot. Which can be good, so that when the day comes, I won’t be hit as hard.”

To help pay for Rose’s care, the family has held several fundraisers. They also started a fund at the Citizens Bank in Davis Square.

If you’d like to help the Gartland family keep Rose at home, you can send a donation to the Rose Gartland Care Fund at Citizens Bank, 212 Elm Street, Somerville, MA 02144.