I received my PiP application ten days ago , due to memory and exhaustion it took me and hubby three days to complete.
having to dig out hospital reports , nurses and OTs, it was totally exhausting.
it was after we got back from the post office I sat down and cried , cried not only from being tired but from what it made me realise what I have lost in four years.
reading some of the old reports from then to where I am now , it’s like reading about a different person. I have had M S for twenty years and have always tried to be positive but
its made me realise more than ever how much this bloody disease has taken over my life , lm not living in existing and I can’t shake it off.
Margaret, glad you have managed to complete your form, I do hope you have kept a copy and posted it recorded delivery.
I didn’t keep a copy and they managed to lose my form (sent normal first class post). I got a letter saying they had rejected my claim - I phoned to ask why and they told me I had not returned my form. I cried and cried on the phone. It had taken me days / weeks to complete.
Have re-applied and have an appointment for a Capita assessor coming to my home next week.
I completely understand why it upset you so much. This is something I’ve actually written on benefit claim forms in the past. It’s only when you go through a form and write down all the ways in which MS has affected you, that you fully realise what has changed. And it is very upsetting, like a renewed grief for the way you were.
Those forms are dreadful to complete, I too hope you have a copy. I’ve only sent mine in about 10 days ago (recorded delivery) and it’s always a good idea to keep copies of everything you send to the DWP.
I cant imagine how it must have felt to be told your form had gone missing Ang, and to start all over again must have been terrible.
I hope you both get a good outcome, I’m hoping for one too.
Second time around I think I actually made a better job of it, plus my mobility had worsened by then so I hoping maybe there was a silver lining. Margaret I hope you’re feeling a bit better now, good luck x
It’s bloody shocking that you become more challenged by your mobility and that’s a good thing for your PIP claim! ‘Oh hurrah, I can’t walk as well as I could so now I might qualify for enhanced PIP!’
It makes my blood boil to think that there is absolutely zero incentive to improve your mobility just a bit. If you can just about do 18 metres say, then have a flipping long rest, are you incentivised to make it 25 metres?
But as you say, good luck. It does seem that there is an element of luck involved in the claim process. As I’ve said before, I don’t blame the assessors or the decision makers, they are hog tied by the same crappy rules we are.
Congrats on getting the form off in three days. Ive factored in at least a week to do mine when it arrives. But Im sorry that you are feeling so low atm. I too fear filling in the form because I know I will need to spell out in black and white what impact it has had on my life.
Is there still stuff you enjoy doing and could do more of? Im planning to volunteer at a local hospice when feeling a bit better. I think it wil give me much needed sense of purpose and I think Im quite good at chatting to people, so that might come in handy. But I miss the work I use to do.
Sounds that, like me, you might be a bit depressed? Can u get any extra help with that? Mindfulness meditation is the thing that has worked bst for me.
I expect I or rather we will have to fill in all the forms when the time comes. I recently never filled in one form because it was just not worth the effort . I detest the stupidity of it all.
Off to local CAB on 27th of feb, in process of writing everything down & collecting all my health notes. to be fair consultant & Dr were straight on it. Just waiting to hear from the Walton pain clinic, if I dont hear by fri I will phone his office. Hopefully I will be for armed. The CAB said to take in all pending hospital appointments letters as well. I have been through all their questions on their web site & answered them in drafts. Carole, ive come up with quite a few words, came to me easier than answering the questions did to be honest, I wonder why!!! Good luck everyone! Tracey x
my mother’s favourite ‘occupation’ when on a long drive was to look at the registration of the car in front and substitute rude words for each letter. Dare I say that if the registration had the letter ‘f’ or ‘c’ she was overjoyed.