It’s hard work
I’m a young 14-year-old that has been a young carer for 2 years, let me tell you it’s hard work.
My mum has spinocerebellar ataxia now they limit my mum from doing a lot of things and let me tell you it’s hard for me. I have to wake up every day and see her struggling. It hurts me a lot because I know my mum is in pain 24/7 and I can’t do anything to help.
Now what’s hard as well is that I’m 14 I’m in high school 5 days a week but I’m also enrolled at police rangers. I’m busy doing all of that but I’m also helping mum do what she needs to do. I’m also a daily basis carer.
Now my days go as: wake up, get mum breakfast, help her have a shower, get clothes for her, brush her hair and do a little clean up before 7:50am. I leave for my bus to take me to school, come home at around 4:15pm. I help her with dinner and cleaning, doing chores, sign paperwork, and do much more things.
I make dinner clean up the table and do the dishes and then help mum with shower and then I have a shower. It usually around 8:00pm now, I get myself ready for bed. But its homework a lot to do. I usually have up to 3 assessments due. I go to bed around 11:00 and wake up at 7:00 so not as much sleep.
Now being a carer takes up 90% of my life, I dedicate myself to helping mum and seeing her happy. Yes its stressful but I try and get through it, my life is filled up with fear of losing my mother and just seeing her upset. But every day I get through it bit by bit.
Now what hurts the most is going to hospital because mum has fallen or even hurt herself by accident. She has had a couple of surgeries and that hurt seeing her in more pain. But mostly all the bad things that happens to her and she is only 41 years old. Her life is limited to most things that most people can do.
I hope that people can relate to my story and see that having someone in their family that has a disability is hard. but we take each day of our life as a blessing to have the people you love around you.