First, this, on the new verb entering our vocabulary "To Gervais" - definition? Have a read....... http://www.lapdesktravelbag.com/gervais-dirty-ugly-word/
Second, it's the first of my links to the tireless John Pring and his weekly roundup of stories written for the Disability News Service. http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ If John doesn't write about it, we all tend not to know about it......
Enjoy!
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Diagnosis Challenge
My poor hubby Dave has been feeling very unwell.
Last January, he got swine flu, which turned into some kind of chest infection. Since then, every now and then he gets the following symptoms :
-Chills that make the bed shake
-Breathlessness/Difficulty breathing
-Chest Pains - across whole chest, worse on breathing in
-He is grey with huge black circles under his eyes
-Sweats so bad, the bed is drenched and has to be changed
-Exhaustion - like when you've just had surgery. He's been asleep for the best part of this week
His father had triple bypass surgery at 50, his cousin had his first heart attack at 32, he's had peri-carditis 7 times and when he was thirty, they discovered one of his aortic walls was missing entirely, resulting in major open heart surgery to repair it. He has high cholesterol and his heart rate keeps dropping from 80 to 55.
What do you think it could be?
Go on have a guess......
Ready??
Yep, depression (?!?!?!?!??!)
Because he has a history of depression, he can't possibly be physically unwell too. The first GP didn't even listen to his chest (during either appointment)
I've seen my husband severely depressed. He can't answer me or relate to our children. He can't answer the phone or think properly. He's like a lost little boy stuck behind glass. At the moment, thankfully, that is NOT how he is.
I've known GPs fob people off many, many times, with many, many conditions, but I honestly thought the list at the top of this article were worth investigating. Silly me eh?
Last January, he got swine flu, which turned into some kind of chest infection. Since then, every now and then he gets the following symptoms :
-Chills that make the bed shake
-Breathlessness/Difficulty breathing
-Chest Pains - across whole chest, worse on breathing in
-He is grey with huge black circles under his eyes
-Sweats so bad, the bed is drenched and has to be changed
-Exhaustion - like when you've just had surgery. He's been asleep for the best part of this week
His father had triple bypass surgery at 50, his cousin had his first heart attack at 32, he's had peri-carditis 7 times and when he was thirty, they discovered one of his aortic walls was missing entirely, resulting in major open heart surgery to repair it. He has high cholesterol and his heart rate keeps dropping from 80 to 55.
What do you think it could be?
Go on have a guess......
Ready??
Yep, depression (?!?!?!?!??!)
Because he has a history of depression, he can't possibly be physically unwell too. The first GP didn't even listen to his chest (during either appointment)
I've seen my husband severely depressed. He can't answer me or relate to our children. He can't answer the phone or think properly. He's like a lost little boy stuck behind glass. At the moment, thankfully, that is NOT how he is.
I've known GPs fob people off many, many times, with many, many conditions, but I honestly thought the list at the top of this article were worth investigating. Silly me eh?
Monday, 17 October 2011
It's a miracle! But look on the bright side...
A friend sent me this on twitter yesterday, and I thought it might make you smile. (The role of Jesus currently played by a large private IT company....)
Ex-Leper: Okay, sir, my final offer: half a shekel for an old ex-leper?
Brian: Did you say "ex-leper"?
Ex-Leper: That's right, sir, 16 years behind a veil and proud of it, sir.
Brian: Well, what happened?
Ex-Leper: Oh, cured, sir.
Brian: Cured?
Ex-Leper: Yes sir, bloody miracle, sir. Bless you!
Brian: Who cured you?
Ex-Leper: Jesus did, sir. I was hopping along, minding my own business, all of a sudden, up he comes, cures me! One minute I'm a leper with a trade, next minute my livelihood's gone. Not so much as a by-your-leave! "You're cured, mate." Bloody do-gooder.
Brian: Well, why don't you go and tell him you want to be a leper again?
