Deaf Carer

 As far as I'm aware in my long life of reading there are very few books where the protagonists are deaf or have hearing loss, nor are there many that have deaf or hearing loss characters.   Recently I read a book called The Silent House by Nell Pattinson.  It had the same premise most crime books have but with a twist...most people assume they would hear and wake if someone was in their house, if someone committed murder whilst you slept in the next room you would know wouldn't you?  I mean you'd hear the breaking of glass, the forcing of a door so you'd be able to alert the police, go and try to stop it....but what if you couldn't hear that? What if you can hear nothing....your profoundly deaf?  Or under the same guise what if you can hear some things but not all and still wouldn't hear someone entering your home? I won't give anything away but the book deals with a separated couple who share two children, the husbands new partner and their child.  A...

 I had wanted my next post here to be positive but I've had so many negative interactions and conversations lately that I wanted to be honest about the immense pressure negativity can have.   I was struggling to shop in stores before the pandemic as I had found many weren't deaf aware.  The noise was exhausting and getting through a check out a nightmare.  The more hearing I lose the more my independence is taken away and with it my confidence.  I don't have anyone who can support or help me do things so it's down to me.   A lot of the time I feel useless, incapable and worthless.  During the pandemic this has increased, masks make it harder to communicate and most if not all places in my local area have a blanket policy of medical masks only and they are not to be removed under any circumstances.   I approached this by just not going anywhere, I ordered online and just literally grinded my teeth when I realised that for many things...

 I have been thinking lately about how isolating it is being a carer and how other people dismiss you.  I've also spent some time pondering the fact that friendship can be a strange thing and how the least little thing can be an embarrassment too far and the friendship is over.  Yet some will stick by you even though you think they are merely tolerating you and some, well some seem to be everything you wished for and more and they make you realise that not everyone in the human race are superficial.  So thank you to those people.  However the isolation that I thought I had under control has gone.  The repetitive lockdowns throughout the pandemic have brought people out the woodwork, they are seeking company, someone to moan to and well I guess friendship but as soon as the lockdown is lifted they are gone, back to their lives and you're forgotten again.  I wrote this five years ago in May 2015 but it's just as apt today.  It's called Just one frie...

 It's that time of year when everyone is looking towards large gatherings and being with loved ones for Christmas and as exciting as that is for the majority it really isn't that easy for either a deaf person or a carer, combine the two and it's possibly more stressful than anything else they have face all year.  I want to discuss, no TELL you about the stresses that make this time of year far worse than the rest of the year.   Lets start by addressing the fact that this years Christmas will be the first in the MODERN world during a pandemic, {Previous generations have experienced many Christmases and new years with a pandemic} and how that will alter the experience. Currently the rules say that social distancing and rules regarding meeting up indoors will be suspended.  What does that mean for a carer? Respite will automatically be restored: Well no actually respite won't be restored, this is because of an increase in those needing care since the pandemic start...

 I've been thinking about what to put in this post and how to write it for some time.  I wanted this to be my next post because during the first few months of the pandemic respite care was withdrawn and whilst I knew in my head it was the right thing to do for many reasons, which this post is not about, it also meant an end to my few hours off a week.   Prior to the pandemic I was getting four hours off on a Thursday morning.  Originally for a lipreading class and then for what turned out to adventures when the class moved and I could no longer get there.  My adventures were mostly local but I took a national trust membership and enjoyed some time both looking at the history of properties and the grounds. I have a fascination with history but also with nature so for me it was the perfect combination. I've seen some great exhibitions, Killerton does a fabulous Chirstmas where the decorations take on a theme each year, my favourite being Wind in the Willows....

 I suppose none of us ever expected to be living through a pandemic, surely with today's science and medicine that's a thing of the past?  Hmm no there will always be new illness, illnesses for which there are no treatment and diseases that spread so quickly it's difficult to stop them.  No matter what medical and science advances are made history shows us that there will always be a modern for the times illness that can cause an epidemic or pandemic.  What matters is whether or not we all pull together and do the right thing to keep ourselves, our loved ones and show kindness, consideration and support to strangers in order to keep them safe too.  We are currently seven months into the Covid-19 pandemic and it's not really been any of the things above, there's a lot of selfish "I can do what I want, nobody has the right to tell me what to do and as long as I'm okay everyone else can die" attitude.  If I'm honest it's that attitude that has hor...

 Oh all of a sudden I'm really rather nervous.  I'm Sall.  I've been a carer for as long as I can remember in one way or another including as a child.  I've been deaf since birth and today I suddenly felt the need to write a blog about how I find life as a Deaf Carer.  I've previously discussed both issues on my craft blog when I've been frustrated and used craft to aid me through but now I feel the need to really write about it, be totally honest about everything from emotions to facts.  I'm going to start with an introduction about me and my interests, a little about my Caree who will take various name forms from Nan to Caree depending on if I'm writing rationally or emotionally and of course my deafness.   A small disclaimer first, I'm using the term deaf because I found people didn't understand hard of hearing, hearing impaired and so I went for deaf, I shall continue to use that but appreciate it is offensive to a profoundly deaf person beca...