Being a carer during Covid - Part 2
Jan is Kitty's carer and both are regular guests at Leuchie House. Jan previously wrote about their experience of lockdown back in April and today she writes about how they're living their lives since restrictions have eased.
M’Lady (aka Kitty) and I ventured over to North Berwick on the 7th of July to collect a painting that I’d commissioned. It featured M’Lady on the powered beach wheelchair, accompanied by Yours Truly. It was painted by the very talented North Berwick artist, Rachel Marshall of <<Bonzo Art>> (supporting a local business). It was M’Lady’s first outing in the car since the 11th of March. We had such a lovely day. M’Lady never left the car but we managed to have seafood chowder from the Lobster Shack, followed by a Luca’s ice cream (supporting more local businesses) - and managed a wee blether with the lovely Liz MacColl, who lives down on the Lower Quay.
Since shielding was eased at the end of July, not a lot has changed in our lives. We don’t venture out too far - as you know, the virus has not gone away so we feel it’s better to be safe than sorry. We’ve been out and about around the village for a few short walks and her PA has taken her on long walks around the village, sometimes stopping for a takeaway coffee at Jane’s Gift & Coffee Shop (supporting another local business) and sometimes taking a flask of coffee to a quiet spot that overlooks the beach. I’ve been to visit The Mammy (aka Jan senior, another Leuchie regular), who lives on her own about 8 miles from us. I’ve also visited three of my four daughters, one in Glenrothes, one in Glasgow and another in Edinburgh. I’m not quite ready yet to step on a plane to fly to Boston to visit the fourth daughter. To reduce the isolation we’d begun to feel, we started inviting friends round for coffee and scones, initially in the garden then in the conservatory once shielding was paused - as was the good weather!!
We’ve recently started having M’Lady’s carers back - in the mornings and evenings only. I’d covered all M’Lady’s care for 21 weeks and it was beginning to take its toll. I’m way too young to be needing an afternoon nap but it was fast becoming the norm. A slot became available with the council’s ‘Care at Home Service’. We’ve been trying to get a council slot for 6 years, preferring that to using an agency, so we jumped at the chance - well, I jumped. M’Lady just smiled ‘cos she really canny jump. We’re helping to raise funds for a local charity, Largo Communities Together. We’ve been selling books, DVDs, CDs and bric-a-brac, setting up stall in a local car park beside the wonderful Lily’s Larder. M’Lady spent the day catching up with lots of weel Kent faces, socially distant of course. At the moment, she has no plans to go away this year. She’s quite happy at home. We’re very lucky - we have a conservatory, a big garden, a sea view and lots of lovely neighbours. Who needs to go abroad?
Hope to see you all at Leuchie in 2021, Covid-19 permitting.
Jan x
