Hello,
I am 17. There are four people in my family – my mum
and dad, my older sister and myself. My sister left home several
years ago. I am currently doing Year Eleven by homeschool.
In my family I care for my mother. Her main
problem is a generic connective tissue disorder called Ehrlos-Danlos
Syndrome (EDS). It basically means that a person with EDS
must be very careful about what they do, especially when they
stretch because their joints can degrade over time.
My mum didn’t know she had it until
a few years ago, so the damage she had already done was great.
There is no cure. Unfortunately both my sister and I have
EDS. If we are very careful we should not have anywhere near
as many problems as my mother now has, but we still have some
problems already.
My mother can still do things in the house
but it causes her a great deal of pain which is why I became
her Carer. I became her Carer in 2000, which is also when
I started homeschool.
As the years have passed and she has gotten
worse I have progressively taken on more and more of the household
responsibilities. I am now literally responsible for managing
the general side of things in the household, including preparation
and cooking of generally all the meals for my family; all
the cleaning, dishes, washing and general food shopping. There
are also other little jobs to be done during the day, like
getting things organised for my mum when she goes out, scheduling
and cancelling appointments for her, posting letters and any
other things she needs done during the day. The thing I find
most stressful about being a Carer is that because there is
really no one for my mum to talk to about what stresses her, she is always telling me. Now I have some one I can go to
when I need to get things off my chest and it would really
help me if there was someone she could go to on a regular
basis as well.
By the way, when I grow up I would like
to be a doctor.
Sarah. |
