So much for that!

Mike1
Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
edited 13. Dec 2019, 12:07 in Living with arthritis
This morning I was actually looking forward to my trip to the Chiropodist to get my toe nails cut as I have not been out for around 3 weeks. After getting ready, putting on my hand braces, neck support, bottle of Morphine in my pocket and so forth the post arrived and I just had time to open it before driving into town - I so wish that I hadn't. Apart from a couple of books I had ordered there was a brown envelope from the DVLA cancelling my licence with immediate effect on medical grounds. I did think of going and, if stopped, claiming that I had not yet received such a letter but knowing my luck I would have been caught out. It has taken a couple of hours to sort out the return of my Motability car, at least they have agreed to waive the cancellation fee as it is not my fault that I have to hand the car back and they said that I may even get some money back pro-rata on the advanced payment I had to make. They are unsure about the money that I had to pay for the wheelchair hoist in the boot though. They did ask if anyone could take over the driving but I had to explain that as much as I was sure that Vixen would like to she has not passed her test and, being a cat, she is hardly likely to start learning to drive now!

Comments

  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I'm so sorry, Mike. I know you said in previous posts that your GP recommended this but it's hard to give up so much of the little independence we have. When I gave up driving Mr SW had not retired so my mobility allowance then went on taxis. And, for hospital visits using hospital transport I just used to write off the day.

    I'm sure you've done the right things by not using your car today but that takes some determination and courage. I hope you will soon start to see other, albeit inferior, possibilities. I never quite got round to a scooter as one old TKR won't bend far enough for most and I was advised to use an electric wheelchair instead and they seem so disabled :wink:. I've still not done it.

    I'm sure you'll cope with this latest downturn but right now you must feel well and truly
    off
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oh Mike I am so very sorry to read your news.

    That is crushing :(

    I don't know how you do it, but keeping your sense of humour is amazing. Vixen can start her driving lessons ASAP. :animal_busy:

    I do hope that, at least, you get as much money back as possible and don't end up too out of pocket.

    take care

    Toni x
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oh mate, I am so sorry. You absolutely did the right thing by not driving to your appointmemt but what a blow - and what very cold comfort doing the right thing can be. I don't often send hugs or kisses but I send one of each to you. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,280
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I am sorry to hear this Mike..these thing are certainly sent to test us.. :shock: (())
    Love
    Barbara
  • Jackie47
    Jackie47 Member Posts: 108
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    It hurts I know. I wasn’t told to stop driving but I knew I was getting to the point of not being in total control due to the arthritis so I stopped, I did the right thing but I do miss the independence. Sorry you had no choice.
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello Mike1, how are you doing? Thinking of you. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    dreamdaisy wrote:
    Hello Mike1, how are you doing? Thinking of you. DD

    Hi petal, thanks for asking. Motability are taking the car back on the 3rd December as that is the earliest they can arrange to get someone down here. They are waiving the £250 admin fee for early cancellation of contract as it is not my fault that I no longer have a licence and they have even said that I will get back some of the money I had to pay for the car upfront. The strange thing though is the hoist for my wheelchair, it was ordered and fitted through Motability when I had the car but they did not seem aware that it was part of the car and said nothing about the money it cost me. The chap that fitted it down here is also ex-forces so I got hold of him and he explained that although the hoist was ordered, arranged and paid for through Motability it is mine! He offered to take it out of the car for me to sell but that is just too much hassle as I am on my own. I said he could have it for spares but apparently he is not allowed to use second-hand spares and he does not deal in second-hand equipment. So it looks like Motability have effectively gained a hoist which will increase the re-sale value of the car for them so it will not reduce the £billion+ that they reportedly have in reserve. Anyway I have my electric wheelchair and my mobility scooter so I can still get around and I have found a local taxi firm who have a couple of vehicles with ramps so they can take me in my chair. Although I had been expecting and planning for this eventuality for several months it is nonetheless depressing when it actually happens. No doubt I will get used to being less mobile but, to be honest, I never went far anyway. I order stuff from Morrisons on-line, meals from Wiltshire Farm Foods and 99% of other stuff from Amazon and EBay. So long as my microwave works and Vixen is happy I am sure that I will adapt.
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    It's still one helluva shock and it will take time for the new reality to settle in and be adjusted to. Don't make any rash decisions about the hoist, however, because it is yours and that means you have first dibs on any fnancial value. Do you have room to store it until such times as you feel able to deal with it?

    Your already reduced horizons have been further restricted and that's bl**dy hard. You're saying and doing all the right things and I hope you will be OK over the next few weeks. We're here, OK? DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks DD. I have no room to store the hoist neither the inclination to go through the hassle of selling it anyway. Even if I could store it it would remain there as a reminder about another thing that I am unable to do, I have already had to give up soooooooo much due to OA over the years.
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I understand that, arthritis robs us of so much doesn't it? I admire your spirit and resolution to make the best of things.

    I too have a vixen but she is an actual vixen, we've watched her mature over the summer and she has been a delight (mainly because she isn't a resident in our garden!) Someone near us keeps chickens hence rats and foxes passing through our garden. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    dreamdaisy wrote:
    I understand that, arthritis robs us of so much doesn't it? I admire your spirit and resolution to make the best of things.

