Ok, I hate the song but struggled to find a title for this post!
Not as jolly as a lovely recipe for a cake but then sometimes the less jolly parts of life come to the fore and a subject close to my heart (feet, hands and knees etc.) has reared it's ugly head again.
PIP
Anyone *outside* the DLA (disabled living allowance) world is forgiven for having little or no knowledge about the subject, why would you need to know about it? I knew nothing about it until a friend mentioned that I was having a lot of problems getting around and had I considered applying for DLA?
The clue is in the 'A' it stands for 'allowance' and it is a payment made to people who are disabled in some way, shape or form due to illness regardless of whether they are able to work or not. It can be used in ways to assist the claimant in leading as 'normal' a life as possible. We don't spend it on cruises and fast cars you know and the 55 page form is a beast to fill in...they don't hand out those Blue Badges willy nilly either!
Even though looking at me with my rosy cheeks, beamimg smile and positive outlook you wouldn't guess how much pain I am in but I can assure you I am and because of the life limiting qualities of Rheumatoid Arthritis I am a DLA claimant. I use mine to pay for things like:
Good shoes that are very expensive but recommended to me by the healthcare practitioners I see for the management of Rheumatoid Arthritis. I have arthritis particularly badly in both my feet and hands. I can't just pick up a pair of shoes in the supermarket as my already painful feet would be in unbearable agony!
A tiny vacuum cleaner!
Sounds rubbish but my old cleaner, a perfectly serviceable Dyson 02 (never throw anything away!) is far too heavy for my feeble wrists now and in order to attempt a reasonable level of hygiene at home a person does sometimes have the need to run a vac over the floor...
Pre-chopped veg, this and a food processor are the only way (unless I rope someone in...) I can really cook properly now as my hands and fingers are so sore! Even picking baby spinach leaves last week was a teeth-gritting affair!
Cleaning Wipes
Of all types...
Oven Cleaning
I've finally given in and admitted that I can no longer clean my oven myself - last time I did it, about a year and a half ago it took me a couple of days and I had to rest for a day after. I also have problems kneeling down - tomorrow my oven gets a really good clean by a professional company!
You would think I was fussy about the cleanliness of my home but really I am just very scared of becoming unwell - Humira leaves me prone to infections and masks the symptoms in such a way that it isn't obvious until the infection is quite serious! Factor in that all arthritis drugs have to be stopped while the antibiotics do their stuff and it's enough to make the most un-house proud person flick a duster around once in a while!
Reading through the guidelines to assessors of the new PIP (personal independence payment) it seems to me that people who accept the difficulties that having a disability brings along to the party are to be penalised for adapting and having a positive attitude towards life which is not the way a supportive society should be treating people who are already struggling to have some kind of life abeit a slightly, slower and stiffer one in my case...
I'll be back on cake recipes next time I promise!
Nic x
