A MAUCHLINE woman has been working long hours as a support worker while home-schooling her five-year-old grandson and running errands for her close friend during the COVID-19 crisis.

Dawn Cook has been juggling a caring role with being a devoted mother to Emma, 27, and grandmother to Kayden, five, while also helping friend Fiona Gillies with shopping and medication needs during the pandemic.

Dawn admits that life has been hectic over the past three months, but that she has taken it in her stride.

Dawn said: “I’ve had to take extra precautions as the people I work with have been shielding so I’ve been trying to find fun things to do with them in the house and new ways of keeping in touch with family and friends through Facetime.

“I’ve not been able to see my mum because she’s been shielding so that’s been strange. I’ve been phoning her every other day but it’s quite difficult because she’s got dementia and Alzheimer’s. Home-schooling has been challenging too. It was my grandson’s first year at school then the virus hit.”

Dawn hails from a house of key workers as her daughter is also a support worker and her husband works at Eggar recycling plant in Auchinleck.

Since friend Fiona moved back to Mauchline from Newcastle in March due to ill health, Dawn has been helping her immensely, too.

Dawn said: “Fiona’s had a terrible couple of years with her health and the day she moved back to Ayrshire, the country went into lockdown. She’s shielding so I’ve just been doing a bit extra for her during this time, such as picking up medication and giving her a text to check in on her every day.”

Fiona said: “Dawn’s been helping me with shopping, phoning me for chats and keeping my spirits up. I was able to go round and sit in her garden for a catch up for the first time last week which was great. She’s helped me physically and mentally.

“Anytime there’s a concert coming up, she’s my go-to person because we have the same taste in music. In March we went to see The Script in Glasgow and I walk with crutches so she was putting them beside the security guards and fetching me drinks.

“She’s just amazing. She’s a carer for two guys with special needs, working 12 hour shifts then looking after her family. She doesn’t know how much her help means to me.”

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