    I too have a vixen but she is an actual vixen, we've watched her mature over the summer and she has been a delight (mainly because she isn't a resident in our garden!) Someone near us keeps chickens hence rats and foxes passing through our garden. DD

    Foxes are known not to attack cats although they will chase them but once cornered foxes know that a cat will have the better of them in a fight and they will end up with serious injuries! I have also heard that the bacteria from a cat bite will poison a fox. I'll stick to my Vixen thanks :D
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Mike1 wrote:
    I have also heard that the bacteria from a cat bite will poison a fox.

    And a human :lol: My sister was an animal nurse. They never bothered much with dog bites but took cat bites seriously.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello again, how are things? Are you managing OK and is the weather co-operating by being friendly towards a scooter-user? DD

    t8011
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi DD. Motability have taken the car back and even gave me back a bit of the money I paid up front as I had to cancel the contract early through no fault of my own. Just waiting for the DWP to sort out my PIP which should be done by the end of Jan. The scooter is going fine thanks, I pop up the village shop on it every couple of days for milk and have been to the Surgery on it a couple of times. I have been out in light showers but not in heavy rain yet. This may not be come to pass though as my village shop will deliver stuff. Meals come from Wiltshire Farm Foods, which are reasonably priced and better than equivalents from the supermarkets, and the delivery driver is excellent, he comes in the back door and shouts out then offers to put everything in the freezer for me. I get deliveries from Morrisons for everything else. My meds, including Controlled Drugs, are delivered from the Surgery's pharmacy and I excel at on-line shopping! I even have a hairdresser who comes round to cut my hair every couple of months, she charges less than they do in town without the hassle and pain of getting there and back. I just can't get to the girl that used to give me a deep-tissue massage every couple of weeks and have yet to sort out on-going treatments.

    When I went out in the car my cat, Vixen, usually came running and met me when I got home; now she comes running when I get home on the scooter. The only problem is that now that my wheelchair is stored in my bungalow instead of the car Vixen likes sleeping on it. I have had one taxi into town for an appointment at the Chiropodist and got ripped off, the fee should have been £12 but I got charged £16.40 and when I queried it I discovered that they were a "private hire" company rather than a registered taxi company so I will not be making that mistake again. So all in all getting on OK .......so far thanks.
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Go Vixen pinching your wheelchair to sit in :animal_busy:

    I put blankets on my seats because she favours them too - probably because they are 'ours' and smell of us :D

    I just hope Vixen does not do what mine did the other week and leave you some cat sick to clear up on your seat :shock: :mrgreen:

    Take care Mike

    Toni x
  • Mike1
    Mike1 Member Posts: 1,992
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have put an old sweatshirt on the wheelchair for her.
  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Mike1 wrote:
    I have put an old sweatshirt on the wheelchair for her.

    You'll get a felt cushion in due course!
    I give a lift to a volunteer gardening session to a cat owning friend once a week, and have noticed that the car seat is beginning to display evidence of her cat's like of her gardening clothes as a bed. I'm not precious about the car but I am allergic to cat hair, so may need to consider putting a washable cover on the seat; I don't think my vacuum cleaner would be much use and in any case not having a drive makes using it a real faff.
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    A hand-held, battery-operated vac, daffy?
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    A hand-held, battery-operated vac, daffy?

    I've been assessing the vac situation for some time now, so that might end up happening. I need a small cordless machine for upstairs as lugging the ordinary one up my steep stairs with my bad hands and general wonkiness is not ideal, and some of them come with a removable handheld option. I'll be interested in the sales for the first time in many years!
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Daffy, if possible use an old-fashioned shop and try before buying. I have a super, basic, Bosch cordless vac which I wouldn't be without. It's so light and manoeuvrable that even I can do the whole house in one go. It has attachments one of which is an equally cordless 'dustbuster' but Mr SW bought a separate dustbuster as he says the attachments for the vac are very difficult to get on and off. (His only arthritis is in hips.)

    Mike, sorry for hijacking this but we can all waste so much money on things which seem like solutions but aren't.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oh I will do and have been Sticky - one reason why it's taking so long, other being car needing an expensive repair which put things back somewhat! There are 4 suitable shops in town(aren't I lucky!), one of which is a discount/clearance type place so gets in different stock quite frequently, and John Lewis can be fitted into a trip to the city. I can't buy something like that without trying it first. Car needing an expensive repair put things back somewhat.
    Anyway back on topic, sort of, I have a theory that one reason cats like to sit on their slaves' seats is that it reinforces the hierarchy in the household...
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    No, it's the heat. Ours once sat on a still-warm, newly baked apple pie :lol:

    Mike - on the value of exercises. I recently got some for my neck which barely moves but which also is difficult now to raise up fully to see where I'm going. I wanted to try to prevent further deterioration. One of the exercises was simply pulling my shoulder blades inwards and together. I realised, in doing it that, owing tó arthritis in neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists and fingers :roll: when my arms are at rest or my hands holding a book, tablet etc, my shoulders are inevitably pulled forward. I now do that particular exercise a lot, even when just sitting or walking about. Bad habits creep up on us. - well, they do on me :oops:
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright