Bare Facts (was babybear3333)

A (usually) lighthearted and amusing outlook on the real happenings (and vivid imagination) in the day to day life of a walking disaster area/accident waiting to happen/prone to 'blonde' moments 40 something single female...:)

Saturday, March 31, 2012

...And some more information

I'm a stubborn bitch.

The reason it got so bad was that three months previously I broke my left leg just below my knee. Spent two months in a full leg cast stuck at home. Had the cast off just before Christmas but had to take things very carefully.

Bad weather affected my mobility and being in the house mostly, not eating properly all served to weaken my immune system. Just got really unlucky and caught a bug which, had I been fit, would probably been a nasty cold/chest infection...

I was feeling quite icky on the Thursday and not my usual self when my daughter and ex hubby came over for dinner on the Friday...

My ex hubby became very concerned on the Saturday afternoon after trying both my phones and email. He came over but couldn't get in because my keys were in the front door so he climbed over my six foot fence and could see me collapsed on the kitchen floor.

He called the police and ambulance. Police had to break in the house and I was rushed to hospital. Because I was so cold the hospital thought I was suffering from hypothermia, which was correct, but they were unaware that I had a very serious infection. Thankfully, the hypothermia slowed the infection down but as I was warming up the infection became very aggressive causing a cardiac arrest. The doctors didn't know how long I wasn't breathing but they did their very best and finally got me to intensive care and on life support. My heart and breathing settled down and during the course of the following hours they realised what had caused me to collapse etc. The rest is as above. Thank you for your kind wishes Amy... Sorry to bore anyone but I couldn't say more on it all until we had the full facts...xxx

Friday, March 30, 2012

Finally a full diagnosis

Been a bit quiet the last month but had a lot going on behind the scenes so to speak... Had the final full diagnosis almost three weeks ago and been taking it all in, explaining it to my daughter and other friends and relatives...

So here goes: Significant hypoxic brain injury due to multiple cardiac arrests January 2010, hypothermia, septicaemia/meningitis, pneumonia, hepatorenal syndrome, rhabdomyolysis, hypothyroidism, five week coma, thalamic Syndrome (Dejerine Roussy) and other numerous complications...

It was touch and go until my medical situation stabilised and even then the prognosis was pretty grim even if I came through all that the chances of me walking, talking and having most of my faculties intact were slim to non existent...

The staff in intensive care were amazing. High dependency though was not a good environment. Stuck in a room on my own terrified of what was happening did horrendous psychological damage which I could have done without on top of pre existing conditions... No one giving me straight answers saying that I'd been/still was 'very poorly'.

Luckily my kidneys and liver were recovering well and I'm left with no lasting damage with those. What I am left with is not being able to walk unaided, not being able to go anywhere alone, severe nerve, tissue and numerous other permanent damage and disabilities.

My neurologist and psychiatrist are working together with all other health professionals involved in caring for me and I've been referred to a specialist hospital in Cardiff that can help with a lot of the conditions. Adaptations to my home are almost complete.

Thank you everyone, family and friends who have supported me through these last two years, especially my lovely and brave daughter Emily, who was only 17 when this started...xxx

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Time for a change...

It's time for this blog to mature somewhat...

There'll still be humour when it happens...

When I look back on my 10 years as a blogger starting out with AOL literally seems like yesterday...

The time for using my childhood nickname has passed and a new name is required...

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

To a friend...

Dear *******,

I note with great alarm that the rich just got richer and most of them are the reason we're in this mess anyway... Don't try and say labour weren't any better. You know that's a cheap shot because I'm not a political animal... The poor, those that go hungry, cold, homeless, helpless got royally shafted by millionaire Georgie boy today, 21st March, 2012.

So glad you met the lady who now holds the nation's fate in her hands. Remember this always, that you bastardised your values, those of your constituents, party and have sold your soul to the devil... All for what?

Or did your party know what was going to happen come a hung parliament? Because the CONDEMS have truly shown that they had no intention to honour any manifesto, let alone a coalition one...

Regards,

Lynda

DLA...

If you have a sensitive nature I apologise and please don't read further...

