Disabled Community Megathread - November 11th, 2024 to November 17th, 2024
Unfortunately I don't have the energy to put together some info for the mega this week, hopefully I can pull together something for next week though. As always, we ask that in order to participate in the weekly megathread, one self-identifies as some form of disabled, which is broadly defined in the community sidebar:
"Disability" is an umbrella term which encompasses physical disabilities, emotional/psychiatric disabilities, neurodivergence, intellectual/developmental disabilities, sensory disabilities, invisible disabilities, and more. You do not have to have an official diagnosis to consider yourself disabled.
Mask up, love one another, and stay alive for one more week.
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134 comments
I can't believe this. I'm booked in to have a minor surgery on my feet to clear up infected skin that has failed to respond to other treatments. It's on the NHS so the surgery is free, but they just told me I have to pay for a pack of dressings to take home (as the wound needs the dressing changed every day and the pack apparently contains something to keep the dressings dry in the shower.) This pack is bloody £37, and I have to buy two as both my feet are having the surgery. I can't be the only one who thinks these packs should be free along with the surgery? And where am I supposed to get £74 while going through a benefit appeal? Just when I think life can't get worse, it finds a way. Being ill/disabled is so bloody expensive!
Of course they should be free, that’s ridiculous. Maybe comrades in the mutual aid com can help you out.
I'm worried about accepting money though, because the DWP are checking people's bank accounts and I don't know how I'd explain why someone was putting money in my account.
Oh that’s fucked up I’m sorry
I got asked about every single person who sent me money. It's so fucking upsetting. They were even "required" to look at my paypal...
This is what I'm worried about and why I don't feel I can accept money. What did they say/do about people who sent you money? And how far back did they go? Was it on the phone?
Was it on the phone?
Yea, but I had to upload the statements online first.
And how far back did they go?
6 months iirc
What did they say/do about people who sent you money?
Thank fuck all the people that triggered their suspicion were close family & friends, so I just said the truth & they left me alone. I won't get into the details, but they did somehow manage to be racist to my partner in the process of bringing this up
I do wonder if you could get away with saying that it's your friends who are sending you money (which would be true in a cosmic sense lol), but it's likely to be from many different people I guess, so I wonder how they would see that.
Did they investigate these family and friends, or did you need to prove they were family/friends?
I suppose I wouldn't know if they did any looking into it, since they seemingly took my word for it on the phone. But it's possible that they did some investigating and then nothing I said was out of line, which is why they were okay to move on pretty quickly from that line of questioning. With how overworked the average case worker seems to be, I kinda doubt they did any serious looking into it, unless the DWP has access to mass surveillance tools, which... is possible I suppose? My impression is that they took my word for it though.
do the dressings have to come from them, or could you take others in with you and have them verified as sufficient?
She said I can just buy them off amazon, but that doesn't help, because I've checked on there and they are just as expensive and I don't have any money at all. However someone on here gave me the idea to ask if my medical exemption certificate would entitle me to free dressings, so I've sent them an email about that and I'm waiting to hear back.
if that doesn't work out, let us know. I know we had a hard time finding someone who could help you with an Amazon purchase because accounts don't cross regions, but we can try again. ❤️