Fife family finds lifeline with Kirkcaldy additional needs charity, Nourish

Emma Pauley has joined its carers support group after becoming increasingly isolated during lockdown.

Emma said: “I am blessed with two gorgeous girls - my eldest Kasie is 10 and my youngest Millie is eight.

"Millie has a very rare genetic mutation called TUBA1a, which means that she has a long list of complex care needs that includes a learning disability, epilepsy, muscular skeletal issues, among others – she requires 24 hour one-to-one support with all aspects of life.

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/people/watch-toepokes-and-tragedies-scots-band-creates-song-to-spur-scotland-onto-victory-in-euros-3169403

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/health/coronavirus/wetherspoons-is-reopening-60-pubs-in-scotland-in-april-heres-the-full-list-3170433

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/people/work-could-start-on-new-homes-on-site-of-fire-ravaged-kirkcaldy-school-within-months-3170574

"Homelife was like a pressure cooker as I tried to juggle work, care needs and homeschooling – life as a carer can be isolating, and peer to peer support is invaluable.

"I reached out to Nourish to join their carers support group as I was feeling very isolated, sad, lonely and disconnected from the world around me.”

It was then that Emma realised she wasn’t alone - there were other families out there who were facing similar challenges.

"Nourish welcomed myself and my family with open arms,” she said. “They understand how hard life is when you have to juggle complex care needs of a loved one.

"There never feels like there are enough hours in the day to get everything done and they understand the chronic exhaustion that I was going through.

"What I love most about Nourish is that their staff have lived experience, they take a holistic approach to their support services, they offer advice, activities, moral support, and help with financial strains.

“They recognise the needs of the whole family, and have virtually held my hand through the latter part of the pandemic and I cannot thank them enough for the support I have received.

Emma adds that if any other families are struggling to cope to not hesitate in seeking help. “Don’t wait until you are feeling overwhelmed or in crisis before you reach out,” she added. “There are fantastic charities such as Nourish who can help, and without their support life would have been even harder.

“Nourish is an amazing charity, and I cannot stress enough how the support they provided has positively contributed to my mental health.”

For more information, please visit: https://www.nourishsupportcentre.com/

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.