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Call Sign recently sent a team to represent
Dial-a-Cab at the Butlins Golf Day at Silvermere,
organised in aid of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.
While a great day’s golf took place, scores took second place to
the event and the money it managed to raise for the charity. The
DaC team consisted of two Board members – Keith Cain and
Howard Pears – and two drivers – father and son Peter
Boxall Junior and Senior. Fund raising manager for the charity, Trish Brown, told Call Sign: "We at The Princess Royal Trust for Carers are delighted that Butlins have been supporting us as their chosen charity for the last three years. Our partnership has gone from strength to strength and the support they provide for unpaid carers, both financial and practical, is ever evolving, exciting and great fun. "It was also wonderful to have such amazing support from Dial-a-Cab and the other teams taking part and seeing everyone enjoying the course and letting their hair down! The enthusiasm of your team created an ambience conducive to a relaxed and really enjoyable day, without some of the strict formalities that can sometimes inhibit the opportunity to play good golf and have fun at the same time. All of the money raised will be used to benefit unpaid and young carers in the UK. "It is extremely important to us to let you know that through your support you have made a real and quantifiable difference to the everyday lives of the unpaid carers we are supporting through our Carer Centres." Two such carers are Charlotte and David. There are many more... Charlotte is 9 - going on 29 - and like most girls of her age is |
DaC team at Butlins Golf Day |
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 The DaC golf team |
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into music, dance and learning
all the things you’d rather she didn’t! Her Dad is paraplegic
and suffers from hydrocephalus, so Charlotte has to help her
mother get him dressed and is very resourceful when it comes to
lifting the legs of a 16 stone man! Her brother, Robert, is also
disabled and Charlotte has to help out with his therapy that at
times is exhausting, even for an adult. David is 70 and has cared full-time for his mother, Nora (93), for the last three years since she had a heart attack and caught pneumonia. Nora has since recovered from those health problems, but is still frail, uses a wheelchair and has diabetes. David relocated from his hometown in Wolverhampton to London to live and care for Nora. David’s other siblings do not share his caring role; in fact they hardly ever visit. Doctors, family members and friends have all urged David to put Nora into a care home, but he says that he could not abandon his mum. He says simply that he loves his mother and it is his duty to care for her. He has always had a special bond with his mum ever since they were both evacuated during the blitz. David administers his mum’s medicine - she takes up to 15 tablets a day. He shops, cleans the |
house and pays the bills. He also cooks all
his mother’s special diabetic meals and cares for her during the
night, as she sometimes needs help going to the bathroom or
needs a drink. David is partially deaf, so between them they use
a light system where Nora keeps her bedroom door open, which
David can see from where he sleeps, and turns her lamp on and
off if she needs to wake him up. Paid-care workers visit during the day to help Nora with her intimate and personal care. David describes his life as "being on hold" and akin to "groundhog day." Whilst caring for his mother, he hasn’t been out even for one evening since his full-time caring responsibilities began. He no longer has time to pursue any hobbies – he enjoyed drama and dancing. Caring has also had an impact on his health and David now takes anti-depressants. Thankfully he gets support from his local Princess Royal Trust Carers’ Centre and also mentors other male carers. He describes his support worker Bruce as being "fantastic." Speaking for the DaC team, Keith Cain told Call Sign: It was an excellent day and while I can’t claim that we came top, we all played well and were just delighted to be part of such a worthwhile event." |
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