burocracy

it makes me so cross the hassle that the government put its ill and disabled voter through to get the help that they need.

it has taken a year to get disability living allowance this is because for some reason .M.E on its own is not enough of a reason you have to be so severly affected that you cant walk or look after yourself at all to qualify.
not only do thay need your statement but also from your GP and any other medical professional that you come into contact with to help prove your case and even then they can turn you down for not answering a question right or getting the date wrong. (baring in mind that those that fill these forms in are ill)

then when your pay stops you have to apply for ESA this is not only and inadequate benefit on which to support your family but also infuriatingly difficult to get. you are made to feel like you are waisting there time and are scum. you are treated as though you are an idiot and as though you have deliberately made yourself ill. the worst bit is the medical a medical that i hasten to add take no notice of your diagnosis or any medical reports you take in. they dont care about what you cant do and are only interested in what you can do and not what the effect may have on you. if you are lucky you might get a Dr that speaks english and maybe even understand a little of what you say but dont bet on it. then after the medical that makes you feel dirty and as though you are lying you have to wait for them to decide if you can have the benefit thats purpose is to help those that are to ill to go to work. your gp may be signing you off work as unfit your consultant may say that you are not fit to work. but that does not mean that you will get this benefit!!

it was determined that i was fit to attend what they call work focused interviews that are designed to get you back to work. i am still employed by my place of work and am on the long term sick, occupational health have determined that i will not be fit to work and may never be able to return to work again. but still i have to go and sit to some woman ask me what is stopping me from going to work as i sit in my wheel chair unable to walk, to cook a meal completely for my self, clean my house, and i look at her and say my health. after attending one of those meeting it take me a week to recover.

apparently having M.E and being unable to walk does not qualify me for a blue badge either as according to there rules m.e in its self is not a reason to require a blue badge no matter how sever the ilness has on your mobility.

eventually the DLA decide that i am unable to mobalize and therefor need high mobility and that the inability to cook a meal on my own means that i require low level care. because the DLA has given me high mobility i can now have the blue badge that i was already turned down for!

the best thing is that the benefit agency's do not talk to each other so one can decide that yes you are significantly disabled and the other may decide that you are fit for work!!

this is not where i intended to be i was planning on doing my teacher training and working, i had a job i had a social life i had self respect that has all disappeared due to this illness and the way that the benefit agency's treat you.