On 01/02/2012 13:27, Cynic wrote:
On Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:29:48 +0000, Steve Walker
wrote:

Good for you. But have you had to juggle normal life and caring for
someone 24/7. I can say that I have not first hand, but certainly second
hand. Even caring for my family when my wife was ill (not requiring 24/7
care) was enough to lose me my employment and saddle me with massive
debts which I am now working extended hours to clear. A couple more
months and we would have lost our home.

Why should that situation be anyone's problem apart from you, your
friends and your family?

When my wife was in a similar situation, it would certainly have
caused me just as much hardship as it did you *if* I had provided all
the necessary care personally. There were however plenty of friends
and family members who between them were able and willing to provide
the additional necessary care without significant detriment to
themselves.

The idea that complete strangers had any sort of duty to solve the
problem by paying for her care did not even cross my mind.

My wife's family is from Ireland, she has no family over here (her
parents moved here before she was born and have now died) and we
couldn't really expect her extended family to come and live here for a
very extended period. My parents are well into their seventies and
certainly couldn't help her up and down the stairs or grab her when she
moved and her balance went; or look after our three young kids for
extended periods over many, many months. All our friends are in full
time work or live many miles away. No, I am not making up a scenario
here, this is simply the case.

SteveW