Caring can have an impact on anyone, at any time. For me, it was when my dad passed away. Suddenly mum was left on her own, the first time in 40+ years. 

It was frightening, emotional, scary; an untrodden path for both of us. Suddenly taking care of mum, both of us grieving; dealing with day to day tasks and needing to help mum register dad’s death and help arrange the funeral; gently navigating mum through Christmas without dad. 

Dad passed away the day after my birthday in 2016. I like to think he held on so that he missed hitting it.

A couple of years on and mum is well and happy, has remarried and has a super husband. 

Caring can affect all of us at some stage in our life whether it’s a couple of hours, days, months, years and I wants to help raise awareness for the contribution carers make to society. 

1 in 8 adults in the UK are providing unpaid care for a loved one; this could be your father, sister, best friend, or the colleague you sit next to every day. They could be juggling looking after their elderly parent with a full time job, they could have to give up work in order to care for their disabled child, or suddenly have their lives changed when their partner needs care.

Caring is such an important part of life. It's simply part of being human. Carers are holding families together, enabling loved ones to get the most out of life, and making an enormous contribution to society - saving the UK government £132 billion a year. 

However, caring can be a hugely challenging, and its impact on all aspects of life, from relationships and health to finances and work, should not be underestimated.