Crumbling bones and benefits

[Dean Curwood]

Hi.
Today I went to the hospital for an update on my Charcot foot. They had the results from my MRI scan. They told me yhat the degradation of my bones was very bad. The described ot as looking like soft squidgy plaster and was progressing into my heal. I have been told I must none weight bare for upto 9 months until it settles down. If I don't they will end up amputating my foot. I am still of working age but not currently working. Am I entitled to claim any benefits? Obviously I am unable to drive. I have a knee scooter to get about on which helps, but doesn't help when trying to carry a plate of food from the kitchen or climbing stairs. Has anyone on the forum had similar experiences?
Thanks in advance.
Dean

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Hi Dean,
sorry to hear about your problems.
I suspect you will have to claim universal credit with fit notes and then have an assessment. Also look into claiming PIP.

 

[mikeyB]

You clearly qualify for PIP Mobility, and if you are unable to work, for Universal Credit if, as @Pumper_Sue says, you can get sick notes from your GP.

You also need a stairlift. Financial help is available if you are low income. You’ll get advice from your local council about that. I got mine when we lived in Scotland, where you can get 80% of the cost for the stairlift whatever your income is, but in England it is, of course, means tested. You can actually hire a stairlift for a limited period if you don’t anticipate a future need, so look into that. If it’s a straight run on the stairs they can fit one in a couple of hours, including coffee breaks. They are attached to the stairs, not the walls.

Of course if you do manage to get a stairlift, you may need a knee scooter upstairs as well. And your bathroom must have a few grab rails fitted at the very least, and support rails for the toilet. The community nurse will sort all that out for you.

If you can manage to get around on two crutches that would make life easier for short trips around the house.

 

[gll]

100% push for a home assessment (usually occupational therapy) and get whatever mobility aids you need that are on offer 🙂 This can help support your claims too.

Pip eligibility

To get PIP you must find it hard to do everyday tasks or get around because of a physical or mental condition. You must have found these things hard for 3 months and expect them to continue to be hard for another 9 months.

(from citizens advice)
I'm not saying you don't qualify with the timeline, I just don't know how long things have been going on for you 🙂

Universal credit will starts with you self certifying and then the gp declaring you not fit for work notes until an assessment happens.

Claim dates start from when you get the applications sent to you (PIP) and UC I think you need to do online these days so when you submit for that.
You can get advance payment for UC if you are struggling now (it gets paid back) or its a 5-6 week wait for first payment.
PIP wont pay anything until you have had assessment but it is backdated.

Not going to say its all plain sailing but get the ball rolling asap and look at some reputable sites like citizens advice to help you understand the questions and how to answer them. (some I'm convinced are worded to trip you up a bit)
PIP and UC applications are tricky and you have to answer the questions from the point of view of your worst day.

Having successful claims in can help make getting a blue badge easier too. I know you can't drive at the mo but the badge is for you and the car you are in at the time, regardless of who is driving. Push for that too to make life a little easier if you need to go anywhere.

Good luck with it all 🙂

Edit: should have mentioned, daughters knees dislocate all the time and she's in chronic pain with it and awaiting surgery - thats my experience with pip and uc 😉

 

[Flower]

Hi @Dean Curwood

I'm sorry you're having to deal with Charcot foot, it is such a challenge.

You can apply for help through the benefit system. The benefits available have changed since I had to retire, I'm on the older benefit Disability Living Allowance- since replaced by PIP- with Charcot foot in a cast long term and have had both legs in casts for a number of years - thankfully 'just' the one leg at the moment. Charcot foot is a long term destructive condition that really limits what you can do and it should meet the long term time criteria - I think it's for a condition that is going to last for 9 months +. It is a chronic condition that can flare up again and once it's happened you can hopefully get to a stable place but the risk remains. The mobility part of the benefit if awarded can be used towards an adapted car and you can apply for a blue badge. I have a blue badge although I can't see to drive but others I go out with can use it if I'm with them.

I had to have an at home assessment to see how I managed non weight bearing on crutches in a cast This was about 20 years back so I don't know how it works today but presume it's the same thing. I met the criteria and sadly over the past 20 years things haven't settled with my bones still fracturing. I was optimistic at first of going back to my job but losing a lot of my sight & driving licence scuppered that.

As said above the other benefit to apply for will be UC with fit notes from your Doctor to support the claim.

