Quote:
Originally Posted by churchfcrules
dont take this personal, but out of interest, have you been offered the chance of re-training, i mean you can type, which means you could be capable of a data inputter job for example, as i say i am not being personal, its just a generalised question really, as i see it they can class you as disabled if you are unfit to carry out your normal job, but as for a lot of these people on benefits, are they really incapable of carrying out ANY work, and also i ahve seen people in wheelchairs working, so if they can work, is it not a question of re assesing those unfit to work?
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Ok here goes sorry for boring you all but he asked. I was registered disabled at the age of 16 because i have epilepsy but eventually i managed to get a job - predjudiced against the epilepsy even though i hadnt had a fit for 3 years. Anyway i went working in a bus depot in the stores. I was lifting heavy stuff brake linings, starter motors, brake shoes, brake drums, cleaning stuff etc and over the years i pulled the tendons in my wrists - I have tenosynavitus in both wrists got signed off on the sick by the physiotherapist in september 94 and got finished from work in March 95 due to physio not working. Next my mother was ill and i was her carer and my epilepsy got worse. In fact at the minute im having a fit a month which isnt much good. I wore braces on both my wrists for the next 10 years every day periodically i went back for more physio and cortisone injections. What i did do in that time besides being my mothers carer was do voluntary work - to get me out of the house and also to keep my hand in i did one morning a week in school, and 1 morning in 3 at our local credit union. Every so often the dwp would send for me to go for medicals or interviews. I would go for the medical then a couple of weeks later i would go for an interview. Anyway started trying to do without my braces - it was hard and it hurt but i persisted only wearing the braces when i needed to - in otherwords when i needed extra support or when they were hurting badly. The epilepsy had carried on but i managed to learn to drive and pass my test, then a couple of years later i had a fit while driving the car crashed it into a wall. Then they said i wasnt ill enough to have DLA anymore because i wasnt wearing my braces everyday - only when i needed them. Anyway my doc said it might be beneficial to me to get a part time job so i applied for one and got it standing on a reception for 5 hrs on a saturday afternoon and my family could look after my mum. Then they changed my job to admin instead of working on reception which is what i trained for. My problem with the epilepsy is that i get no warning for a fit though my brother says he can tell when im working up to one.
Now thats the background. What happens is the epilepsy has got worse, due to injuries through having the fits im waiting for physiotherapy to start on my shoulder and upper arm, but my wrists dont have as much pain as they did 13 years ago - mind you i might just have got used to it and now they ache. No matter what anyone says you are still predjudiced against when you go for job interviews. When you mention you have epilepsy the eyes seem to glass over and it seems to be thanks for coming will be in touch and 3 days later you get a letter saying thanks for applying but you havent got the job. My mother died last year and about 5 months later i started appllying for full time jobs because i wanted to work and didnt have much joy. Retraining - i trained for the job that i knew i would be able to do - admin. I dont type for a long time either i stop after a while to give my wrists a break and my eyes.