Hello everyone, nice to be here and read your posts. I’m a carer for my elderly(98) mother . I was just ambling about the internet looking for a site that is for carers and I came across Carers Connect. I had a look at the message board and thought that is was a good place for communicating and expressing the frustrations and tribulations of being a carer and generally just sharing with others.
Compared with some my life is fairly easy, I just have to make sure mum is fed and watered, she has no real health or mental issues but as I’m sure you all know, it’s always ‘on duty’ that gets tedious and no time for oneself.
I’m retired now, but did have a varied working life when I worked : soldier, welder, ran a pub and finished my working life off as an auditor for one of the supermarket chains and I travelled all over the UK in that role.
Look forward to chatting with you all in the near future.
.Steve
Hi Steve and welcome,
totally.
Do you and your Mum live in the same house?
Hi Melly1. Yes, I moved her in with me when she couldn’t manage on her own. Put a stairlift in for her and all the bits and pieces she needs for getting from a to b.
Hi Steve. A warm welcome from me too.
Sounds like you are a very caring son to be doing all that for Mum. She is lucky.
I care for my husband, Graham, who is currenlty in hospital in a right state - suspected second stroke but confirmed not, but he cannot move around unaided and has several infections (one picked up in hospital!!) SIGH
You’ll find a lot of support and advice on here - it’s an amazing resource. You can share as much or as little as you want.
I suggest you have a nosey at “Roll Call” thread as we tend to have a natter and a laugh on there as well as sharing about our day and good and not so good points.
Cheers
Chris
Hello and welcome from me. I care for my 85 year old medically non compliant husband.
I echo Chris with suggesting you check out Roll Call. We share the ups and downs and at times the sheer isolation and frustration caring can cause and yes, humour creeps in too! We help each other through the very difficult times. Also there is a huge amount of empathy and advice when it comes to dealing with the NHS.
I agree that your mother is very lucky having you being willing to live with her. Do you have any siblings or any form of support?
Welcome to the forum Steve, I care for my mum too. She is currently in hospital as it has all become a bit much at home, waiting for a placement.
Hi Chris__22081 nice of you to get in touch. It’s early days for me on here and I’m sure I’ll find my way round and get to know how the site works and introduce myself. Sorry to hear about your husband… Hope it gets easier for you. As for Mum… There was no one left to look after her so I kind of inherited the situation after my eldest sister( who was looking after her) passed away a couple of years back. Couldn’t afford the cost of a care home and to be fair, she’s not really all that much hard work, I just have to make sure she’s eaten, taken medication and all that malarkey 
Hi Honeycatgirl, thank you for getting in touch, everyone seems very friendly here.
Hi Steve, welcome to the forum. I’ve supported various family members, now just my son with learning difficulties, as the result of brain damage at birth. He can’t read write or do any maths but can drive my 10 ton steam traction engine. Mum is lucky to have a son as kind as you. Do you manage to have regular time off?
@Sch2740……hi Steve, welcome to the forum. I cared for my husband until fairly recently when unfortunately he had to move into a carehome full time due to physical disabilities and him not being able to manage at home.
You’ll find the guys on here are a great bunch and it’s a great place to chat with others.
Really good bunch of people on here. I am relatively new to the forum and it has been the best experience of my life.
Hi bowlingbun, thanks for getting in touch, if your son can drive the traction engine… he can do more than most males on the planet. I’m seriously impressed with you owning a steam engine, boys’ toy to be proud of. I have fond memories of steam trains and I’m not far from York so I’m quite often in there… it’s the 100th anniversary of Flying Scotsman this year. Do you have much difficulty finding coal for the firebox?
The family has many connections with steam, both sides of the family. My husband owned a steam roller when we met, and later restored the traction engine. Eldest son drove a miniature engine when he was 3 years old, M did the same when he was 4 years old. When they were babies I would steer the roller with a baby in a baby sling, and most summer weekends we would be at a show somewhere, so there were a lot of children growing up with steam engines, it’s a very sociable hobby, like a big family. Coal is the burning issue of the day. Eldest son has built a shed extension so he can stockpile some of the last best Welsh coal! At home we try to burn wood. Unfortunately for health reasons I can’t get up on the footplate any more. Grandson is now 12, he loves the engines too. My late husband built a lovely engine shed for them, better than the cottage where we live. Fortunately eldest son is also an engineer.