Whilst having much needed help this afternoon with my DLA forms, my SOH, as is usual, got the better of me before engaging my brain... Out slipped this "if you're capable of having sex ATOSsers would say you can work as a prostitute"...

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Now I know

Below is the only words I have to say:

"Please don't take this the wrong way; it's not meant to be... Myself; am looking at a mid case scenario that I'm facing a nursing home! I'm 43!!! Unfortunately, when I became severely physically ill I didn't tick all the right boxes. No worries thought I... Not so said they (social services). Two years down the line I'm still 'fighting' for everything. My home, care, benefits. I paid my taxes, NI, everything... Naively thinking I'd done the right thing. Where am I now? Facing an almost worse than death sentence because I suffered an hypoxic brain injury almost two years ago. I have no idea how long I have to be 'compus mentus'. A week, a year, a decade?

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Tuesdays...

To most people, not memorable days.

However, to some of us, certainly one of the days Douglas Adams had in mind in his book 'The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul'...

Tuesday March 13th, 2012, is, for me personally, going to be one of the most significant days of my life...

Later today I begin/or end my maybe brief journey in to the realms of my forced integration with neurology. I didn't ask for it; and certainly did not expect it to take so long. But hey, that's the score. I usually seem to take the path of hardest resistance because I know that there's something overlooked...

Let's just see what the day brings...

G'night...

BB...xxx

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Terror...

This post is my reaction to reading a post from 'the void':

http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/how-the-dwp-harass-single-parents/#comment-3961

Just worked out how much my care package from social services (two and a half hours per week! I get help with undressing, showering and dressing twice a week and one hour domestic help). Care from my daughter, who makes up the severe shortage because I cannot dress, undress and shower safely alone. FFS! even prisoners get a hot shower every day! If it wasn't for my daughter I'd be in the same clothes for three/four days!

My ex husband and friends very frequently have to stay overnight. I have a three bedroom house, one bedroom for me, one for my daughter and the other for another carer to use. My home has been adapted which cost the Welsh Assembly quite a few quid... But what the government and the often very nasty people I encounter do not realise that this allows me to live as independently as possible and saves the government NHS, and local authorities over £80,000 a year if I had to move to a nursing home specialising in my numerous conditions!!!

Sorry Mr Cameron that I got severely physically and mentally ill due to being in a coma for five weeks two years ago. If I was paranoid I'd think that your government would have allowed me to die because the prognosis during the time in the coma and for weeks afterwards was not good..

I won't bore you with too many details but lets say that the staff in Intensive care and afterwards gave me such wonderful care which, coupled with my determination, proved the doctors wrong. During the time I was in the coma my family were called to the hospital on numerous occasions , that's how ill I was...

My fears now are that the CONDEMS are stripping the NHS so badly that on a few occasions the doctors in Intensive care discussed taking me off life support with my family. Luckily, my family refused...Thank God Labour were still in power at the time because I'm pretty sure I would not have received the standard of care and possibly would have had life support withdrawn because it's very expensive to keep a coma patient alive.

Then spending three weeks after I woke properly from the coma and breathed for myself, got medically well enough to be transferred to a hospital specialising in dealing with teaching people to walk and addressing a long list of physical difficulties (I still can't cut my food or prepare a hot meal).

I've had a few questions from DWP asking about the times when my ex hubby has to care for me...

Sorry such a long post but we need to be collectively showing this immoral government the truth about our daily struggles and what taking away any amount of money from us would be a complete disaster. I've read that at least 31 people have committed suicide because of the terror they experienced at this inhumane treatment by a government that is supposed to help people, who through no fault of their own, are now in this perpetual, never ending spiral.

Echoes of ethnic cleansing come to mind, but surely the government would not even consider such abhorrent things in the 21st century, would they?

Sunday, March 04, 2012

44

‎44 is looming and I, personally, do not give a s**t. In my previous life, ie. previous to January 2010, I did, saw and experienced things most people could/wouldn't do/would only dream of... World travel (concord was f'ing amazing); living and working in so many places; the best and the worst of people; time to have a family and the most gorgeous daughter on earth; not to mention my ex hubby would be seriously rude...

It's taken me a long time to look this issue in the face because I simply did not know the strength of feeling. How could I have known? My friends and family tried to tell me, but I did not know... No one would mention his name and tell me honestly, I did not know...

