Courtney's story

The world is a different place for everyone right now. It’s scary, it’s frightening, it’s ugly.

Imagine being a carer right now, an unpaid carer who is looking after their loved ones, like they do every single day, regardless of Coronavirus we have to go on. We don’t get recognised enough, we don’t get extra support, we simply continue to get on with life. We have to put a brave face on for the people we care for, we don’t want them to worry, but we are worrying for them.

I know a question that will cross many carers minds right now will be, what if our cared for get Coronavirus? That is a question that crosses my mind everyday.

Living with a shielded individual is hard, not wanting to go out in case you bring the virus back to them, but having to go out to get shopping, prescriptions etc.

Now we are at home all of the time, caring becomes more intense, you have to do more for the people you care for and that takes its toll. I know it has for me.

For me I relied on going out to friends and to carer groups to get a break and be with others who understood, so now not being able to do those things is hard. Things are happening virtually but that’s not the same as being able to go out and get that break from my caring role. It’s harder now to be able to find a time to have a break.

The past few months have been hard for everyone, but us as carers our lives have become ever harder than they already were. The constant worry we carry around and the constant care we are continuing to provide does take its toll.

This time has been hard for both us as carers and the people we care for. We don’t moan, we don’t complain, we just want to be recognised more, we just want more support.

We are often forgotten about by society, but we are here and still providing that essential care to the people who mean the most to us, because if we didn’t, who would?