A dearly loved mum who cared for her husband during her own battle with cancer has been put forward as a Community Champion.
Jean Briggs, 72, from Saltburn, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006, but after successful treatment has been in remission since.
But in 2008 her husband Ernie was diagnosed with dementia when the couple were both 67.
A devoted Jean nursed her husband through his illness for the next four years.
Her son Paul, 32, who has nominated her as a Champion Carer in the Gazette awards, said those years were tough for everybody.
“It nearly killed her to the point it was taken out of her hands and he had to be placed in full time care,” he said. “We had no support until that point, it was very difficult.”
Dad-of-two Paul, a self-employed plumbing and heating engineer, said even during her own illness his mum was totally dedicated to her family.
“Cancer was not going to beat my mum because she was my rock as at the time I was going through a rough patch,” he said.
The Champion Carer category is sponsored by NHS South Tees CCG and NHS Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees CCG.
The award recognises a selfless individual whose dedication to others makes them the cream of the crop, from family members to caring neighbours.
Jean, who has been married to Ernie for 30 years and ran a number of pubs and clubs with her husband, said she just “did what any wife would do.”
“I’m not any kind of angel, I just like helping people,” she said. “It makes you feel happier.”
The mum-of-two, who also has a daughter Julie Towell, 52, said of her own battle with cancer: “I try not to dwell on it. I’m doing okay right now.”
Jean, who also worked in the advertising department of the Evening Gazette in the 1970s, said she wants to try and raise awareness of Alzheimer’s not just for the patients but also the carers.
“You just don’t know who to call or where to go,” she said.
“Ernie had never been in hospital in his life. The first thing we knew there was something wrong was when he came home with a hubcap in his hand.
“He’d crashed the car at the bottom of the street and walked home.”
Jean said her husband has now been moved to a care home in Saltburn where she can visit him daily.
The deadline for nominations for Community Champions has been extended until midnight Thursday.
For full details of the categories or to nominate someone go to http://ift.tt/1oh3wnR and fill in the online form or you can send a written nomination to Elaine Blackburne, Evening Gazette, Borough Road, Middlesbrough TS1 3AZ before midnight on October 23.
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