Hello!

As many of you will know I'm not the fittest person! However, I'm going to change that in 2023. 

In autumn 2022 I joined Netfit - a Peterborough-based women's netball and fitness/weight-loss group. I hadn't played netball since school (some 30+ years ago) and when I first joined I couldn't play a whole game as I just wasn't fit enough.

However now, a year on, I can play  two full games back to back, an hour of training on a Thursday and friendly matches on a Sunday. At least I could.... until I broke my finger in a recent game :-(

I work for a charity called Caring Together and we support unpaid carers across Peterborough, Cambs and Norfolk. So who is an unpaid carer? Well, imagine that your Mum has dementia and has been living alone, but now can't manage anymore. You may become her unpaid carer - collecting her prescriptions, taking her to medical appointments, helping her with shopping and cooking, and perhaps in time, even washing her, getting her dressed, and taking her to the bathroom. There's no training, and suddenly you are plunged into this caring role. It can be overwhelming, exhausting and very stressful. You may have to give up work, lose your social life, and become very isolated.

It isn't just dementia of course. A partner, parent, sibling, or child could have cancer, suffer a stroke, be disabled in an accident, be diagnosed with motor neurone disease, or many other conditions. Suddenly someone depends on you for support. It is up to you to keep them safe, and make sure they get the care they need - from the NHS and social care as well as from you. 

Caring Together makes a world of difference for unpaid carers. We understand, we get it, and we can help. We provide advice and information from our helpline; groups to meet with other carers who know what you are going through; breaks so you can go to the doctors or meet up with a friend; counselling; and even expert and compassionate home care. We help carers from 5 years of age, up to over 100 years of age.

I am passionate about what we do at Caring Together, so I am taking on this challenge in October 23 to help fund our vital services. I need to improve my fitness between now and then so I can achieve this challenge. Every donation will help spur me on, and support unpaid carers locally.