This is a long post. Written by my granddaughter who is a key worker in Cornwall. I don’t clap for her… I cry and worry.

I don’t work for the NHS, but I am a community carer – unfortunately we don’t get the same acknowledgement as them. (Although I do appreciate everything they do!!)

We get sent to the back of the queue when trying to shop in a short amount of time for clients, I’ve been told off many times by members of the public for not wearing gloves in shops whilst wearing my uniform because of the job I do & the ‘germs I carry’, I see people cross the road whilst I’m in uniform, I’ve been asked silly questions & looked at funny, all because I’m not working for the NHS & am ‘just a carer’.

What these people don’t know is most mornings I’m up at 5:15am, out of the house for anything up to 16hrs a day making sure people get the care they need. As well as the NHS I have to wear full PPE, gloves, aprons, face masks & even a shield. Some days are better than others, sometimes I feel nervous & scared knowing I could catch something & potentially pass it onto one of the lovely people I care for, which is a heart wrenching thought. During this pandemic they will always come first to me (I know my family is home safe) & I will continue to try my upmost best to keep them as safe as possible. Most of these lovely people live alone, family has stopped visiting due to Covid-19, so right now we are the centre of their world & the only people they see day in day out, 50% of our service users don’t even have a phone, they have absolutely no contact with the outside world. We talk about life, our families, how you take the little things for granted until they’re taken away, oh we laugh, we cry, but most importantly we will ALWAYS have each other no matter what.

Unless you’ve done it yourself, no one will understand how tired us carers are, how sore our hands are, how painful our backs are, but I won’t stop because it’s not just a job for me, it’s a massive part of my life & I will not let anyone feel alone, ever.

This will end, but until it does I wish everyone would just stay at home, it’s not all fun & games going out to work, it’s serious & I’m scared. A massive thank you to the team I work with at Alexandra’s, without each & every one of you guys I wouldn’t have the confidence & drive to keep going! You’re all doing a fantastic job & I’m proud to work alongside you all ❤

There’s so many staff that don’t have the benefit of working from home & staying safe.. These are the key workers & I take my hat off to them ALL, they’re the ones keeping the world turning & most of them don’t get the acknowledgement they deserve. So here’s to them, the NHS & everyone playing their part in staying at home, thank you to each & every one of you, we’re all in this together. ❤

If you got this far thank you for reading this.

Christine (and Jim) Fazackerley, Golberdon