. . . and I wouldn't mind normally because, after all, if we are claiming benefits, then it is only right that we be contacted occasionally, to see if our circumstances have changed, or not.
The trouble with this, though, is that we were put through the same process 15 months ago and, as neither my husband, nor my own, health conditions are curable, and are only set to become even worse, the last thing we need is a reminder, only 1 year since the last process ended, that this is so.
To give some background, I am currently suffering from eight separate, incurable, health problems that are chronically debilitating, especially when put together, and this has caused me to be bed-bound for the last few years, with my only link to the outside world being the laptop I'm currently using, as well as my much-needed Dragon NaturallySpeaking software, without which I'd be virtually incommunicado!
Add to this my husband who, as well as being my full-time carer, has also got his own health concerns, with his main problem being started when a tree was felled too close to him, and which caught him across the pelvis - ending his work as a tree surgeon, but not, thank heavens, his life!
Now, as my full-time carer, and having been awarded Carer's Allowance [which, by the way, is then taken out of our benefits, so that my husband isn't a penny better off], you would have thought that it would be obvious that, even without his own health concerns, which also precludes him from driving, my husband has a full-time job in looking after myself, and so is in no way able to be looking for work - even if there were something for him to do in a rural area, with high unemployment, and people a lot younger - and fitter - desperately looking for work themselves :(
But, no, as I was informed this week, because my husband does have health problems himself, he has to go through the same process as everyone else - a process which I'm sure is deliberately designed to demonise anyone claiming sickness benefits, but who, according to our present government, are not entitled to it - which seems to include absolutely everyone claiming any sort of benefit nowadays!
But, to get back to my story . . . on Saturday the 30th March - in the middle of the Easter Bank Holiday - my husband received a letter from the Medical Services, informing him that his questionnaire had still not been received and that, if it wasn't received by 5th April, then our benefits could be affected. This puzzled us greatly, as we hadn't even received this questionnaire - and then the threat of benefit sanctions sunk in, and we realised that we couldn't get hold of anybody until Tuesday 2nd April at the earliest!
As you can imagine, by Tuesday morning, neither of us was in a fit state to cope very well, and I'd had such a bad night the night before, that I didn't wake up until 11 a.m! Panicking like mad, I phoned the number provided, and then sat there listening to the same short section of music, from The Ice Queen £ for the next 15 minutes, until I was put on to a real person.
I explained our situation, and the non-arrival of the questionnaire concerned, and was then informed that a new one would be sent to us - but that I would also not be granted an extension, something I desperately needed, in order to have the time to actually receive the form, and then fill it in - a painfully slow process for me, due to pain, chronic fatigue, and my software occasionally refusing to understand me when my fatigue levels affected my voice!
I guess I should explain that, due to certain health problems, my husband can't cope with filling in forms and so, as he does everything else to support me, I had taken on this aspect of our lives together, so that I can feel that I am at least contributing something to our lives.
Anyway, on being told that we wouldn't be granted an extension, I became quite upset, and asked how I could manage to do this with such a tight deadline, only to be told that there is a section at the back of these new forms, that gives me the opportunity to explain why my forms are being sent in late! Even though the person I spoke to told me that my benefits shouldn't be affected by this, I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop, and for our money to be stopped with no notice - I guess we'll see in the next few weeks if this happens or not :(
On Thursday, the 4th April, the expected questionnaire was delivered to the door, and I opened it with a sinking heart, as I knew, just by looking at the 20-page form, that I'd never be able to fill it in quickly enough to get it sent back the next day :(
So, as things stand now, I will be filling it in as and when I have the energy to do so, and all we can do now is hope, and pray, that our benefits will not be stopped while I do so :(
I'll keep you posted!
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