A few months ago representatives of several health and social welfare organisations - for instance Aberdeen Foyer, local Social Work Networks, Princess Royal Trust for Carers, all of them very supportive of our efforts as well as complimentary about our work to date on the website - met with George and myself to discuss plans for the future of workingtogethercare.com. 

Several constructive suggestions were made that day, including applying for grant funding to help find and fund an admin assistant; large organisations might add a link to their own websites to workingtogethercare.com; what we have achieved might be incorporated into the website of a larger organisation; or we could donate to an appropriate organisation our work on workingtogethercare.com

Given the huge amount of time, work and effort our small team has put into building and developing over the past 18 months - very big decisions!

Practical steps to survival - How?!

It was only after several years, when my daughter began to fight her illness and humour eventually came back into life, that I realised how long it had been since I’d laughed.  In those long dark days it was hard to imagine what it was like to laugh, to relax - even to dream of such a possibility again in future.

Have you forgotten what it’s like laugh?  Or to sit and concentrate on an activity you don’t have time for now?  To chat with friends over a meal, read without interruption a good book for an hour or two - or even an interesting article in a paper or magazine?  Have a holiday, play sport, sing or make music, go ballroom dancing, swim, learn something new, attend an interesting class….?   Go out anywhere without meticulous planning for your absence?  A whole night’s sleep, a weekend away?  A holiday?!

Now that my daughter is well and I can look back at those dark days, I can recognise how very important it is to find ways of surviving so that I could continue offering support to my beloved Jay.  

Finding ways of recharging personal batteries is essential (not a luxury!)  To help you work out ways to ensure your own survival, look for 'Recharging Personal Batteries' in Carer Survival.  

Recently I travelled to Ireland, and on the plane again noticed the sign 'In the event of an emergency people travelling with children or other vulnerable individuals should put on their on mask first.'  The steward repeated the words before take-off... If we don't look after our own welfare first, if we collapse and are unable to cope, who will look after those children or other vulnerable people?  How then can we care for others?  

All too often we forget this message in the hurly burly in today's fast-moving world - yet without adequate rest to recharge our batteries, our bodies don't function as well as they might and our thinking may become distorted, practical decisions much more difficult. 

I came home feeling my energy revived ...plus renewed optimism about current and future projects...plus new ideas for articles and stories.  What a difference a space of time away from everyday life and expectations can make!  I was reminded that even in the very best of times when everything is going well, our energy can be stretched to the limit.  

'Carer Survival' is a main theme of this website - without family carers, what would happen to those at the heart of all our efforts?  More on 'Putting on your own mask first' on our Members Area.

There are now well over 100 articles on our workingtogethercare.com website supporting professionals and families coordinating care for troubled individuals - under  headings Communication, Resources, Information, Confidentiality and Carer Survival.  In celebration of this achievement, and to explore ways of continuing our work and ensure the continuation and future of the website, our small team decided to organise an ‘Ideas Forum’ with interested professionals from various fields to discuss progress and ideas.

During yesterday’s very interesting and constructive working lunch, practical suggestions to help fund ongoing costs for e.g. internet services and technical support, included these possibilities –

The use of workingtogethercare.com in training...Trying to find a way of scrapping the membership fee…?  Linking up with a big organisation… Possibly donating what we’ve done, or perhaps being ‘adopted’?
Seeking sponsorship …?  Making applications for grant funding…?

We feel we stand at an exciting crossroads, with several possible paths open ahead!

All these ideas for the future, and more, will be explored by George (all the technical stuff), Penny (images) and myself Gráinne (writing the articles and inviting Guest Writers to contribute).  

Any comments on progress so far, ideas and suggestions for the future - please contact us.

An interesting road ahead...