On 14th February 2017 I received a text message to state that a PIP update form I sent them two weeks before had been received. Today, on an already-terrible Summer Solstice day, I received a letter package from them – over four months later – to go and see them next month.
I’m scared about this. I’m barely managing as it is, and this is terrifying. You hear on the news of these so-called Health “Professionals” being downright terrible and respectful, even abusive, about their “clients”. About them meeting targets by writing off the sick and the vulnerable. About how they force you to go to tribunals to get what you deserve. What little that is, anyway. It’s not like PIP is a liveable amount, not when even simple things you need are so expensive (clearly no one at PIP has ever been to Ableworld or had to personally finance things the NHS either refuse or never get around to). They’ve even written off a friend, taking everything away, despite her having all the evidence and more required to prove how ill she is.
It’s a terrifying prospect having to meet them again. The last time was several years ago, when I lived in London, about a year after I became ill. It was one of the most stressful times, and my best friend was my amazing rock and I will be forever grateful to her for all her help around it. We travelled to some place I’d never heard of quite far out of London, and had to pay (a horrific amount, about £90) for a cab both there and back. I had to go in my first god-awful wheelchair, which was so uncomfortable, and we were forced to wait for hours to be seen.
I was so ill when I went in to see the person – some guy who was an uninterested and arrogant sod, who also took no interest in the fact I was there in a wheelchair and clearly traumatised. I shouldn’t have gone in there alone, but I did… and it was only to my detriment. He basically lied about a bunch of crap, played everything down, and then the outcome was I barely scraped enough to cover basic Standard Daily Living. I saw red, got help to make an appeal, and my friend and I eventually went to a tribunal. They awarded me Standard Mobility as well, without question. It’s was so horrifically stressful to go there, but at least this time I saw three older, highly intelligent women who had reached the top of their professions. To them, it seemed it was a no-brainer.
So… I’m not looking forward to seeing some other inebriate again.
Arguably, I can at least say that it seems like they read my dossier that I sent with my update form. I rather expected they wouldn’t. It was rather the tome… But in the 4 months hence, things have become even worse, to the point – as we all know – where I’m imprisoned in my own home until I (eventually) received the special chair that was ordered. You know, the one that’s not going to try and kill me. I even had to push back their original date (3rd July) for another, where – hopefully – said chair will have finally arrived (with the new date being on 12th July). So… in three weeks’ time then, give or take. That better be long enough, because if I have to go in the other one, I’ll probably just die and it won’t matter what the hell they think then.
Once again the paperwork has to be dragged out (another tome of reading!) for them to photocopy (Lols… their time and dime, and karmic punishment, quite frankly, for not realising it’s the 21st Century and everything’s digital) and hopefully read at least some of. I’ll throw in pretty much everything for good measure – I always do, you never know what rubbish they’re going to be looking at whenever these things turn up. At least then they can’t complain. Or say you didn’t tell them, finding a nice, tidy loophole to wriggle right out of. It’s bad enough that my chronic conditions are weird and no one understands them. Hopefully, these whackadoodles will, and will see that I unfortunately cannot manage their general expectations of someone who qualifies for “Standard” anything on this.
I honestly don’t care about the money. Yes, given how ridiculous prices are compared what you don’t have to spare, money can be rather handy. However, I prefer the recognition. Where they stand there, nod, and acknowledge I go through this, that I must live and struggle in this way possibly forever. That’s what I really want.
It’s wasn’t as if today wasn’t bad enough, before all this, having not slept all night due to paraesthesia and hyperactivity due to my confinement (again… Haven’t slept properly in probably a week) and suffering “Isobar Flue”, thanks to them dropping down to 1011mb and bringing huge storms along with them to suffer with. The storms are on their way as I write. I hope they’re not bad enough to be named… I certainly do not require such turbulence now… nor am I now in any position to cope with it.
I’m so upset now, I’ve got through at least 5 gluten-dairy-free chocolate chip cookies. At least there’s no ice cream…
Never Rains But It Storms… On 14th February 2017 I received a text message to state that a PIP update form I sent them two weeks before had been received.
