In April, our writer Caroline Scott interviewed the young carer Lauren for A Life in the Day. At the time, Lauren and her mother, Nikki, were in a desperate situation - trapped in the house with a heavy wheelchair, a kitchen that was difficult for both of them to use, and no car. Since then, their lives have been turned round - thanks to your generosity. But as Lauren explains, it is still a struggle

"I don't remember my mum before she was in a wheelchair. It's normal to me. I don't mind looking after her; the problem was that until recently we couldn't even get out of the house together. I felt trapped, and I did get very, very down. I was 3½ when Mum first became ill. In those days she had help [a home-care package] that was decided on every year. Now I'm older, she's supposed to employ carers herself [through the Direct Payments Scheme]. I think it saves the government money, but it takes up all her time. It makes her really stressy and she forgets things. Carers go off sick and Mum can't find anyone else and I have to do everything. We often have whole days when there is no carer at all, only me.

"She has to wake me up to get her into bed at night because she can't manage on her own. From Friday night until Sunday evening, I do everything. I get Mum up, I give her her pills and help her onto the toilet. Mum's muscles don't work properly, so she only empties her bowels once a week. We don't have a macerator [to liquify waste] on our toilet, so we have to take everything out and put it in a carrier bag that I take outside. Mum doesn't wee normally, either. She has something called a Mitrofanoff, which means there is a hole in her tummy. I thread a sterile tube into her stomach, past two valves inside her, and then her bladder empties into a jug that I tip into the toilet. We need to do this at least three times a day. I help her shower and I get her meals, but she doesn't eat much. If she's stressed or tired, she goes into spasms, and then she's in a lot of pain. She says it's like electric shocks going through her body. I give her medication to stop the shakes.

"I was very unhappy while I was at primary school. I felt nobody understood how much I was coping with, and I had hardly any friends. I also spent a lot of time in the house. I was really scared about starting secondary school, but I love it now, and I've made so many new friends. My first report was amazing. I even got a certificate for achievement - the only one in my form.

"It was the best feeling ever and my mum was so proud.

"My local young carers' group has made up cards for young carers to give out to people at school. For friends they say things like: 'Please don't blame or judge my family. It's just the way things are.' And 'If I don't ask you to come round, it's because I can't.' And for teachers: 'I'm working 24/7.

"Sometimes I feel I've done a day's work before I come to school.' There are even some cards with messages to ourselves to remind us that the situation we're in is not our fault and we're not responsible for everything.

"After the article came out in The Sunday Times Magazine, the charity Miracles helped us to get a car under the Motability scheme, and I still get so excited when my mum takes me to school and picks me up like everyone else's mum. Having a car has changed our lives completely. Mum now has a special lightweight wheelchair that I can lift in and out. For us, it's like having wheels of freedom, out of the house. Now, instead of being in all the time, we're always out and about. It's brilliant. Mum's started playing wheelchair basketball on Sundays. I love watching her speeding round the court. Finally she has something to really look forward to.

"We got hundreds of cards and letters, and all the positive and lovely things people said made me feel really proud. Children wrote wanting to be pen pals, and I've made friends all over the country. I've started going to my local young carers' group every week and I've been really busy over the summer. We've made a DVD about ourselves called The Invisible People. I am really loving my dance - I'm doing ballet, tap and jazz - and I've been given the chance to join Stagecoach, which is something I've always wanted to do.

"Life really has changed since April. I have so much to look forward to.

"Being a young carer can be really tough, but nothing will stop me looking after Mum. The difference now is that we feel like we're part of the world.

"To all those people who helped us, Mum and I can't thank you enough for giving us a better future."

The Princess Royal Trust for Carers www.carers.org - and young carers, www.youngcarers.net