Now I know.

Goodbye my friend. We shared some awesome times. We lived; we loved with the best and worst of them, but the important thing is that we loved fiercely; we answered to no one; and after loving, we lived in each others arms; no questions; no answers; love, life and us...

Although I never said it I write it here for all to see.

I love you; always have; always will...xxx

Spartacus

A reply to a comment posted on Social Welfare Advocacy:

You have nothing you need justified to qualify. You add your voice and your unique story, as do many others.

From mere whispers spoken in the dark which grow day by day in to a raw and base cry of pain that people and politicians cannot ignore anymore.

If they are foolish enough to try then let us see how they cope when their's is the next group turned on...

Sad and heartbreaking echoes, the like this world thought it would never hear/see again in a democratic society.

For Sue Marsh and the whole team that worked so hard and distributed The Responsible Reform report, dubbed The Spartacus Report:

WE ARE SPARTACUS, WE ARE SPARTACI!!!

BB V DWP + ATOS

I've decided to write my own account of what's going to happen to me re: ESA and DLA in the months ahead. Simply because, even though I thought it might be a better idea to have a few completely unbiased POVs in the media, that will never happen...

Been placed in the ESA work-related activity group, even though I can barely walk and certainly cannot without adult help outside on my own.

The following months are going to be a journal of what it's like... I'll post on my regular blog: http://babybear3333.blogspot.com/


Will also link from FB...

(My original blogging days were with AOL; but, for no apparent reason, they ceased to host us. Those that were lucky had already dumped/backed up our treasure against any loss... That's why it says I started to use blogger in 2004... My AOL blog was started in 2002. I wrote most of my stuff on AOL but was uneasy and used to dump stuff on blogger. Good :)
babybear3333
babybear3333.blogspot.com
A (usually) lighthearted and amusing outlook on the real happenings (and vivid imagination) in the day to day life of a walking disaster area/accident waiting to happen/prone to 'blonde' moments 40something single female...:)

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Open letter to my MP written by Social Welfare Advocacy, tailored by me, that we're (majority) not all far lefties and members of the SWP!

This, as an open letter, is in response to the inflammatory and unfounded remarks made by the Employment Minister Chris Grayling MP, as well as others, in relation to anti-workfare campaigners and protesters.

The outrageous accusations, hatred and discriminatory rubbish published in the Sun newspaper should immediately be reported to the police and dealt with in the most severe manner possible to try to halt hate crime against disabled and vulnerable people.

We strongly object to the remarks made by Mr Grayling and other commentators, which attempted to label all those who oppose the Governments Workfare scheme’s as ‘far left extremists‘ and ‘militant’ members of the SWP (Socialist Workers Party).

Before we go into the crux of this letter we would first like to address the Governments ‘workfare’ scheme itself.

The Work Experience scheme, also known as Welfare To Work, is nothing more than an ill-conceived and badly disguised attempt to thwart the National Minimum Wage Regulations by mandating people on benefits to work for free. At the same time this provides free labour for employers and big business so they can avoid having to employ paid workers.

Workfare is a scheme which offers no real evidence of in work training, job security or a wage that replaces, or becomes part of, the basic rate paid to Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants. A thinly veiled attempt to create an underclass of free, cheap labour for a labour market already flooded with unemployed people trying to find work.

These schemes have already created cause for concern regarding their affect on overtime on both temporary and permanent jobs, as well seeing workfare placements reducing the number of both permanent and temporary employment opportunities available to unemployed people seeking work.

A potential issue around equality between work experience participants and permanent staff is apparent. Work Experience participants are required to work in their placement for up to 30 hours per week, and so overtime paid to permanent staff has the very real probability of being reduced,.. or worse removed completely.

Research commissioned by the previous Labour Government in 2008 found that:

“There is little evidence to suggest that workfare increases the likelihood of finding work. It can even reduce employment chances by limiting the time available for job search and by failing to provide the skills and experience valued by employers.”

and that:

“Subsidised (‘transitional’) job schemes that pay a wage can be more effective in raising employment levels than ‘work for benefit’ programmes.”

Evidence that the coalition Government appear to have completely disregarded.

