Can you hear me screaming????

We've had a very frustrating couple of days, yesterday we had yet another visit to Wheelchair Services - remember the saga, they wouldn't let Mark cancel it in November because it was too far along the way to being completed, we went in December and it was so bad when Mark sat in it he immediately went into violent spasms and had to get out nearly straight away. In addition to that problem the wheels they had ordered were the wrong size and Mark couldn't lift himself off his seat (important for circulation etc). So they sent us away and promised to get it sorted for the next visit. Anyway we went again yesterday, had to wait for them to put the new wheels on, alter the front casters and a few other things before he could actually get in it. As soon as he got in it he started to spasm and had violent pain in his back. He was so bad he couldn't lean back against the back rest and we had to hoist him out onto a plinth so he could lay down and wait for the pain to go. He hasn't been hoisted since about August of last year, so that was an indication that he was really bad. He laid there for nearly half an hour before he could get back in his own chair. Soooo now they're going to get another back and we have to wait another 6-8 weeks before we go again. You have to ask the question, wouldn't it be better value for the NHS to cancel the sodding thing and let him have the vouchers and sort his own out. That attitude is prevalent with just about everyone we have to deal with as you'll see by our next frustrating encounter......

Today we had a visit at the new house from the Social Services OT to discuss entrance ramps and the conversion of the current en-suite into a wetroom. We met him there (the house is not ours yet but the seller is lovely and we're always up there sorting stuff out) and although we couldn't get Mark in the house he wanted to come cos he could chat to the guy about the ramps while he was still in the car. Well you'll all have had the experience of speaking to someone new and just knowing that they're a complete NOB within the first few sentences. That impression only grew the longer he spoke. There's a door from the garage opposite the entrance to the utility, which is only a bit more than a meter wide, so it can be ramped so Mark can get straight from the garage into the house. Pretty simple you would think, oh no. According to the NOB that was totally unfeasible and he wouldn't even discuss it any further. So we discuss the ramp into the front door. We want it to come out of the front door and turn right and run alongside the front of the house towards the garage, simple we thought. Oh no. If we're involved in putting in a ramp it has to come out of the front door and continue straight out into the middle of the front garden for about 12/14 feet. Right in the way of anyone else driving in and wanting to park. So how much leeway in terms of design do we have here, we ask? None, if we're funding it you do it our way or not at all!! Well that's told us. So what's the process we ask. Well, first I have to come and assess Mark transferring, then I write a report to the Panel. IF the Panel agree, then it goes into the funding process, which can take up to 2 years! So with that we move inside to look at the en-suite and explain we want to turn that into a wetroom. In fairness it's not a huge job, only the shower end needs changing into a level access area with a wetroom drain. Well if we thought getting the ramps wasn't easy this proved near impossible because they don't think the room is wide enough and doesn't have enough turning circle. The fact that Mark doesn't need a turning circle in there just didn't register even when I'd described a number of times how Mark would use the room. Do you get the picture that I'm on a looser here. Can you see me starting to get hot under the collar. To give you another titbit of what brain power I'm dealing with here, I explained we would be placing our bed against the wall 90 degrees from where the current owners bed was so Mark had good access to the bed and to the wetroom. From the look on his face I could tell he didn't understand what I was saying - well it was complicated for the poor guy!! I walked him through it veeeerrrrryyyy slowly two more times before he got it. Man this is NOT going well.

So we get to the discussion on how can we move ANYTHING forward. There is a glimmer of hope. After he's done the assessment on Mark, we can get two quotes to have the ramp done, in accordance to their specs, then he can put the report in the Panel and ask for a Direct Payment for the ramp from the front door into the garden. OK, what about the wetroom. Oh no. We won't fund the wetroom unless you agree to do it just the way we specify. And you would never get a Direct Payment for that anyway. It will have to go through the funding process and take the two or more years to be funded. Well that's told us. By now I feel I need to get this guy out of the house before I get violent, because I so easily could!!!!

Will we ever get to the stage where we don't have to deal with these jobs worths??