Covid: Carer living in Northwich care home for coronavirus pandemic

A carer has spent almost a year living at the Cheshire care home where he works to keep himself and the vulnerable tenants safe from Covid.

Dylan Rixon, 24, from Flintshire, has only spent three weeks at his Buckley home since the first lockdown in March.

He works for the Deafness Support Network which runs four homes caring for deaf people and those with learning disabilities 24 hours a day.

Dylan said he had better insight into residents' lives as a result.

He moved into Stepping Stones in Northwich, Cheshire, which houses 22 residents, in March last year when coronavirus took hold in the UK.

His father suggested the option because Dylan has a weak immune system after contracting meningitis as a toddler - and had a mild heart attack two years ago.

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Moving to the home meant he could avoid the 30-mile journey on public transport, keeping both himself and the residents safer during the pandemic.

He said: "I remember my father saying 'you need to be a bit wiser about your decisions, because further down the line its going to affect everyone and be much worse than you think' - and he was right.

'Best for me, my family and work'

"So we made the decision it was best for me, best for the family and work as well because I was reliable and always here.

"I used to get up around five-ish and get on the train for six o'clock and get here for half-past eight. Then I'd finish at nine at night and get home at one in the morning - get a few hours sleep and then come back again.

Dylan Rixon has unopened Christmas presents waiting for him at his family home in Buckley

"So it has been a bit of a change from doing that and now sleeping here."

Dylan went home to north Wales for three weeks in the summer when restrictions on travel eased last year after the first lockdown.

'I watch movies or play Jenga'

But he returned to Stepping Stones, where he has spent Christmas, new year and his birthday with the residents.

"When everyone's going at seven at night I'm still here," he said.

"I find myself in the kitchen cleaning or doing a bit of laundry and thinking 'I wish I was going' but I'm not.

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"I usually watch movies or have game of Jenga. I had my 24th birthday here, I was just staring at the four walls as I was off that day. So I went for a walk just to do something special."

The Stepping Stones home in Northwich, Cheshire, houses 22 residents

Dylan believes he has gained a better insight into the lives of those he cares for now that he's living under the same roof with them.

"I was seeing the tenants three [days'] on/three off, and now I see them every day and I've got to know the way they approach life, how they go about things," he explained.

'I do miss home'

He has no plans to leave and even jokes about staying on and paying rent. But hopes he will be able to see his loved ones before too long.

"I miss my family and friends but I've just been getting on with work," said Dylan.

"I keep in contact with everyone from home and I'm sure they're missing me like I'm missing them.

"I've still got Christmas presents to open and they've got presents coming their way when I see them again. It'd be nice to get back to Wales one day. I do miss home."