Are you able to fit a table, breakfast bar to eat at in the kitchen. I've spilt so many plates of food trying to hop on one leg that I don't bother trying to carry things any distance anymore. A spill proof drink cup is a great buy so I can get to the chair without scalding myself.

Wishing you well with it all

 

[IrvineHimself]

... [Benefit questionnaires] .... "some I'm convinced are worded to trip you up a bit"

One of my greatest reliefs on dropping out of the system was no longer having to claim benefits. Even in the late eighties, the forms consisted of asking the same, slightly rephrased questions over and over again. After returning to the UK, about 10 or 12 years ago, I had a second run-in with the benefit system when I had frozen shoulders, (both of them), and the system had only gotten worse.

If it was not for the fact I was in agony, it was so bad the Doc prescribed both fentanyl and codeine, I would never have bothered completing the forms. (I was in so much pain, I actually had to get someone to fill them in)

Because of the way the questions are worded, I am firmly convinced pt is not possible to fill in these forms with 100% honesty and still make a successful claim. As someone who actually has honour, I find this deeply offensive.

What I found to be even more offensive, was the regular assessments. These were usually carried out by nurses who were not only extremely unsympathetic, but had no occupational therapy qualifications. On one occasion, a real ogre of a nurse actually filled in the assessment form with several bold faced lies!

What was really shocking about this was the lies were so medically naive, the Doctor on the appeals panel took one look at her notes and laughed out loud.

With regard to my latest run in with the bureaucratic machine: Due to my recent diabetes diagnosis, StreetWork convinced me to apply for my state pension. The current state of play being:

• Nobody disputes I have enough NI contributions and that I am indeed entitled to a UK state-pension.
• However, the DWP won't process my claim and issue a statement of entitlement till I have a bank account
• The banks [six at the last count] wont let me open a bank account till I have a statement of entitlement from the DWP

@Dean Curwood I am not trying to put you off here, what I am saying is: Get a qualified organisation like Citizen's Advice to help fill in the forms and represent your interests. If you don't, I can virtually guarantee you will regret it.

 

[AJLang]

With regard to @IrvineHimself comment “Because of the way the questions are worded, I am firmly convinced pt is not possible to fill in these forms with 100% honesty and still make a successful claim. As someone who actually has honour, I find this deeply offensive.” I completely disagree when it comes to applying for PIP.
When I applied for PIPI made sure that I was completely honest with everyone of my answers because I did not want to be checked up on and found to be lying. Having said that going through the forms with my partner and realising how little I could do was soul destroying especially as I used to be a career woman and gym bunny before coming ill. I also think it is important to answer honestly if you have good and bad days which I again did honestly. I was awarded PIP first time. The most important thing is to explain how you meet each of the criteria, providing examples and also medically supporting evidence. I was also very honest about the criteria that didn’t apply to me. Good luck with it all because I did find the process mentally ,physically and emotionally exhausting and that was with the full help of my partner.

 

[IrvineHimself]

With regard to @IrvineHimself comment “Because of the way the questions are worded, I am firmly convinced pt is not possible to fill in these forms with 100% honesty and still make a successful claim. As someone who actually has honour, I find this deeply offensive.” I completely disagree when it comes to applying for PIP.

Maybe I should qualify that:

Yes, you have to fill the forms in honestly to the best of your knowledge and ability because, unlike MP's expense accounts, there are severe legal penalties for failing to do so. However, when repeatedly being asked what is essentially the same questions about income, who you live with, where you live ... etc, with only slight differences in phrasing, one can only assume these questions are designed to trip up a claimant into making a disqualifying statement. As a result, to be successful, a claimant either has to lie, or exercise extreme judgment in the wording of any answers.

I found the process to be not only exhausting, but also distasteful and highly reminiscent of Sir Robert Armstrong's testimony during the Spycatcher Trial.

In addition, while I wasn't claiming PIP, I can't remember what it was exactly, some kind of sickness benefit tied to social security, I also had lots of letters from Doctors, Physio-Therapist and the like detailing my highly restricted range of movement and the level of pain it was causing me.

Finally, I have very little experience with benefits system. In the last thirty+ years, I have only attempted to claim benefits twice, The first time, as related, it was due to frozen shoulders, and currently, due to diabetes, I am trying to claim my pension. On both occasions the experience has left me asking myself whether it is really worth the grief and hassle. Hence, I strongly advise @Dean Curwood to seek expert help with making any calim.