The research also found that ‘workfare was least effective in weak labour markets’, which I am sure everyone reading this would agree is the current situation faced by the UK Government and by those seeking work.

In my view, any work related activity should start with mandatory health and safety training, food hygiene training etc. with highly regarded transferable qualifications.

Workfare is a proven failure in countries highlighted in the commissioned report. The fact that the coalition government are adopting workfare is against the advice of researchers, and implies they are either naively unaware of the problems involved in returning the unemployed to work, or perhaps more sinister, influenced by big business with invested interest in continuing the workfare programmes.

Some claimants on sickness benefit Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) are being told that they will have to claim Job-seekers Allowance whilst appealing a decision to stop payments of ESA, and this in turn will make those people available for workfare. Particularly if those people were previously in the support group of ESA which does not require claimants to partake in work related activity. This draws attention to ill-performing work capability assessments ( WCA), but something we will not go further in the course of this letter as it has already been heavily reported. Some of these vulnerable people may have been wrongfully denied ESA and may be seriously sick or severely disabled. If recent figures are anything to go by, where around 40% of people appealing a decision to stop or suspend ESA, are having the decision overturned (the figure rises to 70% on second appeal if claimants have access to specialist representation) then making sick and disabled people available for work experience schemes is something we should all be deeply concerned about.

But the crux of this letter is to object to the language that ministers, the press, and wider media are using to describe those of us who are against workfare. They insist upon cruel, inaccurate and defamatory language to discredit the bulk of anti-workfare campaigners. Vile slurs against campaigners are a blatant attempt to hide the negative attention the Government’s controversial workfare schemes have attracted, and should not be used or encouraged.

The vast majority and those helping in raising awareness of the exploitation of those taking part in workfare schemes ARE NOT ‘far-left extremists‘ or ‘militant campaigners‘ and are certainly not ‘Job Snobs‘!

Those are but a few examples of the language being used.

Despite what some commentators have said we are not against the idea of allowing those who wish to take part in work experience schemes the opportunity to do so. We do however, believe that such programmes should not be to the benefit of big business and greedy employers. It should, at least reward those taking part with a paid wage as a proportion of what they already receive though state benefit. This may in fact give them greater incentive to seek permanent employment, and provide them with a sense of pride in what they have done because they are making an honest income. A position that researchers of the aforementioned report also support.

A fair solution would be at least the continuation of benefits, including housing, reasonable expenses and meal allowance. The schemes should follow a high standard structure with nationally recognised certificates.

We are firm believers that it is a individual’s responsibility, and right, to question their government when they see something being done that they do not approve of. Campaigners should be free to do so without the potential of becoming targets of a desperate government that is more interested in vilifying campaigners than addressing the concerns that we and others are attempting to raise. This lack of protection for campaigners invoking our right to protest, and the media frenzy caused as a result of slanderous remarks, has proven that the Conservative led government are complicit in the vilification of anti-workfare campaigners.

Furthermore, when these tendentious remarks come from those in a position of power and influence it becomes more than just a political issue but also one of a defamation of character. A deliberate and blatant attempt to turn the public and workfare providers against those who are well within their right to campaign and protest by labelling us as something we are not!

We are simply trying to raise awareness of an issue with the UK Government and the public whilst standing up for something we believe in.

I ask readers this:

“If workfare is a fair, and just way of helping unemployed people back into work why does the government and others feel the need to discredit campaigners by resorting to underhand tactics?”

For this reason, and to give those responsible the opportunity for redress, we rightfully request an apology from all those who have vilified and falsely portrayed the majority of campaigners and protesters. Those responsible for these defamatory remarks are also invited to acknowledge that the majority of campaigners against the work experience schemes (workfare) are NOT ‘communists’, ‘left-wing militants’, ‘members of the Socialist Workers Party’ (SWP) or as also claimed, attempting to destroy the prospects of those seeking employment.

We all want to see our young people given the best possible start in life but exploitation just isn't the correct way.

Those responsible for the language used against campaigners know who they are,.. and so do we.

Thank you for your time in reading this letter (it isn't a copy/paste job, although not all the words are my own. It has been specifically tailored to suit my own position).

Yours sincerely,