Tag Archives: disability

Carers desperate that respite could be taken away

Carers desperate that respite could be taken away

By nadia stone nadia.stone@glosmedia.co.uk

DESPERATE carers who look after disabled children are devastated their only respite could be cruelly snatched away.

Tanya Cook cares for her 16-year-old son Jack who has a condition called tuberous sclerosis.

This means he has tumours in his brain, heart, eyes, and kidneys, as well as uncontrolled epilepsy and autism.

She has to help dress, shower and toilet him, as well as checking on him throughout the night because he frequently has seizures.

Herself unwell, the Quedgeley mum is “so exhausted” that she relies on The Meadows, in Dudbridge, Stroud, a home where Jack stays one night a week, to give her one night of rest each week.

Becoming a Carer

another poem from one of our members.

Becoming a Carer

I’m searching for myself
I used to be around
But now that i’m a carer
I just can’t be found

I used to be so different
Not worried and tired all the time
There are only so many hours in the day
And not many of them mine

I really miss my freedom
The fun and carefree days
A time when i knew who was
And not lost within this maze.

Myrna.

Male carers

Becoming a full-time carer can be particularly difficult for men as it has traditionally been seen as a woman’s role. Two men talk about their own experiences as carers.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvdM1W0_sVc]