for someone else

Nicole

"You never think your parents are going to grow old, you never think that your parents aren't going to be there for you"

Nicole and her sister care for their mother and have been since her vascular dementia diagnosis 6 years ago. Nicole and her family are close so the caring role came naturally and is slowly progressing as her mother deteriorates.

Nicole is now working part time as well and running her own farm as well as caring for her own mother. She only get a guaranteed afternoon off every two weeks. Nicole loves to be outdoors so most of her spare time is spent on the farm or keeping up with her family.

David

"You do it because you care for that person, you've got to be strong, physically and emotionally fit"

David has been a full time carer for his wife since 2011 when he gave up his job. About 20 years ago David's wife had an operation on her neck and now uses a wheel chair part time.

At the moment David's wife is still able to do a lot for herself but they still find it difficult to go out and about because of the lack of accessible places.

David manages to go to an art class through Active Plus every fortnight where they sit chat and draw for a couple of hours. Alongside this, when he can David goes to the Helston carers group every month and walks their dog around the university campus everyday.

Heather

"You ask anybody out there, could they walk away from their family member?"

Heather became the primary carer for her brother after her parents died and soon after that she became a carer for her son. Both her brother and son are on the Autism spectrum and have learning difficulties.

After leaving her job and aspirations of going to university and setting up a business with a friend, Heather now works for the Autism society, giving talks and delivering workshops.

Heather is also a befriender because when first becoming a carer she was befriended and now wants to share her experiences to help others and give something. Every week Heather also plays for her local darts team.

Sophie

"She's completely different to what she was, so trying to come to terms with that was probably the hardest part"

Sophie helps to care for her sister who sustained injuries to her brain in a car crash leaving her brain damaged. This happened when Sophie was fourteen so initially her caring role was to help her mother, this resulted in Sophie having to take a lot of time out of school.

Sophie now helps her sister, mainly when her husband is away in the navy, with running her household and looking after her children. Between caring and working Sophie doesn't get a lot of time for herself.

When Sophie does get some free time she chooses to spend it with her friends or just relaxing at home.