A WIFE from Kendal who looks after her husband with dementia is backing the campaign.

Amanda Reynolds has lovingly looked after John since he was diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2014. 

She said: “You need to be honest with what you need, you can’t do your job well if you don’t get a break from time to time.” 

The Kendal Interfaith Minster also paid tribute to the South Lakeland Carers. “I’ve only started to use their service recently but it has been great as John is an active person so he can go out and do activities while I stay at home,” she said. 

Amanda was never the romantic type and always told John were he to ask her to marry him she would say no.

But when they came out of the doctors with the news that would change their lives forever, she turned to him. She said: “I said if you’re going to ask me, ask me now and it was my way of telling him I’m sticking with you no matter what,” 

However, with John’s condition deteriorating quickly Amanda admits she needs help. “It is like taking care of an overgrown toddler, you’ve always got to be one step ahead of the game and it’s draining,” she said.
“John fiddles with everything all the time. He pulls all the plugs out of the television and he moves items around. You need to have eyes on the back of your head.”

Amanda said her and John no longer have a husband and wife relationship, it’s purely a carer’s relationship. “I can’t have a conversation with him anymore, he gets so easily distracted,” she said. 
But she believes the campaign will help other carers speak up and ask for more respite. 

“You can only take it one day at a time and self-care is so important. You need to take care of yourself and be well so that you can do your job for longer,” she said.