Yay!!

Finally monday 1st March approached, the dreaded tribunal date... i only recieved the last "main" letter i needed on the friday afternoon! which was from my consultant so i called the tribunal services and they said bring it along.. then i asked if they had recieved all my other letters i had sent them about a week earlier (before their stupid deadline) by recorded delivery.. and they said they either hadn't got them or they had gone missing.. well according to the Royalmail website they had recieved them so they had lost them! luckily i had taken photocopies of them!

I didnt have an advocate with me as the Social Services Financial Services helper who helped me fill in the forms wasnt allowed to come with me.. apparently Citizens Advice arent allowed to provide advocates and apparently the Independant Living Association who usually provide advocates lost the local contract for free advocates from the 1st of Febuary (or March) i am not sure which is no use to me at all.. An advocate is kind of like a solicitor that goes along with you helps state your case and make sure that you say everything you need to say and that your rights are kept to.

But i was on my own.. well i had my fiance with me for support as you are allowed a friend/relative if you have any problems etc bathroom.. drinks or questions.. It was nothing how i expected it to be.. it was just a room.. when you expect a "Tribunal Court" you expect it to be all scarey.. but it was just a room.. with a table and the three people on one side and yourself and your helper on the other..

There was the Judge, a Doctor, and a Care worker, i was in the tribunal room for about 50 minutes in total. The Judge asked questions first about my history and general questions and then the Doctor asked lots of Medical questions about how my conditions stopped me doing stuff.. and then the Care worker asked me questions about care.. eg how much care i needed during the day.. night etc. There did seem to be alot of very specific questions eg how was your hands during september.. how was your legs during august.. which i found difficult as you dont remember how your illnesses are or exact parts of the body that are effected are during specific months of the year..

You must remember to relate everything to your worst day with everything with benefits or DLA which with fibromyalgia is easy as you get alot of bad days but i suppose could be difficult. I have alot of bad days, luckily i was having a bad day the day of the tribunal which probally helped in a way as i was a bit all over the place but my memory was bad..it does help that i have alot of other conditions other than fibromyalgia.. my hypermobility.. and lots of fibromyalgia conditions.. and that i have severe fibromyalgia.

So after 50 minutes of trying to answer questions my best and trying to push through the pain we were asked to leave the room whilst they made a desicion.. from what i understand sometimes they ask you to leave the room.. but if they cant make a descision there and then they can make it later and notify you by post. We came back in about 10 minutes later and i was told that i had been granted higher rate care on top of the higher rate mobility i already have. That it is going to be backdated to june and that it is indefient! I was not expecting higher rate to be honest i was expecting the middle rate and i sat there in shock pretty much with my mouth open like a moron going thank you as my other half wheeled me out!

So one battle over! it took long enough spent most of the afternoon calling people family.. friends.. medical people who had supported me.

Now we still havent got a car.. we were suppost to get a motorbility car last week but apparently it hasnt arrived now.. but now its not going to arrive to the end of next week.. and i have lots of appointments next week as i assumed i was going to have a car by then.. sigh.. i sort one thing out and another one comes along. I managed to whinge and get a courtsey car out of the garage for the weekend and they might be able to do something for one of my hospital appointments later in the week as i have to take my wheelchair.. gah it never ends! Not having a car is really effecting how much i can go out and i am beginning to get cabin fever!

I have a feeling this is going to screw my benefits again like it did before.