Share when a carer made all the difference to you with TrustFord - chance to win £300 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

The team at TrustFord would love to hear from MNers who have contact with carers (formal or informal) and to hear the stories when a carer made a really big difference to you/ your family.

TrustFord say "We know that having the right tool for the job makes all the difference, and we believe it’s the same when it comes to cars. Motability is a car scheme to get disabled people on the road and recent changes have meant that more people with mental disabilities are now able to join. Here at TrustFord our dedicated Motability Specialists in each dealership get to know you and those you care for to ensure that you drive away in a vehicle perfect for your lifestyle".

To find out more about how TrustFord can help you and your family get on the road with the Motability scheme watch this video.

So please share on this thread your story of how a carer (or carers) have helped you or your family - this could be someone caring for your child in your home, someone working with your elderly parent (or grandparent) or with someone in your family who has a disability or additional needs - we want to celebrate the difference they make to everyday life. This could include informal carers/ support volunteers etc.

Everyone who posts on the thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks, and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

NB: Wholly owned by Ford Motor Company and operating as an independent dealer group with its own board of directors and operating strategies, TrustFord is part of the Ford Retail Group which also owns and operates TrustFirstParts.
Accredited as one of the Sunday Times Top 25 Companies to work for, TrustFord operates a network of 60 dealership sites throughout the UK and Channel Islands. It employs 3,200 staff all of whom are focused on Driving the Standard in Customer Care.
On the website, you can find out more about their New and Used Cars, Motability vehicles or vans, as well as the latest Offers, Servicing options, and the latest driving advice.

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The carer who's looking after my Dad is making such a difference to his quality of life.

my elderly parents my father can hardly walk care for my daughter every day so I can afford to go back to work

My Dad after a stroke has a carer (Libika) come to the house every morning and evening to help get him up, shower him, and dress him, and the same every evening before he's ready for bed. Mum has Dementia, so she isn't too well herself, but since Dad had his stroke, his physical mobility isn't good, and he's just too heavy for Mum to lift on her own. As well as being a wonderful person, he's just so much support for Mum and the whole family too. He always stays for a cup of tea and a chat with Mum, and has and is, invaluable to our family.

I have functional bowel disease and simply would be housebound without Mum. She ferries me everywhere just in case I have an episode and never grumbles when she is dealing with my awful accidents. I'm not sure I could do what she does for me and to rely on her when I'm in my 40's is something I never thought I'd ever need. Very humble!

My neighbour helps care for my parents, it is such a weight off my shoulders knowing someone is local and there to help them.

I am fortunate enough not to need carers or have experience of home carers. The best carers and the most under valued are the nurses in the NHS who work tirelessly for little reward.

At the end of my Grandma's life, we brought in Marie Curie nurses to assist with her care. They were fantastic in providing the support we all needed and made her comfortable in her own home for when she passed.

My father had a carer before he died of lung cancer. This gave him privacy and a sense of dignity as he didn't want my Mum to have to cope alone.

I used to have carers 2x a week who used to help me so much, cleaning and helping me cope with my parkinsons and looking after my 3 kids by myself. Alas council cutbacks means I lost it, which although only 3 hrs a week gave me such a boost.

When my Nan, a retired nurse, was dying - she had bowel cancer, and chose to spend her last days at home- a group of her ex-colleagues used to come in daily to help wash and reposition her. We are all nurses in my family, but it meant so much that they realised that it would be hard to perform these tasks for your own family and they really helped us all in her final days. They did not need to come in every day but they voluntarily did, and my Nan was so well cared for, she was so thin and vulnerable by the end but she did not have a single area of pressure damage and was cared for with the utmost dignity and respect by people who were almost as heartbroken as her family.

When my MIL died, my BIL (with Downs Syndrome) had to be put into a care home because neither we nor my SIL was able to be the full-time carers. The staff at my BIL's house were and are brilliant - right from the start they made him very welcome and they just allow him to be himself. It really took away a lot of stress and concern my DH had, and guilt about whether he should be caring for his brother. We know that my BIL is in the best place for him!

We are grateful that my in-laws have really great neighbours who look out for them. Nipping to the shops, giving them lifts & generally just keeping an eye out for them is so helpful. Even though we're there a lot and speak to them everyday it's still reassuring to have them there, knowing they'd call us straight away if there was a problem.

I used to live with my grandma and care for her as she was suffering from emphysema and she struggled to breathe. She was very weak so I used to do the meals and prepare her medication. Often she was so weak that she needed me to set up the nebulizer with the medicine already in the chamber so that all she had to do was press the button. Unfortunately she often had to wake me up in the night by banging on the wall because she was too ill, struggling so much for breath that she couldn't even press the on button :-( and then I used to sit with her on her bed until she was able to breathe better again. Eventually I went to Uni after doing my A-levels at college and she had both my parents next door (she moved) and carers came in to help her with day to day tasks. Carers were a life saver because they took good care of her in her own home and meant she could stay with the people she loved rather than go into a care home. Currently I am a stay at home parent and a carer for my disabled 17 year old son. He has ADHD and autism, but became very ill at 13 with a rare illness, 3 ops later they sorted out the underlying issue with his parathyroid glands, but he was never quite right afterwards and he has been very poorly. He also has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. He is home tutored due to illness. We do all the caring ourselves, but it does get hard, apart from weekends, I've barely left the house in the last 4 years, mostly only to do with his hospital appointments. That is why carers do such a good job when they provide respite for families with sick, disabled or elderly relatives.

I have a pair of carers 4 times a day as I am physically disabled. Without them I wouldn't be able to get washed and dressed for work and would just have to stay in bed. They have given me as much independence as I can possibly have and for that I am very grateful.

When my dd1 was still here our amazing friend and carer used to look after her so I could have the occasional night out. Dd loved her, as she gave THE best cuddles and was so just so so loving and kind. A good carer should never go unappreciated. I cared for dd1 until she passed away and it is the hardest job you could ever do.

My mum was the only one out of her sister and 3 brothers who cared for my Granddad when he was old. She was still working full time, and when he needed further care, she couldn't always help him. They employed a carer to help him do day to day things, and it not only saved him, but it also saved her too!

The Hospice at Home carer who was with my mum and dad when my dad died last week was amazing. I can't thank her enough for the difference she made.

The care team who go to my Grandparent daily now are a God send. They have saved us having to go daily & obviously taken away a bit of that stress. Not an easy job & very thankless too (especially from my Grandmother...she is not the easiest!)

Thanks for all the comments - pleased to say sashh wins the £300 Love2Shop voucher.