Manufacturing manager Les Readfearn (68) was relaxing at home in Burnley and his wife Linda, 67, was chatting on the phone to a friend nine years ago. Les said: "Life was good, things were ticking along nicely. I had a well-paid job as a manufacturing manager, which involved travelling to Malaysia to set up a production line.
I was about to travel out there again." Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Burnley Express, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. But all of a sudden, he heard shouts and words that would change their lives irrevocably – "Mum's having a stroke.
" The dad-of-three and grandad-of-four said: "It came as a complete shock to us. It was just a normal Friday night, she was on the phone to a friend and within minutes my daughter shouted to me, ‘Mum’s having a stroke’.” Emergency services were called, and a six-month stint in hospital followed.
Linda survived, and Les became her full-time carer, giving up work. However, a glimmer of hope was offered when he discovered the Lancashire Carers Service. Advertisement Advertisement "We plan our days around Linda, as due to her medication she sleeps around 14 hours a day, so we do everything between the hours of 12pm to 7pm.
"We go out every day and make the most of the time we have. Our relationship has changed and evolved into something different. To some degree, you’re trying to be a husband and a carer and that’s sometimes difficult.
It a.