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Think about the people closest to you. Tell us about how the coronavirus has affected them, and their life.

My parents live four hours away from me and my mum has to take care of my dad whose health is deteriorating quicker than I could have ever imagined. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at the start of the pandemic and two other diagnoses joined a couple of weeks ago. My mum is entirely alone with this situation and has to plan out each day and think for two. And while she is one of the strongest women I know, she's been struggling a lot. Anger, guilt, regret, no love, responsibility. We're on the phone every day which might be a lot but it keeps us both sane. And since they are both fully vaccinated already, they'll come up to Berlin next week to visit me. Since September last year, I haven't seen them, and being apart from each other for the first time on Christmas was a huge downer. Hurray for digitalization, so we could have a virtual Christmas dinner. I remember that we had a huge fight before because I refused to visit and didn't allow them to come up. My mum cried so much that she hung up the phone. But I had to be strict. For the first time, I felt the responsibility to be the strong one. Reversed roles, a huge test. But I am happy I stood my ground. So many people got infected because they couldn't stay away from each other during Christmas..... it was the height of the second wave after all. But things are looking up and my parents come to visit next week, as I said. It'll be a huge relief to see each other again while at the same time I am anxious about seeing my father again. He aged so much during the past year.... and I felt so useless, not being able to help.... while at the same time I was relieved I couldn't help. Is this normal? My mum's a hero. She's doing everything to keep my dad out of a retirement home, out of the hospital, out of harm's way. Whenever I feel down, her attitude, her way of coping with things, gives me strength.