Ex-Leper: Uh, I could do that sir, yeah. Yeah, I could do that I suppose. What I was thinking was I was going to ask him if he could make me a bit lame in one leg during the middle of the week. You know, something beggable, but not leprosy, which is a pain in the ass to be blunt and excuse my French, sir.
Hat tip to @chocolatewig and of course Life of Brian, by Monty Python
It would be remiss of me not to leave you with this :
Ex-Leper: Okay, sir, my final offer: half a shekel for an old ex-leper?
Brian: Did you say "ex-leper"?
Ex-Leper: That's right, sir, 16 years behind a veil and proud of it, sir.
Brian: Well, what happened?
Ex-Leper: Oh, cured, sir.
Brian: Cured?
Ex-Leper: Yes sir, bloody miracle, sir. Bless you!
Brian: Who cured you?
Ex-Leper: Jesus did, sir. I was hopping along, minding my own business, all of a sudden, up he comes, cures me! One minute I'm a leper with a trade, next minute my livelihood's gone. Not so much as a by-your-leave! "You're cured, mate." Bloody do-gooder.
Brian: Well, why don't you go and tell him you want to be a leper again?
Ex-Leper: Uh, I could do that sir, yeah. Yeah, I could do that I suppose. What I was thinking was I was going to ask him if he could make me a bit lame in one leg during the middle of the week. You know, something beggable, but not leprosy, which is a pain in the ass to be blunt and excuse my French, sir.
Hat tip to @chocolatewig and of course Life of Brian, by Monty Python
It would be remiss of me not to leave you with this :
Sunday, 16 October 2011
What EVERY MP should know about welfare refrorm
Since Employment and Support Allowance was introduced back in 2008, campaigners and those affected have warned that it is flawed. Not because people must face assessment to qualify for support but because the wrong people are declared "fit for work".
People clearly too disabled to work get harassed and pressurised into work programmes they clearly cannot comply with, while the number of "cheats" or "scroungers" caught, remains at exactly the same level it always did.
Throughout the last year, we have warned of a tipping point. With over 110,000 decisions already found to be wrong and overturned, 11,000 people a week are being put through flawed assessments. It is only a matter of time before this becomes the toxic story of recent years. MP mailbags are already bursting with letters about this.
With the double-disaster of care cuts, horrific stories of neglect and want join the stories of war widows with cancer sent to the job centre and soldiers with their legs blown off told to get a job.
I live in a safe, Sussex, Conservative seat with a 17,000 majority. Our local press is just as conservative, though with a smaller "c". We are not given to emotional outbursts and certainly not generally in favour of the "feckless" or "workshy"
This week, the Headline splashed in maximum sized font across the Worthing Herald screams :
People clearly too disabled to work get harassed and pressurised into work programmes they clearly cannot comply with, while the number of "cheats" or "scroungers" caught, remains at exactly the same level it always did.
Throughout the last year, we have warned of a tipping point. With over 110,000 decisions already found to be wrong and overturned, 11,000 people a week are being put through flawed assessments. It is only a matter of time before this becomes the toxic story of recent years. MP mailbags are already bursting with letters about this.
With the double-disaster of care cuts, horrific stories of neglect and want join the stories of war widows with cancer sent to the job centre and soldiers with their legs blown off told to get a job.
I live in a safe, Sussex, Conservative seat with a 17,000 majority. Our local press is just as conservative, though with a smaller "c". We are not given to emotional outbursts and certainly not generally in favour of the "feckless" or "workshy"
This week, the Headline splashed in maximum sized font across the Worthing Herald screams :
HOW CAN I GO TO WORK?
Wheelchair bound Mark Saunders is diabetic, has lost a leg, is partially sighted and needs dialysis three times a week, yet the government wants him to go to work - or risk losing his benefits.
Meanwhile, the Bognor Regis Observer carries this starkest of headlines :
I'LL BE LEFT TO DIE ALONE BECAUSE OF CUTBACKS
And goes on to explain how a local man with a progressive muscle-wasting disease, bedridden and unable even to draw up his own insulin has had his full time carer cut, left with just 5 hours a day and no night time care. To give one graphic example from the story, he explains how in he event of a fire, he would have to burn alive, unable to move independently.
