This is a different post for me today, but I thought I would share this with you all.
I’m one very proud big sister, my brother Gary is one of the kindest, most selfless and humble people I know. Our dad had a massive stroke 2 years ago which changed him in so many ways, not only physically but mentally and its a daily struggle to keep life on track. I now live 300 miles away from them so I’m not able to help as much as I’d like to although I do travel up every four weeks to support my brother and see my dad. My dad now lives alone in sheltered accommodation (he used to work full time in a Private Hospital). As a result of this Stroke he will never work again and at 56 that is hard to deal with. Just functioning day to day is a struggle.
Gary along with my Aunt are my dads main care givers & they are incredible in the way they look after him and improve his quality of life. I burst with pride when I think about what they have done to insure my dad’s day to day life is as stress free and safe as possible. It has been a long road and incredibly difficult, sad and at times frustrating. You would never know Gary has this stress in his life or that he has dealt with some very difficult situations, he never lets my dad feel like a burden or that he takes up most of his time. My dad’s Stroke was so severe he needs assistance to do the most basic of tasks, he struggles mentally to plan, listen to instructions and complete the most basic of tasks. It is an ongoing recovery and he has made improvements and we all hold out hope that we will get to be a little more of the man we used to know. My dad Eric Bruce used to be so active, healthy and served 28 years in the Royal Medical Corps so it is hard for me to see him in this position.
My brother Gary is running the London Marathon for the 5th time and he raises money for The Stroke Association which as you can imagine is a charity that is very close to our hearts. He trains so hard and is going for a personel best time of 3 hours this year. I wanted to write a post just to highlight how proud I am that not only does he look after our dad but that he also finds time to raise money for other families that are affected by Stroke. He makes me so very very proud.
I will be cheering him along from Scotland with my dad & keeping my fingers crossed that he achieves the time he needs. If you’re able to spare even £1 I would be thrilled if you could sponsor him & send him some positive vibes on Sunday when he is running x
No wonder ur proud i would be too I hope gary achieves his goals Good luck xx
Thank you xxx
I am definitely to support Gary and you should feel so proud having him as your brother. You’re an amazing sister too and story of your dad always makes me feel grateful for the small daily struggles I have. It also gives me power to overcome them. Your dad is such a survivor and inspiration! X
Thank you so much, that means a lot xx
What a lovely post, good luck to your brother on the race!
Thank you. Fingers crossed he achieves his PB
Wow that is fantastic, what an inspiration! No wonder you’re proud…huge good luck to him on his race 🙂
Holly Mixtures
xx
Oh gosh I had no idea, how hard for you all. What an amazing brother you have xx
He is a true Gent! Very proud of him x
Oh wow what an amazing man, he’s done and is doing so well! You must be so very proud of him xxx
I am so proud of him!
Ignore me while I’m sat in tears – I’m remembering how hard it was to see my poor Nan look after my Granddad for 8 years after he had a stroke, before she couldn’t look after him anymore. Gary does such amazing things, I swear I see you tweeting/instagraming a photo of him in a race what seems like every week, truly inspiring! x
Thank you Amy! Fingers crossed he manages to get round in one piece.
Gary and your dad are such absolutely inspirations. Wishing you all health and happiness!
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You know I send my love to you and your family always honey and your brother is AMAZING!! Bit like my Mum who is forever over coming life’s challenges and doing things for other and more often than not to help others. I am so touched by your story with your dad, Honestly my heart goes out to you and your family. You are very brave vicki and keep strong. All my love Becki xx LLP Blog xx
ps- your brother is quite the looker!! a rather dashing family i must say! xx