Foregone conclusion

My One Line Wednesday post raised a couple of comments about not wishing my life away.
I don’t as a rule, and try to enjoy and make use of every day to the best of my ability.

Regular readers know we are on a limited income and making ends meet by living frugally. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a hardship for us as we have been doing so for most of our 30 years together, so it is actually a way of life! We pride ourselves that we don’t owe any money, don’t spend what we don’t have, and live within our means.
We pay our bills with no concessions, and as our income is below the personal allowance, pay no income tax. I have a knack of making the money stretch, but can do nothing if it’s not coming in in the first place.
All we ask is to be left alone.

Today was an assessment interview for a disability allowance that Hubby is entitled to but now has to jump through hoops to qualify. Because he can thus ‘jump’ through said hoops, it is 99% likely he will lose this benefit which is actually keeping our car on the road.

Luckily, our vehicle is not linked to the Motability scheme run by our caring Government in connection with this benefit, so we will not lose our car. However, the disabled badge scheme is, so we will lose that when it expires, if it is not called in beforehand.
I am hoping I can juggle the budget to keep our vehicle as not having one opens up a whole new can of worms as regards getting to and from hospital/doctors appointments, shopping, Maggie’s vet visits and the convenience having a car has.
Hubby cannot use public transport, we certainly can’t afford taxis (£30 each way to the nearest large town), and doing our shopping on-line doesn’t appeal, especially with the things we buy and the possible substitutes that may be forthcoming.

We filled out their 40 page questionnaire and sent it off together with documentation about his mobility issues, Consultant reports, tests results and confirmation from Head Honchos in their field that NOTHING CAN BE DONE to improve things.
We listed all of his meds, the difficulties he faces and the fact that he is in varying degrees of pain every single day, pain which keeps him awake at night, or wakes him up when the  meds wear off (if they actually worked that time) and how taking several painkillers in a day can affect his judgement, co-ordination, attention span, and speech.

The journey was an hour and a half, so he took a painkiller before we set off as he cannot tolerate long distances without discomfort and stops every forty minutes or so. Half an hour into our journey, he was ‘floating’, so this was one of the ‘good’ pills.
We arrived in plenty of time and a ‘nice man’ came out to hold the doors for us (CCTV). We signed in, and had to wait over half an hour before our appointment time (another CCTV in the lobby). Hubby’s bomb knocked him out in the chair so I had to wake him when he was called in.

I got the impression today that none of this mattered for the simple reason that he could pinch his thumb and forefinger together, touch his toes if he leaned on his sticks and by supporting himself on a table, stand on tip toe.
The assessor, a manual worker with no medical experience (unlike the other assessor in Gloucester who had been a doctor beforehand) did not seem interested in any elaboration to explain our answers to her set questions, and after thirty minutes of an interview she said would take 45, told us
‘That’s it. You’re free to go’. Those were her exact words.

We now have to wait 2 to 8 weeks for the outcome as she forwards her tick list computer data to the DWP office who will add up the points and determine his financial fate.
I anticipate we will know within 2 as that will coincide with a due payment in arrears and that will be the last. At least we will be reimbursed for our fuel and mileage of 83½ miles.

Of course there is always that 1% chance someone will actually look at the support documentation we sent in when we played by their rules and were honest in our responses.
However, as the government wants to get people off benefits and into work, we are extremely doubtful, as all they do is move the goalposts at the next assessment and bring that forward from four years to twelve months.

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