A CARER has had to restructure her life around her ailing mother whose struggles with dementia led to them living like ‘Groundhog Day’.

Helen Love lives with and cares for her 86-year-old mum Ann.

The 61-year-old upended her life for her mother, leaving her friends and family in Kent to move into Ann’s town centre home and become a full-time carer.

Each day brings its own challenges, as Helen has to constantly supervise and watch out for her mother who has accidentally set fires and once locked Helen within the basement with support from her 24-year-old daughter Lucy Armstrong who also recently moved in to help out.

Helen told the Chronicle: “She’s been deteriorating very very badly in the past few months.

“My daughter’s living with us now to help but mum doesn’t recognise her anymore.

“She won’t go on walks with her anymore and wants to spend all her time with me we go on walks every day, and I try to take her out to places like Locke Park or Monk Bretton Priory.

“Though if she’s really not feeling well we’ll just walk around the area.

“So we’re living in Groundhog Day now, going through the same things over and over again.”

The family have organised a solid routine now, with Helen handling all the housework first thing before her mother wakes up and sorting out daily meals for her.

While they go out every day, Ann particularly enjoys staying home to watch Tipping Point with Helen saying she enjoys ‘counting the coins’ as they fall.

“Whatever I cook for her she says she’s never had it before,” Helen added.

“It’ll be recipes she taught me and when I cook it she goes: ‘oh this is nice, I’ve never had it before’.

“But we still have good times, I’ve managed to take her on holiday recently.

“It doesn’t really change much, she still does the same things, but we get to do it in a nicer warmer place.

“I’ve got to give back to her when I was little she did everything for me.

“Here she’s in her own home where she’s safe and warm she’d be lost in a care home.

“Plus I promised my dad I’d look after her.”

Now, the devoted daughter has been put forward at this year’s Proud of Barnsley.

“It’s such a surprise,” she said.

“It makes me think somebody actually understands what we’re going through every day.”