As campaigners like myself have tried to explain so many times, no one minds a fair assessment to see what work a person could do, but no-one, anywhere in the country has the appetite for sending people like Mark Saunders to the jobcentre.
We all have ageing parents or face the threat of a minor condition worsening. No-one in the country wants to see severely disabled, bedridden citizens left lonely and lying in their own filth, unable to feed themselves or draw up life saving medicines.
Stories like this become more and more common up and down the country, in every local paper, in every community centre. You may not see them in the Daily Mail yet, but soon, it is inevitable and it will be to our great, great shame. Once more, I urge the government to halt the roll-out of ESA to 1.9 million of our most vulnerable people until it can be made safe and "fit for purpose"
I urge them to reconsider cuts to local councils so deep that they leave those we most have a duty to protect living in utter despair.
Now. Before we make mistakes we will regret for decades.
*************
From now on, if YOUR local paper has a similar story, please add links to the comment thread below. I will list them all by MP and constituency and we will start to build up a directory of stories from around the country. Just keep an eye on the front pages and send me the headlines.
Many thanks.
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Politics : Meet the new lot, same as the old lot.
Do you feel like you're living in a military state? Do you feel like our country is racked by protest? Are there regularly hoards of disgruntled citizens with placards blocking the aisles at your local Tesco? At your bank? At your favourite fashion store?
No, mine neither. Mainly, my high street looks just as it always did (though with around 20% of the windows boarded up) People still mill around the town with glossy carrier bags, stopping for a coffee or a chat, though in fewer numbers.
Mum's up and down the country know they feel skint, but there is no focal point for anger or blame, just a kind of fiscal-trudgery-of-acceptance.
Should any of these Mum's (or of course Dad's) switch on the news, they will certainly hear that the economy is in a bit of a pickle. Times are tough, it's all their fault over there (Europe, US) but we'll pull through and phew! At least we've got the right plan in place eh? Yep, that's something..... (as the X-Factor theme tune fades in to soothe away the anxiety.
But will they hear about millions of people, all around the world, putting their lives on hold to register protest at a global political and financial system they see as defunct, corrupt and increasingly irrelevant? Unlikely.
How long did it take for Mr and Mrs Joe Public to hear that Wall Street was under occupation? Well it was certainly a good deal later than those of us on twitter. Just how serious do they feel the Arab Spring is? Unless they hold a stock portfolio of oil shares, then the answer is probably "What Arab Spring?"
Even if the Arab Spring has made it onto radars (for after it all, it's "good" when those living under oppressive regimes rise up as long as we don't really like their leaders) I'm fairly confident that Mr and Mrs P won't have a clue that protests have been raging all over Europe, Australia and America and that they grow by the day. Millions of people, united and committed all around the world, just as their Arab friends, though much more threatening to our own political and business elite.
Bridges blocked, piazza's occupied, town halls picketed, stock exchanges under occupation, wheelchairs rolling through Westminster, Libraries defended by shire-women with pitchforks - everyone's at it. Shhhh though, don't tell Mr and Mrs P.
And up there, on the main nightly bulletins, we see the same parade of arrogance and corruption. It is so breathtakingly apparent that it is corrupt, that we, Mr and Mrs P laugh at how very bad they are at hiding it. How foolish they must think we are.
"Liam Fox did what?" we splutter? (rage was put to rest years ago, now there's just mocking incredulity and weary head shaking) "He let his mate live in a house we paid for and paid to do up, (rent free) while his corporate mates sent him all around the world on Defence jollies? How many times? They went where? Who paid?
And that Letwin fella. He was doing what? Dumping state secrets in park bins? Is the man unwell? My 10 year old would realise that was a bad idea!!"
"Laws got charged with how many offences? Murdoch did what?"
