Almost every family carer we meet describes respite as something for people who are struggling more than they are. Almost every one of them was, by any reasonable measure, struggling.
The signs we look for
- Sleep broken most nights for more than a month
- Medical appointments of your own being cancelled
- Irritability that surprises you afterwards
- No conversation in a week that was not about care
- The thought, arriving unbidden, that you cannot keep this up
Why earlier is cheaper
Four hours a week, arranged in advance, costs a fraction of the emergency package that follows a carer collapse — and it is far easier on the person being cared for, who keeps the same faces and the same routine either way.
