Friday 28 December 2012

how much more?

Lately, i have been talking with a lot of people, and i can tell you now, that people really are starting to feel the effects of the Governments Welfare cuts. People are starting to panic about how they will be able to afford to buy essential things, such as food. And i can tell you now, that i am one of these people. The stress of the lack of money has always taken a back foot with me. It has always been topped by the stress of my health problems, no more so than lately, when, after a recent  visit to hospital, a physiotherapist and pain specialist, said that my symptoms of widespread chronic pain, among other symptoms, are identical to Fybromyalgia.

So now i have to cope with widespread chronic pain, as well as localised chronic pain from my lumbar spine disc problem, and my GP wants to talk to me about the possibility of Arthritis too. So this kind of stress is hard to beat, or even match, but now i have severe money worries. I try not to get stressed too much about things that are beyond my control, but sometimes it cannot be helped.

Sometimes you feel like a child at school, being picked on by the class bully, except you are not at school, and the class bullies are the people who are suppose to represent you and keep you safe. I long to see the day when David Cameron and his minions are held to account for their heinous crimes against humanity. I hope, for this country's sake, that the Conservative Government is voted out of power at the next election, and never to be voted back in again!

Something needs to be done though now about this Governments ideas of punishing the poor to satisfy the rich. And speaking of doing something, i urge all of you to sign the WOW petition to force the Government to look again at what they are doing with welfare. They need 100,000 signatures by next December and already have nearly 8000. Please help by signing and spreading the word about this petition. 

As for me, with the prospect of having Fybromyalgia, i have once again, sent off for a DLA claim pack. I will keep claiming, over and over again if i need to. My partner has said she will help me fill in the forms if needed. I will keep claiming, as many times as is needed, before they recognise that my claims are legit and essential to my well-being.

After a discussion with a DWP benefits adviser on why ESA assessments with ATOS (Work Capability Assessments) results are being used to determine whether or not someone should get DLA, the response i got was not wholly what i expected. Yes i got the "some parts of the WCA are relevant to the DLA decision making process" but when i asked "how can a WCA result made 6 months before a DLA application be relevent?" she couldn't really give me an answer! This to me is an admition of guilt that they really are not playing by the book, something most of us already know, but surely, this proves it, even to those who are skeptical?

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Car Review

Hi everyone, this is just a short blog today. I am looking for disabled people to review their cars for my car review site. As many of you will be aware, as of next October, DLA will be fully replaced by PIP, and more than 100,000 disabled people will lose their motability cars, and will have to buy their own vehicle. With this in mind, i have started this project, to review as many cars as possible, for people with disabilities, helping them decide which car is best for them.

In the new year, i will be working with Toyota, Hyundai, Mercedes, Honda, Seat VW and hopefully Kia too. These companies are being kind enough to allow me to review their vehicles. However, what i am most interested in, is what people with disabilities think of the cars that they have right now. That is where you come in. I am looking for disabled people, to tell me about their cars. It doesn't matter whether it's brand new or old fashioned.

I am looking for information on comfort, accessibility, cost of running and space. You do not need to include pictures or economy stats as i will get them from the manufacturer. Information that i need off you, in addition to that mentioned above, is the year of manufacture, model and engine size.

If you are interested in reviewing your own car, then please email me at carreview4u@gmail.com and i will answer questions you might have.

As this is a new venture, i have only reviewed a couple of cars to date, but if you would like to base your review on any of these reviews, you are more than welcome to. To view these reviews, please visit http://car-review-4-u.blogspot.co.uk/. Don't be afraid to add a spice of personalisation and humour to the blog.

Many thanks for taking the time to read this, and i hope to hear from you soon.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Hydrotherapy

I had my first session of hydrotherapy yesterday, it was, shall I say, different. Although it was quite nice to feel weightless, taking pressure off my spine, the pain was replaced with feeling uncomfortable. That was until the end when they stood me back up in the pool. The pain that hit was near unbearable, and it hit hard!

Today, I have been left walking even slower than before (and that really is saying something), the pain in my hips and leg has increased 10 fold, and everything is just that so much more tiring to do. But I am not a quitter. I will give this a good go, and see if it helps me at all.

I will be going to hydrotherapy every Tuesday for at least 4 weeks. Tuesdays will now be known as Torturous Tuesdays!

I am at the hospital on the 21st for an examination by the pain management team, before my 2 weeks of intense pain management begins in the new year. If this doesn't work, or if there is nothing they can do for me, then surgery is almost certainly on the cards, although I have yet to receive the results from my latest MRI scan on my upper spine. If the scan shows anything, then this will definitely delay things even further, due to more tests that will need to be done.

As for my ESA tribunal, I have still yet to hear of a date, although I am happy that I have received a letter from Welfare Rights, saying that they will be helping me, and quite possibly, representing me at the tribunal. Representation at tribunals increases the success rate from 30% up to 80% (even higher in some cases). I will keep you all updated with news, as soon as I have it.

Sunday 2 December 2012

Politics

My blog post are not usually about politics, i try to stay clear of mine field of MPs, legislations and Government Bills. But i feel i have to write about something that the Government is bringing in. As of Monday, sick and disabled people are going to be FORCED into doing unpaid work for charities, private companies and supermarkets, to name but a few. If the claimant refuses to do this work, then their Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) benefit, could have their benefits stripped by about £70 a week.

The Mandatory Work Activity (MWA) is the governments latest idea to get sick and disabled into the work place, whether they like it or not, or whether they are healthy enough or not. This government does not care about who it hurts or how much damage it does to society and to those most vulnerable. I know that i am no where near well enough to return to the work place. If i was, then i would be working right now.  If i get forced to go to work somewhere, like a charity shop, i guarantee that things are going to get broken, causing me to get sacked on day one.

These companies that take part in the MWA are looking to line their pockets with money paid by the DWP whilst getting free labour. This cannot be allowed to continue. I have been told, unofficially, that Ed Milliband is to busy to help the sick and disabled who are basically being forced into slavery, so it is up to the general public to bring this country to its knees, until Adolf Cameron listens to us, and realises that what he is doing is not only morally wrong, but also violating basic human rights.

When fuel prices get too high, farmers take their tractors to the M25 for "go slows". When automotive workers say they are not getting paid enough, they hit the picket lines and go on strike. So when this country's government constantly hits and demonises the sick and disabled, we stand back and let it happen. Well this has to end, and it has to end now. We need to make the general public aware of the genocide that the Con-Dems are doing to the most vulnerable in society.

I urge people to tell their friends, tell their neighbours, tell everybody they can. People deserve to know about the people who are "running" this country. We need to shout at the top of out voices. We need to bring this country to a stand still. Drastic measures call for drastic actions.