**(I would add a sentence about the police, but Mr and Mrs P, in fact, are not surprised at all that they're corrupt - they see that for themselves every day)
And on and on and on. Arrogant, out-of-touch pillocks (excuse me but that's what real people think) fiddling while Rome burns.
The last gasp of an effete, degenerate class, seemingly unaware that their days are numbered, with their fingers in their ears shouting "la-la-la-la-la" Not a CLUE how to get us out of this mess and even if they do know, totally unwilling to do the heavy lifting required. Why? Cos it might mean fewer jollies in Sri Lanka or an end to the Caribbean "fact finding missions". It might jeopardise that ermine a few years down the line or the place on the board promised by grateful lobbyists.
And what do I hear from Mr and Mrs P?? Over and over again?
"They just don't get it do they?"
Well no, they still don't get it. Don't see how clearly we see through them now. And they keep on pulling the same old scams as though the internet and instant, global, information sharing never happened. They seem to believe they have a cloak of invisibility that plebs cannot penetrate.
Guys, you don't and the days of bullying laws through parliament and pilfering the state purse are coming to an end.
The first politicians to really work this out will be in power for a very long time.
No, mine neither. Mainly, my high street looks just as it always did (though with around 20% of the windows boarded up) People still mill around the town with glossy carrier bags, stopping for a coffee or a chat, though in fewer numbers.
Mum's up and down the country know they feel skint, but there is no focal point for anger or blame, just a kind of fiscal-trudgery-of-acceptance.
Should any of these Mum's (or of course Dad's) switch on the news, they will certainly hear that the economy is in a bit of a pickle. Times are tough, it's all their fault over there (Europe, US) but we'll pull through and phew! At least we've got the right plan in place eh? Yep, that's something..... (as the X-Factor theme tune fades in to soothe away the anxiety.
But will they hear about millions of people, all around the world, putting their lives on hold to register protest at a global political and financial system they see as defunct, corrupt and increasingly irrelevant? Unlikely.
How long did it take for Mr and Mrs Joe Public to hear that Wall Street was under occupation? Well it was certainly a good deal later than those of us on twitter. Just how serious do they feel the Arab Spring is? Unless they hold a stock portfolio of oil shares, then the answer is probably "What Arab Spring?"
Even if the Arab Spring has made it onto radars (for after it all, it's "good" when those living under oppressive regimes rise up as long as we don't really like their leaders) I'm fairly confident that Mr and Mrs P won't have a clue that protests have been raging all over Europe, Australia and America and that they grow by the day. Millions of people, united and committed all around the world, just as their Arab friends, though much more threatening to our own political and business elite.
Bridges blocked, piazza's occupied, town halls picketed, stock exchanges under occupation, wheelchairs rolling through Westminster, Libraries defended by shire-women with pitchforks - everyone's at it. Shhhh though, don't tell Mr and Mrs P.
And up there, on the main nightly bulletins, we see the same parade of arrogance and corruption. It is so breathtakingly apparent that it is corrupt, that we, Mr and Mrs P laugh at how very bad they are at hiding it. How foolish they must think we are.
"Liam Fox did what?" we splutter? (rage was put to rest years ago, now there's just mocking incredulity and weary head shaking) "He let his mate live in a house we paid for and paid to do up, (rent free) while his corporate mates sent him all around the world on Defence jollies? How many times? They went where? Who paid?
And that Letwin fella. He was doing what? Dumping state secrets in park bins? Is the man unwell? My 10 year old would realise that was a bad idea!!"
"Laws got charged with how many offences? Murdoch did what?"
**(I would add a sentence about the police, but Mr and Mrs P, in fact, are not surprised at all that they're corrupt - they see that for themselves every day)
And on and on and on. Arrogant, out-of-touch pillocks (excuse me but that's what real people think) fiddling while Rome burns.
