Being a Carer... A Balancing Act of Epic Proportions
This isn't one of my usual academic blog posts. But still a lot of thought and soul searching has gone into this. I want to share something of my experience of being a carer. It's not a unique story I'm sure, but I think its a story that needs to be told. It's a story that started 8 years ago when my Great Aunt had a stroke. Aunt Betty was so special to me. It was like having a third Grandma. Betty had herself spent so much of her life caring for people (she looked after her own mother when she had cancer and her brother who had alzheimers and downs syndrome). So when she had a stroke, mum and I didn't think twice about stepping up to the plate and helping her. Thats what families do. So I would go to work and Mum would look after Betty until I got home. We worked in shifts like that for years. But all the while we had to spend six weeks living with Betty, then Betty spent six weeks living with us....