Being a Carer

I am a carer , i have been a carer for a long time, over 25 years.

I cared for both my mum and dad until they passed , and now i need to be a carer for my wife .

Its not an easy thing to do but over time it does become the ‘norm’ and you adapt to this way of life without thinking about it. Usual duties involve everything from making sure meds are administered to everything in between 24/7, as well as managing my own needs and the day to day running of a busy household.

However , i wouldn’t change what i do for the world, in fact i wouldn’t really know what i would do with myself.

I do get paid a carers allowance as i need to care 24/7 . This makes working a full time ‘paid’ job impossible

… and that’s where the stigma and ignorance of some people annoys me.

i’ve had every comment thrown at me over the years such as ” go get a job , scrounger , etc. They simply don’t understand that i don’t claim benefits , my allowance for what it is , has to support me. it seems that as i am at home 24/7 , then i obviously don’t deserve or need to be.

I just hope those type of people never get sick enough to need a full time carer themselves, but if they did, then maybe they may ‘ understand’ a little