Sharing a little bit of our personal life that we haven’t before. I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read this and can help to raise some funds for this amazing group.

I’ve never mentioned this before but I think it’s important to make people aware that there is support out there for those in similar situations.

Sometimes those who least look like they need help may be hiding a lot. And George is a great example, he’s only 9 and already competing for his county in athletics, he’s a great footballer and a bright student but he certainly deals with a lot more than most kids his age and that’s what people don’t see.

It’s not hard to see from my Facebook how much time we invest in our children, they do so much and we are so committed to their sports but behind the scenes, everything is hard. Somehow, George manages to put all the stress behind him and still achieve great things. That’s not easy to do.

In England there are around 120,0000 young carers aged 5-18 years old.

George has been registered as a young carer since September 2023. George is 9. He’s grew up a lot faster than he should have done. After years of struggles, we came to realise that George does much more than a normal child of his age to help us. The meltdowns, the chaos and the uncertainty of living with TWO siblings who are neurodivergent is hard and people underestimate how much of an impact this can have on an household, especially siblings, it’s hard with one neurodivergent child, but two is a lot.

George helps in ways it that are impossible to explain and he does so without a second thought, often sacrificing things for himself.

George was really struggling and despite our best efforts it was impossible to give him a break because we have 3 children to look after, it felt like we were loosing our little boy due to the needs of the other children.

This April I’m running the London marathon and although I do not need to fundraise as I was very lucky to get a ballot place, I’d like to say thank you to the people at young carers Notts who have helped give George a much needed break.

Young carers Notts have taken George on lots of lovely days out which have given him a well deserved break, aswell as also offering a youth club which he attends once a month. It may not seem like a lot, but these days out are so beneficial to give him a break, because it is so hard.

Whilst we go on plenty of family days out, these are always stressful and challenging, and George often gets overwhelmed with it all.

I’m asking anyone who is willing to please donate just a little to support young carers in Nottinghamshire. Young carers are some of the kindest and most hardworking children you will ever meet who have to work extra hard to achieve their goals and ambitions and those few mental health breaks each month, mean so much. Obstacles are always there when you are a young carer but these children can and will do hard things.

George is an amazing little boy, but I don’t think a lot of people realise how much he has to deal with at home, especially since Freddie and Penny mask so well at school. Freddie and Penny have a diagnosis of SGCE myoclonus dystonia which comes with, aswell as the motor side of the condition, a unique psychological disorder, Freddie and Penny are both neurodivergent (and also awaiting an autism assessment). Despite this they are still the most amazing children, life is just a lot harder for them both.

There’s certainly a stigma around asking for help but it’s important to know there is help.

Young carers Notts are part of TuVida which is a not-for-profit organisation that supports unpaid and family carers.

I have set up this fundraiser with TuVida East Midlands who have ensured me that all funds raised will go directly towards supporting, specifically the Nottinghamshire group.

Thank you 🙏