The last gasp of an effete, degenerate class, seemingly unaware that their days are numbered, with their fingers in their ears shouting "la-la-la-la-la" Not a CLUE how to get us out of this mess and even if they do know, totally unwilling to do the heavy lifting required. Why? Cos it might mean fewer jollies in Sri Lanka or an end to the Caribbean "fact finding missions". It might jeopardise that ermine a few years down the line or the place on the board promised by grateful lobbyists.
And what do I hear from Mr and Mrs P?? Over and over again?
"They just don't get it do they?"
Well no, they still don't get it. Don't see how clearly we see through them now. And they keep on pulling the same old scams as though the internet and instant, global, information sharing never happened. They seem to believe they have a cloak of invisibility that plebs cannot penetrate.
Guys, you don't and the days of bullying laws through parliament and pilfering the state purse are coming to an end.
The first politicians to really work this out will be in power for a very long time.
Friday, 14 October 2011
New Shadow Minister for Disabled
Yesterday, Kaliya Franklin spoke to Ed Miliband while I suffered through a birthday party for my just-turned-7 year old. All morning, we rehearsed lines as I baked cocktail sausages and planned strategy while I stuffed plastic party bags with plastic rubbish.
I'm sure Kaliya will be writing up an article later today, so I won't go into details, but the conversation went very well and Ed did a lot of listening and asked a lot of questions.
Late yesterday evening, John Pring from the excellent http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ ** heard from the new Shadow Minister for Disabled People. Anne McGuire was confirmed in the role and sent him this statement :
“I’m delighted to have been appointed as Shadow Minister for Disabled People. There is a responsibility on all of us to care for those in need. However, many disabled people feel that they are unfairly being portrayed as scroungers and are feeling very vulnerable"
“Labour will be the voice for those in genuine need, who need extra help to live a full life. The introduction of the Universal Credit will see support for disabled children halved, while the Severe Disability Premium is to be scrapped with nothing appropriate put in its place. We believe there can be reforms made to the system, but this is the wrong way to do it, and we will do all we can to stop these changes.”
I'm sure sick and disabled people will be encouraged by this comment and very pleased that Labour appear to finally be listening to campaigners and most importantly, to them, the people affected by this government's eye-watering cuts to disability support.
** If you haven't bookmarked John's site, please do. He is the only investigative journalist focused solely on reporting disability issues and his weekly updates are invaluable.
I'm sure Kaliya will be writing up an article later today, so I won't go into details, but the conversation went very well and Ed did a lot of listening and asked a lot of questions.
Late yesterday evening, John Pring from the excellent http://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ ** heard from the new Shadow Minister for Disabled People. Anne McGuire was confirmed in the role and sent him this statement :
“I’m delighted to have been appointed as Shadow Minister for Disabled People. There is a responsibility on all of us to care for those in need. However, many disabled people feel that they are unfairly being portrayed as scroungers and are feeling very vulnerable"
“Labour will be the voice for those in genuine need, who need extra help to live a full life. The introduction of the Universal Credit will see support for disabled children halved, while the Severe Disability Premium is to be scrapped with nothing appropriate put in its place. We believe there can be reforms made to the system, but this is the wrong way to do it, and we will do all we can to stop these changes.”
I'm sure sick and disabled people will be encouraged by this comment and very pleased that Labour appear to finally be listening to campaigners and most importantly, to them, the people affected by this government's eye-watering cuts to disability support.
** If you haven't bookmarked John's site, please do. He is the only investigative journalist focused solely on reporting disability issues and his weekly updates are invaluable.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Will we Save the NHS Today?
Today's a bit epic.
Left Foot Forward have posted this brilliant article on where the Health and Social Care Bill (NHS bill to normal people) is at and today it will face some of the most crucial votes in its history. Nye is spinning so fast in his grave that they're using him as a wind turbine. Beveridge is next on the list and even Churchill is shifting about uncomfortably.
In a world of rhetoric and hyperbole, us geeky types love to stretch adjectives to their very limit, but today, of all days, they are probably justified.
You may have all noticed that I'm a little preoccupied with the Welfare Reform Bill. When I started writing it was to reform the NHS. I mean really reform it and make it fit for this century. Not privatise it and develop a US style healthcare provision in Britain.
