Hello 
I’ve been caring for my 22 year old son since last July. He fell on the train tracks whilst drunk. He is lucky to be alive. I’m not sure any more if ‘lucky’ is the right word. He was electrocuted, both thigh muscles removed, all of his abdominal muscles removed, and a few feet of intestines also had to be removed. In about a year they want to give him an abdominal muscle transplant-I’ll obviously volunteer mine if there is any advantage to that. His plastic surgeon advised him the other day to live the remainder of his life to the full. Luckily the Carer’s Allowance is so generous that I was thinking a trip on the QE2 would be good with some dining in some fine michelin-starred restaurants. It’s amazing what you can do with £66 a week.
I’ve only just found this website, hopefully if I can get another few quid a week, I can still get on the cruise even if it’s only second class
Nick
Hi Nick,
Welcome to the forum.
That’s a horrific thing to have happened and not only to your son but to you too. Hopefully Chris will be along to give you links to benefit calculators etc, he’s the fount of all knowledge when it comes to ‘official’ information. I’m assuming your son has got a care team in place but have you had a carer’s assessment? Are you able to get out and do your own thing at all? Is your son in receipt of Continuous Health Care?
How did he manage to get onto the line in the first place? Was he on a platform or did he manage to climb a fence for example? The reason for that particular question is because I’m wondering if the railway was properly H&S compliant. Any neglect? Solicitor?
__
Hopefully Chris will be along to give you links to benefit calculators etc, he’s the fount of all knowledge when it comes to ‘official’ information.
Some links whilst I wolf down me dinner :
OUTSIDE CARE SUPPORT :
ONLINE BENEFITS CALCULATOR :
CHC / NHS CONTINUING HEALTHCARE :
Carers Allowance ?
Enough for 6 trips a mile up and down my local canal … not enough spare for the decontamination afterwards.
Left to CUK … and their " Fairer for carers " … a cup of tea on each trip … nothing left over for sugar !
Oh my! That sounds horrible. Have you had a needs assessment or not for him?
Are you getting any care support for your son?
Hi all,
Thank you all for your replies. .
I have had the experience so far of having been left out to dry by the DWP and so forth. I feel like when you spend time on the phone with them, the conversations are recorded so they don’t volunteer information so that they don’t get fired, and also, because there is so much benefit fraud.
I rang the DWP last week for the first time in six months-I was ringing them ( and the carers allowance crowd), but the only result was that I would get even more depressed-I don’t know if any one else feels like this-it’s like drowning then being offered a straw-after a hundred grabs you stop reaching for the straw.
For instance last week my DWP case manager for universal credit said why aren’t you getting ‘carer’s element?’ Because none of your crappy colleagues told me about it, that’s why. Then she tells me they usually only backdate it for three months. So I guess her colleagues get a bonus or congratulations. No spark of humanity there.
I’m afraid I was not aware of all this to any degree-kind of wish I had never found out
You have already given me some pointers, now I have to find out if they are straws Thanks all !
Nick
Hi Bowlingbun,
My son is on PIP, can’t remember the exact amount, a bit less than £400 a month I think.
Nick
Hey,
I thought some carer’s would like to hear my retort to the universal credit helpline, it sounds like everyone here is in the same boat- “If I see an old lady trying to cross the road, I’ll stop and help her-you lot would push in front of a bus.”
I’m glad to say that shut him up, which is a first for me, it’s usually like trying to navigate a multi-dimensional maze of inhumanity.
Nick
Is he also claiming Income Support or Employment Support Allowance, to live on? Means tested.
PIP is to cover the costs of his disability - not means tested.
How are you doing?