Hi Everyone!
Thankyou for accepting me into the community, I wasn’t sure where to go that I could post something like this online but it seems very active and supportive here 
My step-mother had a stroke a few years ago after having a reaction to covid - this completely flipped my dad’s life around and since then he has been caring for her full-time all day everyday.
I’m aware she has Aphasia and Dyspraxia, she has a lot of trouble communicating fluidly (apologies I’m not sure of the specific logistics of everything).
She has some mobility but is wearing a leg brace and needs help daily for showering and in the mornings but mostly she can get herself around the house on a daily basis.
She has a speech therapist, physio so she’s getting care on the level to help her improve which is great, I think it’s more just additional support that could be needed.
My reason for this post was to seek some guidance on how to go about helping my Dad, I live quite a distance away and really he needs some professional help every week to give him a breather and to know my step-mum is in good hands as well as some restbite care sometime so he can have at least a few days or a week for him to be able to do something for himself at one point.
However, he is really struggling to relinquish control over everything due to feelings of guilt and says he is waiting for her to improve as other people may not understand her needs but he seems very anxious, very tired and I can tell he’s starting to break from it all and needs help as soon as possible.
He’s also very nervous that she won’t have the correct one-on-one care he believes she needs at a restbite centre and says he hasn’t got the energy to search for one. I think he’s just very overwhelmed and also has health problems of his own to deal with as well as the housework, cooking etc. I’m sure many people here are experiencing a similar circumstance.
They live in Brighton, I’m wondering if anyone could lend me some advice as to how to help him and think more long-term for his own needs too, I’m feeling worried about the state of his mental health.
If anyone has any ideas, any recommended and reliable restbite centres within the area of Brighton & Hove, communities, meetups - private care that he can trust that would be absolutely amazing.
Thankyou so much for reading, any kind of advice would be most welcomed!
Poppy
