What is this then?

Well I'm a 43 year old man with a 22 year old son who happens to suffer from acute schizophrenia and many related anxieties/phobias and I wanted to write about what it is like. To be honest I'm probably going to be writing this more for me than anyone but maybe some people might find it of interest.

I used to run warehousing/distribution type things until my Father and girlfriend both died in a short period of time. I decided to take a year off, not only for myself but also to help my Mother who was finding it incredibly hard to cope, and lived a few hundred miles away from me. It seemed a sensible thing to do (and it was) as I had plenty of savings and taking a year out wouldn't be a problem.

During that 'year out' my son was diagnosed and his problems mounted. Over a short time the symptoms got worse and I had to spend a lot of time looking after him. Eight years later I haven't been able to go back to work since and the savings have gone now so things are difficult. However, whilst being the hardest thing I've ever done, trying to provide and source the best care for my son has also been the best thing I've ever done.

I'm just another carer, and sometimes it's hard.

This blog will probably be a mixture of explaining what we go through, no doubt a healthy sprinkling of outright moaning, and random thoughts about our situation. As I said it's mainly for me but if you find it of interest, or better still it makes you think a little, then that's wonderful.

xxx