I know some of this was covered in my post yesterday but today 'Diary of a benefit scrounger' and 'Benefit scrounging scum' (@suey2y and @bendygirl) are asking everyone for their #spartacusstories of how DLA helps them to show the public and the politicians and the press that we are not scroungers, just disabled people trying to live a decent life with some quality of life in a world that makes having a disability an expensive thing to live with.
So this is my spartacus story:
My DLA helps toward the cost of food as IBS makes me wheat and dairy intolerant and as I am not coeliac I can't get my bread on prescription like they do.
My DLA helps pay towards heating bills as I have to stay warm or the pain from the Fibromyalgia becomes unbearable.
My DLA helps towards prescription costs as I am on 5 or 6 scripts a month.
My DLA helps pay for massages not available through the NHS that help to free my spasming muscles.
My DLA has been used to get things around the house to make my life more easy and more comfortable (a heated throw, special pillows...) and to take some of the burden off my other half so he doesn't get left doing all the work.
My DLA will also be used to purchase a wheelchair or disability scooter in the future so that I can get about more easily and with less pain.
I am not a scrounger, I still work the few hours I can manage, #myDLA is not used for luxuries and holidays, it is used for everyday things that other, more fortunate people, take for granted. #spartacusstories #ombh #wrb #spartacusreport
Becoming too ill to work after 30 years is no easy transition; the physical and associated mental health issues are catastrophic enough. Not only is my constant chronic body wide pain crippling but add this to the feelings of worthlessness, as I can no longer financially or domestically contribute to my family, and I battle serious depression on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteMy current situation is fluctuating between coping and suicidal, but the additional emotional turmoil I am facing as I stand to become destitute as I turn 50 in April is terrifying.
Why did I bother to work whilst bringing up my children, maybe I should have stayed home and lived on State Benefits, as that group of Welfare seems to be safer than the ones I genuinely believed I had earned.
I was awarded my DLA at the 5th attempt and without it I would not be able to afford the 8/10 taxis I need each week to get to my 82 year old mums who I care for; nor could I pay for my ridiculously high fuel costs I need for extra heating and laundry to manage my pain and incontinence. Never mind the ever increasing GP, hospital visits!
In short I, and most likely my mum would no longer be here.