#GetAlexHome
This is a campaign to get Alex home.
For those who have been following my journey, you all know why Alex belongs at home, I am sure you saw the pictures of Alex's beaming face at the Winter Wonderland ball we just held for him.
What you might not know is that research shows the first 18 months to 2 years after a brain injury are the most critical time scale wise for long term recovery.
At the Care home:
Alex is got up in the morning by people he may not remember (due to severe brain damage which means Alex no longer has the capacity to form short term memory), in a place he is not sure why he is there, unable to communicate effectively his needs, and he is blind, so cannot even see where he is or what is being done to him. He is fed his breakfast, then 3 or 4 times a week he has an hour's physio. Then in his bedroom he sits, head drooping in his wheelchair, unable to see. Lunch comes at 12.30 which he is fed, then left again in his wheelchair all afternoon until 5.30 when he has dinner still in his room. Then at 7pm he is put to bed. Until the same routine begins again the next day.
Although the carers and the staff and the centre are wonderful, this is not what is best for my husband and it costs the tax payer roughly £96,000 per year to keep him shut away and institutionalised.
The Goverment are unable to come up with a solution.
Here are my proposals,
1) Adapt the current house I am in, the landlady is OK with this, I am starting big time investigations.
The problems may arise when I ask for funding to adapt it, it may not be possible with the amount I could or could not qualify for. And it could takes months, if not a year.
2) Best solution, DIY SOS get wind of it, want to help and blitz the place, Alex is home soon. BUT obvious problems, I do not own the house, apparently I have to for DIY SOS purposes.
3) I rent somewhere else. There's nowhere appropriate and nowhere within budget for our family requirements.
4) The council buy this property from the Landlady. They tell me they have no money in their budget for this. COME ON!! Give me a break, somewhere...!
All I know is that I am running out of time, a small fortune is being spent on keeping Alex in the Care Home, the council have no money in their budget to acquire another property, they have no houses here. IT MAKES NO SENSE!
My case highlights a failing system, a system failing its people, poorly run, badly thought out and unsustainable if they let money be paid like this to keep Alex somewhere I don't want him, when they could somehow find a solution and get him home.
Alex needs to be with his family,
#GetAlexHome
Please tweet the bejeezas out of this, share, as much as you can. They have met me, but not my army, and my army is not as tired as me, and is much better looking and has already been drinking gin...
GO GIRLS, and GUYS!
THANK YOU and please watch this space.
For those who have been following my journey, you all know why Alex belongs at home, I am sure you saw the pictures of Alex's beaming face at the Winter Wonderland ball we just held for him.
What you might not know is that research shows the first 18 months to 2 years after a brain injury are the most critical time scale wise for long term recovery.
At the Care home:
Alex is got up in the morning by people he may not remember (due to severe brain damage which means Alex no longer has the capacity to form short term memory), in a place he is not sure why he is there, unable to communicate effectively his needs, and he is blind, so cannot even see where he is or what is being done to him. He is fed his breakfast, then 3 or 4 times a week he has an hour's physio. Then in his bedroom he sits, head drooping in his wheelchair, unable to see. Lunch comes at 12.30 which he is fed, then left again in his wheelchair all afternoon until 5.30 when he has dinner still in his room. Then at 7pm he is put to bed. Until the same routine begins again the next day.
Although the carers and the staff and the centre are wonderful, this is not what is best for my husband and it costs the tax payer roughly £96,000 per year to keep him shut away and institutionalised.
The Goverment are unable to come up with a solution.
Here are my proposals,
1) Adapt the current house I am in, the landlady is OK with this, I am starting big time investigations.
The problems may arise when I ask for funding to adapt it, it may not be possible with the amount I could or could not qualify for. And it could takes months, if not a year.
2) Best solution, DIY SOS get wind of it, want to help and blitz the place, Alex is home soon. BUT obvious problems, I do not own the house, apparently I have to for DIY SOS purposes.
3) I rent somewhere else. There's nowhere appropriate and nowhere within budget for our family requirements.
4) The council buy this property from the Landlady. They tell me they have no money in their budget for this. COME ON!! Give me a break, somewhere...!
All I know is that I am running out of time, a small fortune is being spent on keeping Alex in the Care Home, the council have no money in their budget to acquire another property, they have no houses here. IT MAKES NO SENSE!
My case highlights a failing system, a system failing its people, poorly run, badly thought out and unsustainable if they let money be paid like this to keep Alex somewhere I don't want him, when they could somehow find a solution and get him home.
Alex needs to be with his family,
#GetAlexHome
Please tweet the bejeezas out of this, share, as much as you can. They have met me, but not my army, and my army is not as tired as me, and is much better looking and has already been drinking gin...
GO GIRLS, and GUYS!
THANK YOU and please watch this space.
This is just the insanity of the whole system. There's no joined-up thinking. If someone would just take the time to look at this situation in the round, they'd realise that it doesn't even make financial sense, nevermind the injustice and cruelty of keeping a husband/father away from his family. Surely this is a basic human right?
ReplyDeleteMy heart goes out to you. This is a heartbreaking situation and I know all too well how heartless the “care” system is. I had to battle to get my father into a care home as his dementia (which he developed after a brain injury too) meant he was at real risk at home, so I have seen the other side of the coin. I had to prove that he needed this care and wanted a home that meets his needs. It took him nearly dying for the council to finally agree. I think you have a strong case for proving his current environment does not meet his needs and is inhibiting his recovery and quality of life. Lots of care homes now have day centres, on site clinics and sensory rooms. If his care home doesn’t have this, ask for a transfer to another home. I know that is not what you really want, but the other options will take a long time. My father spent 14 months waiting for adaptions to his bathroom – we finally found out that they had lost his application and the council then wormed their way out by saying he had got worse and no longer qualified as they wanted him to move instead! Depending on your financial situation, you could well qualify for legal aid. Lots of people are now taking legal action against councils and social services – this seems the only way to get results. You could also write to local and national charities and ask for funding and help, e.g. Headway. I am not sure if an ePetition would work, but might be worth a shot. Keep fighting for Alex and don’t give up hope. Jo x
ReplyDeleteHi Tamsyn, yes another horrific fight for you to get through. And if anyone is ready for its you. But I cannot believe you have to go through this. I will of course be sharing this. I wish there was more I could do. Anything. Tamsyn I know it's difficult to believe but it won't always be like this. You will get there.i know you will get him home, you are the strongest woman I know.
ReplyDeleteI presume the local PCT is involved
ReplyDelete