Awake and up all night

It makes me furious Sarah.The staff at mum’s nursing home said don’t bother applying for the nursing care funding as you won’t get it.I pointed out mum was bedbound,deaf,almost blind and totally dependent on the staff.By that time she had no idea who I was as her dementia was so advanced.Anyway I’m glad I did get the funding.Anything that helped mum had to be worth fighting for.Love Jane xx

Thank you Sarah and Jane for your welcome advice.

I certainly won't give up once I start; it's not in my nature to and I challenge everything - I enjoy being truculent to be honest.  No, I've not asked about carer's allowance but I will - even if it's only a fiver I want it.

I'm working on my to do list and it's next in line, but I've already been on the phone well over an hour about other things. All good fun but my tinnitus is upset and told me I talked too long - its revenge is adding a new and exciting high pitched whine to the usual ensemble.

I'll definitely ask for copies of everything Sarah, and I'm expecting to encounter brick walls but I've got my sledgehammer ready.

Hugs all xxx

Oh, your poor mum, Jane, that’s so sad. I’m glad you fought her case because she wouldn’t have been able to.

Sarah xx

I’m sorry you’ve got tinnitus to add into the mix, Gill-that’s an extra difficulty to deal with on top of everything else. 

I used to be a strong person at work, in a responsible job, but when I became ill after being fine all of my life it made me into a meek and mild sort of person who did as I was told and didn’t question anything really. 

I changed when I had my stroke and started speaking up-strange really as I couldn’t speak at the time in a way that made any sense! But I had a kind of breakdown really and managed to make myself understood that I needed help after soldiering on for too long with none. 

I knew nothing about benefits and was too proud to claim, but a friend who was an advocacy worker and had lots of experience of helping vulnerable people thought I should, so I claimed PIP and got it after a 4 month wait. Now it’s been reduced, I was literally raging at the unfairness of it, hence going on with the appeal process.

It’s not a huge amount of money but was important to me. I have a lot of increased bills-like electricity because I need to do a lot of extra washing and am unable to hang it out so I need the tumble dryer on every day. I can’t work, so I can’t earn. But I’ve worked all my life and paid my dues. All I’m looking for is that little bit of extra help to make life a little bit easier. 

Sarah xx

And you certainly deserve everything you're entitled to Sarah, beyond a shadow of a doubt.  It makes me so angry that those of us who've put our share into the rotten system then get batted aside like an annoying gnat!  Well I don't care if I annoy - I'm so polite when talking to those in 'authority' but have mastered the art of passive aggression.  Hmph!

Ah, lass, don't worry about my tinnitus - after four decades I pretty much ignore it until a long phone call exacerbates the racket.  Lol!

Take good care of yourself xxx

Hi Sarah and Jane, a Macmillan nurse urged me to apply for PIP, I waited 4 weeks for the application form, sent it off and was told 5 months later I don't qualify after scoring 0, lol, my Macmillan nurse couldn't understand how, but having no experience of benefits, I gave examples of my very best days, and not of the tough times I had, which I put down on my 2nd application, along with a letter from my oncologist, I was granted PIP 5 days later and it was backdated to my original phone call. Ignorance will get you nowhere.

Eddie xx 

I'm sorry I've been so negative on here lately, got some some positive news today with blood tests... here's what AI says about them

Also, my physio cleared me to go back to playing lawn bowls... I told my clubmates and they want me to play for the A team this week! I said I wasn't sure I'd be good enough again yet, but they said they didn't care, they want me there... so that cheered me up a bit

Bravo Eddie!  I agree with Jane too - they try to make claiming so difficult that many will fall at the first hurdle, and that's what TPTB are after.  

Eddie, you can't tell them if you have any good days.  It all counts against you.

Glad to hear that you didn't give in and got it backdated.

It's so complicated, the forms and that.  It's as if they don't want to pay anyone anything.  It could be the government's new ploy to cut the benefits bill.

It is, Steve and wholly transparent.  No-one should be fooled into not making claims.