MY INTRODUCTORY POST TO YOU
Hi & Welcome to Carers Take Care of YOU 💗
I am Jenny, unexpectedly now fulltime CARER for my hubby who was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease 7 years ago.
Turn back the clock 10 years or even back as far as 2014, Steve was happily working in the Building Industry as a Contract Administrator/Estimator & Sales Manager.
I had started working from home restoring furniture & then developing a Sanding Glove I had invented for intricate sanding of the furniture. This I built up to an international business selling in Canada, USA, Europe, UK, New Zealand & Australia. That is on hold for now & may or may not be re-established again.
In the blink of an eye our world came crashing down after a bad car accident. We had not long returned from an amazing 2 months marketing & attending a huge show - The Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart, Tasmania. It was amazing & we met so many lovely people along the way.
At the end of 2016 we were travelling in our motorhome, marketing my gloves after Steve was released from his job. We believe they noticed signs of the Huntington's, but never really said, as he was a valuable worker for nearly 25 years.
So, months in & out of hospital, (thankfully Steve was not injured), I made my way back into life again, but it was far from normal. The exciting life we had once was null & void - forever ! We had to learn to adapt to a whole new way of living. A year after the car accident Steve had a heart attack, & then began to convulse 4 to 6 times a day for 10 months, until, one evening he was so bad, he was rushed to hospital & his medication had to be increased. We finally had it under control - NOT HEALED - but under control.
I then began to research more natural ways to fight against all the side effects this rotten disease brings.
FAST FORWARD TO NOW -
We have learnt a lot, we are in a semi-normal routine & have much help put in place for Steve. Compared to his Mum, who also had HD, he is doing quite well. It is not curable, however, with all we are doing we have managed to slow down the ugly disease, & try & manage as best we can day by day.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO THIS BLOG -
After years of ploughing through many ups & more downs, Steve wanted to give back & reach out to those suffering & hurting, not only with HD, but anything else that is dragging them down in life. He had realized & had his eyes opened to what others go through.
So I began to once again research, & we decided to create videos on Steve's own Youtube Channel - http://www.youtube.com/@StevePositiveHuntingtonJourney
Steve's attitude is remarkable - he keeps us going with his daily motto - EVERY DAY IS A GREAT DAY !
So, with 36 videos uploaded now, I wanted to reach out to YOU, especially if you are also a Carer, as this world is a tough one, even when life doesn't bring major challenges.
Carers need support too, along with the person suffering, as they are thrown into a world of unimaginable daily happenings. I would never have thought about any of this in our prior life, & that shames me to a certain degree, as we were so busy living our NORMAL life along with others. It's not, I believe, a selfish way of living, but like anything, unless you have experienced it, you don't really get it, & that's not your fault. However, I do wish I had even felt a small percentage what Carers & their loved ones were going through. I could have given them a HUG, MORE TIME, A PHONE CALL REGULARLY, or some support in some way, just to make them feel wanted, needed, & still part of their community - their world.
Anyways, I will close this post here & begin this journey of reaching out to YOU with more positivity on how we deal with life now, enjoying all we can, & dealing with the rest.
I want this to be an uplifting blog, but at the same time, a Blog of understanding. A Blog of getting what you feel & where you are coming from. A Blog of Community of Carers from different walks of life & Non-Carers who really do CARE for CARERS💜💜💜
Here we go ..................
