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August 21 Disability Living AllowanceI got DLA! The letter was waiting for me when we got home from Cowes Week. I still can't quite believe I actually got it - and without having to go to tribunal as well. I had hoped that when I appealed and pointed out that the report they had based their original refusal on was from a doctor I had actually told them not to approach that this might happen, but wow! The Prof comes up trumps again! My insanely long application, written with help from the Benefits & Work guides must have helped but it was definitely the Prof's report that tipped the balance.
This benefit is important to me because 1, it acknowledges that I need help to lead a vaguely normal life, which is still the case despite my improvement, and 2, it isn't dependent on me not working. So it's just fab!  July 18 Benefits...No word yet from the DLA, but I doknow they actually approached the Prof. I hoping against all hope that if he's given an okay report (which he should've done, it's whether it was specific enough for them - and I don't get how they expect the doctors to know if I need help cooking?!) that they may not drag me to a tribunal given that I told them tat approaching my then GP was a waste of time and they did it anyway. We shall see...
On the Social Services front, things are great. My Social worker sorted me out with 2 bath calls a week so i don't have to depend on Si to be around when I'm in pain (can't bathe alone due to all the bp and stiffness issues, although the latter is rarely an issue atm) and a housework call. And she's arrangd that someone will be helping me in the garden - just lawn-mowing to start with but that will save so many spoons!  I also have a bath board courtesy of the Social Services OT that makes getting in and out of the bath soooo much safer. May 24 Benefits Catch upI got refused DLA.
 They refused it without reading my application AGAIN.   I know they didn't read my application b/c they just sent me a stock letter with "you were refused b/c..." and all of their reasons are directly against what I wrote. I was really depressed by it a first. I put so much effort into it and they couldn't even be bothered to read my form. I do know they were contacting my GP, not my specialist - I had a comment officially added that my GP knows very little about my condition and its impact on my life. But maybe they just took her judgement anyway. Great. A doc I only see on okay days b/c it's just not worth me getting there on bad days and who knows f all about fibro.  This is so stupid. I'm finally getting help for social services - a social worker agrees I need help! I even got a letter saying I didn't need any more medical certificates for Incapaciity Benefit! But they won't even do me the justice of reading my damn form and contacting the doctor I asked them to contact. I decided not to ask for a reconsideration having confirmed with them that's there's no way to make the assessor contact my specialist or counsellor or actually read my form! Last time around I reconsidered and just got sent exactly the same stock letter.
They sent out appeal forms pretty smartly and I double-checked with them what the actual reasons for refusing me were - basically my GP sabotaged me and they listened to her and didn't read my form. On a side note, it's so fucking cheeky that the month allowed to get the appeal forms back in dates from the date on the refusal letter, not when I got it or when I asked for the forms! No wonder I missed the deadline last time! However, I have discovered that if you ask for the refusal reasons to be sent out in writing (which I did as well as getting them over the phone) you get a two week extension...bet no-one gets told that!I've sent off my appeal form, responding to each and every one of their reasons separately and with reference to my application. My GP said I can self care (bollocks! ) to which I responded with telling them I told them she knows very little about my conditions, even less about their impact on my life and isn't even in charge of my treatment and I told them that approaching her would only lead to them getting erroneous information! Raaaa.I need to find an advocate to help with the tribunal, but they're aren't any advocacy groups in West Berkshire that cover me (I'm not elderly and don't have a learning disability). I've contacted my GP, but he's just had a baby so I can't imagine helping me is anywhere near being a priority. I'm going to book an appointment with the Citizens Advice Bureau and hopefully they will at least be able to tell me what to expect. March 29 DLA applicationForgot to mention that having got Si to do his bit, added a little extra and then photoopied the form at my in-law, I finall sent my DLA application off on Saturday. I'm trying not to think about it too much as I'm actually quite stressed about it. I could've kept adding bits forever I think.
 But it's off and I can do no more.  Fingers crossed!!!!! March 14 DLA applicationPhew! Finally finished this monster!
 All that's left is the section for Si to fill in - something I'm sure he's looking forward to!  I reckon it's taken me about 7 full days of work!I ended up printing out a pdf version of the form and then typing my long answers (i.e. not the Yes/No bits) out in Word and putting "see typed sheets" in the boxes on the form. It's saved me ALOT of writing
and has also meant that I've put what I thought I should put, rather than trying to condense my answers so they would fit in the tiny boxes.  I gave up on both the online version of the form and the version that you can fill in on screen. The online form was always crashing and with both the electronic versions, space was really limited as you couldn't even add pages to the "More Information" bit and you couldn't cut and paste from Word. Unfortunately, my application is currently in dark pink  as our printer is broken, but hopefully it'll be fine after it's photocopied so I can send off the photocopied version and keep the pink one. Both Nay and Nath have been really helpful. I'm hoping that, as they both were awarded DLA and as I've devoted so much time, energy and knowledge to filling in this bastard form, I might have a hope this time round. Looking at what I've done this time has made me realise quite how deficient my application was last time. It didn't occur to me then to repeat myself, point out the obvious or point out how the rules applied to me!
And last time I just filled in a regular form with maybe 1 extra sheet...this time it's 50, yes fifty, extra sheets!  The Benefits and Work guides Nath sent me have been invaluable...I've got so much from them! Fingers crossed! March 05 Applying for DLA againSo I'm finally getting around to reapplying for DLA (Disability Living Allowance). I applied before, got turned down twice (as is usual
) and then missed the deadline for going before a judge because I was in a major flare. So I have to do it all again. On the plus side, I've gotten alot better at these forms. This time round I'm applying online to save my hands from writing. Unfortunately, the site has already crashed! This could take forever! Si has promised to help and I've decided to get him to time me doing stuff instead of just guessing how many minutes it takes me to crash out. This is such a sucky process! |
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