A note from Ruth

picture of Ruth

Hi! My name is Ruth. I live and work in Cambridge, England. When I am not at work I enjoy theatre and travelling as well as dress-making, reading and spending time with friends.

I have a severe physical disability called Intermediate Spinal Muscular Atrophy which makes me very weak (I can lift a paperback book, but not a hardback one). This means that I cannot do any of the things which involve physical force of any kind, such as standing and walking, dressing, bathing, opening doors, moving heavy objects such as shopping bags, a kettle or work files. However, amongst other things, I can write, type, speak and feed myself. I use a powered wheelchair and have an adapted car which I drive myself. I can go to places on my own, provided I know I won't need more help than friends can give me.

To be totally independent, I need personal care assistants to be there as and when I need them to help me to do everything I want to do. Each one works for one week on and then has two weeks off. Food and accommodation are provided plus a salary and all my assistants must be female. I am recruiting at the moment for people to start either immediately or at some later stage, which could be as late as next autumn. The length of the contract is negotiable.

For the week that you work, you would be on duty for the whole week non-stop, but the next two weeks would be your own. During your time on duty you would sleep nights nearby me, and of course, you would not be "working" as such every hour of the day.

I weigh around 40kg and do sometimes need to be lifted (When I am at home I have equipment for moving me. Training will be given in using the equipment). I have generally found that care assistants need to be tallish, though there are exceptions. They do not need to be particularly athletic though, nor do they need any previous experience.

You might find useful to read answers to Frequently Asked Questions or some descriptions of the job by few of my former assistants. If you are interested in the opportunity to work as my assistant, please get in touch.

Ruth

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