Then I saw that no-one cared about sick and disabled people. They had no glossy celebrities, no passionate politicians to advocate a better path, and little hope of being heard. The NHS on the other hand, had the RCN, the BMA, the media, the politicians and most importantly of all, the overwhelming support of the public. I figured it would just have to fight its own battles while I focused on an even greater injustice.
But today, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Labour Lords alike must decide whether we will allow a "Top-Down Reorganisation" of our NHS that no-one voted for no-one wants and that most experts claim will be destructive to a health service free at the point of use.
As Peers vote today, they must ask themselves whether a little discomfort over not toeing the party line is worth the unremitting fallout that will follow if this bill is passed. They must consider every headline that will lay blame at their door. Every hospital that will close. Every waiting list that will go up, every Nan or Brother or Mum who may not get the treatment they so desperately need.
So I ask the Noble Lords to do just one thing this morning. Find a quiet place and ask yourself what the politicians from the past would do? Ask your heroes, ask Nye and Beveridge and Churchill. Think for a moment not of today, but of next month, and next year and the legacy you want to leave. Do you want to be remembered as the group of representatives that went against a nation to erode the single greatest achievement of our past?
What you do today, will matter for every last person's future. A little conflict in cabinet is the smallest, most insignificant of repercussions. Politicians will come and go, political compasses will shift back and forth but the UK will always value and trust the NHS. Whether they value and trust you is irrelevant. You are there to do a job and today, millions of people will be watching and hoping and praying that you listen to them and act only for a future of health equality for all.
Even at this late hour, if you want to send this to any Lords, please feel free. Details, including email addresses can be found here : http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/
Left Foot Forward have posted this brilliant article on where the Health and Social Care Bill (NHS bill to normal people) is at and today it will face some of the most crucial votes in its history. Nye is spinning so fast in his grave that they're using him as a wind turbine. Beveridge is next on the list and even Churchill is shifting about uncomfortably.
In a world of rhetoric and hyperbole, us geeky types love to stretch adjectives to their very limit, but today, of all days, they are probably justified.
You may have all noticed that I'm a little preoccupied with the Welfare Reform Bill. When I started writing it was to reform the NHS. I mean really reform it and make it fit for this century. Not privatise it and develop a US style healthcare provision in Britain.
Then I saw that no-one cared about sick and disabled people. They had no glossy celebrities, no passionate politicians to advocate a better path, and little hope of being heard. The NHS on the other hand, had the RCN, the BMA, the media, the politicians and most importantly of all, the overwhelming support of the public. I figured it would just have to fight its own battles while I focused on an even greater injustice.
But today, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Labour Lords alike must decide whether we will allow a "Top-Down Reorganisation" of our NHS that no-one voted for no-one wants and that most experts claim will be destructive to a health service free at the point of use.
As Peers vote today, they must ask themselves whether a little discomfort over not toeing the party line is worth the unremitting fallout that will follow if this bill is passed. They must consider every headline that will lay blame at their door. Every hospital that will close. Every waiting list that will go up, every Nan or Brother or Mum who may not get the treatment they so desperately need.
So I ask the Noble Lords to do just one thing this morning. Find a quiet place and ask yourself what the politicians from the past would do? Ask your heroes, ask Nye and Beveridge and Churchill. Think for a moment not of today, but of next month, and next year and the legacy you want to leave. Do you want to be remembered as the group of representatives that went against a nation to erode the single greatest achievement of our past?
What you do today, will matter for every last person's future. A little conflict in cabinet is the smallest, most insignificant of repercussions. Politicians will come and go, political compasses will shift back and forth but the UK will always value and trust the NHS. Whether they value and trust you is irrelevant. You are there to do a job and today, millions of people will be watching and hoping and praying that you listen to them and act only for a future of health equality for all.
Even at this late hour, if you want to send this to any Lords, please feel free. Details, including email addresses can be found here : http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords/
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