Hello again! Just over a year ago, along with my best buddy, Lindsay Anderson, I took over running Pendle Stroke Group following a Leader Times Newspapers campaign.
Obviously, due to our personal experience of strokes and fighting for better services for stroke survivors and their families, I thought this would be an ideal opportunity for us to provide support to anyone who needed it.
We could also continue learning about strokes, network with other carers and ideally find some other families who have experienced childhood strokes.
We had our latest meeting last week and as we were chatting, I was touched that one of our members opened up about how tough it is being a carer and how tiredness (both physical and mental), stress, frustration, etc. are all perfectly normal, and that breaks are vital in ensuring the level of care you can provide, both to the person you look after and yourself, is consistent.
It’s a huge struggle though to care for somebody 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no matter how much help and support you have and that in itself brings its own guilty feelings.
Our discussion about that person’s experiences and feelings as a fellow carer has really allowed me to realise that it’s OK to delegate sometimes and to not run at full capacity all of the time.
It’s OK to need a break and to ask for it.
So this is a public thank you to our fabulous little stroke support group.
Thank YOU for supporting ME.
