Lost in this system.

I have had so many health issues in the last 9years it is inconceivable for a 36year old.

 

But the part that I find challenging is NOT so much the health part but living in a system where there is no room for a person with a disability. I first was introduced to my case co-ordinator via e-mail on the 12/11/2021.

This HSE representative was assigned to help me transition from Sligo to Mayo, ensuring a fair and reasonable care package was allocated to me based on my current care plan and to source a provider to execute the care package daily to allow me to live independently in my home.

I receive 47hours a week care living in the residential setting I currently live in and I’m just about coping.

I was informed the after a number of monhs of communication, that the Disability services in Castlebar, were planning on dropping my hours of care to 42 while living in the community due to a limited “PA budget due to a lack of investment for many years”. Despite yearly care plans being prepared stringently based on every aspect of my life from bathroom time to food prep to time needed to go to bed which stated that I required 56hours of care a week, Cheshire services provided me with 35hours plus a supplementary allowance from the Sligo HSE of 12hours a week of help with around the clock support which the HSE in Castlebar planned to significantly reduce while living on my own.

My needs were deemed by the Mayo Disability Services as“a massive burden on a small budget to have to cover such an intensive care package”.

However,42hours translates to 6hours a day to a person who is paralyzed from above their chest. It takes 4hours every morning to get up and prepared for the day and one hour to get back to bed again.

 

Bureaucracy is hell. I’m so sick of fighting for my rights. Have I not fought enough!?! The problem is bigger than just financial support, it’s also the lack of understanding. Those who need help need to be heard.

 

I’ve seen many others around me that had to deal with unbelievable situations, merely surviving. From lacking government support to medical equipment that is making situations worse, when it shouldn’t be happening. It seems survival is sometimes necessary and perhaps temporary ( surviving a plane crash or surviving a famine) and thus can be worthwhile. Others find themselves in this state for no other reason than their own doing, or at least, do not attempt to remove themselves from the situation (the crack dealer). By attempting to survive via the status quo, one can even make the ability to survive that much more difficult not only for themselves (prison, gang related shootings) but for others as well (a person caught in the cross fire of a gang related shooting). However, there are clearly situations that humans find themselves in that are essentially a perpetual state of survival. Those that find themselves in this unfortunate situation by no choice of their own should be, with all fervent effort, aided not punished. ““Feels like years in jail without shooting anyone.” This is feedback from a resident to HIQA inspectors, reminding them about what is important in the lives of people with disabilities living in designated centres. “Often, the things that are most important are the things that many people take for granted things like being able to spend time in your own home without having to live with excessive noise, such as shouting, especially in congregated settings or being able to meet other people in the community and participate in activities”.

 

Mentally it’s a lot to deal with. And I guess the more experience you have, the better you get at living with a disability. But constant battles are a drain on your already limited and inestimable energy levels. Just performing simple mental and physical tasks can be extremely difficult when you are three quarters paralyzed.

I tried to seek a rationale for the 42 hours and advice why others in a similar situation are given additional hours and for what the additional hours are required for so as to demonstrate that smart technology cannot substitute the PA need. When my case co Ordinator failed to reply for months on end , I contacted others within the department of the disability sector in Mayo.

After months of advocating for myself regarding my living situation, I contacted several politicians and spokespersons to advocate on my behalf.

 

Please see below a letter written on the 13^th of January 2023, again in February 2023 and again in March by Mary Lou McDonald (Uachtarán Shinn Féin) and her party advocating on my behalf and my never-ending struggle for independence. Remember this is almost a ten-year battle!!!!

 

“Friday, 13 January 2023

Please quote ref: C75/22/DOT/MCC/CHO2/SNB – Geraldine Lavelle

John, a chara(John Fitzmaurice, Head of Disability Services,Community Healthcare West)

First to thank you again for your correspondence of the 21 December and your continued engagement regarding this matter. I understand that this is a busy and difficult time for you and your colleagues, and I acknowledge the budgetary constraints within which Community Healthcare West operate.

As you have raised the limitations on Personal Assistant (PA) service budget it would be helpful if you could clarify if the limit of 42 hours per week to be allocated for Geraldine is a budgetary decision or one based on need.

It is not clear to me why you have requested an updated Care Plan from the National Rehabilitation Hospital. As you are aware Geraldine was discharged from the hospital a number of years ago. I have attached the Care Plan completed in 2020 by Cheshire Ireland with whom Geraldine has resided in a congregated setting since her discharge in 2014. This Care Plan identifies a care need of 56 hours per week. Geraldine has a C5 -6 Spinal Cord Injury. As you know with an injury of this type the care Geraldine requires today is the same as it was in 2020.

The assistance package provided by Cheshire is currently 47 hours which again this under provision is a function of inadequate budgets. It would appear self-evident that if 47 hours is what Geraldine receives in a congregated setting then this is the minimum or base point from which her need should be assessed to enable her live independently, with the ambition to meet in full her care needs as identified in the 2020 Care Plan.

Geraldine’s new home is nearly ready, and I understand the IWA are eager to initiate a recruitment campaign to secure the necessary staff to enable the move. This is an exciting time for Geraldine. She has fought hard to reach this important milestone. We are collectively committed to the agreed national policy to support people with disabilities to live independently as set out in Time to Move On from Congregated Settings.

As your Disability Manager outlined to Geraldine in February last year, the Intensive Home Care Package is not open to her as it is limited to current patients discharged from the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Therefore, the PA scheme is the option that must be progressed, which does allow for a weekly allocation above 42 hours per week. I would be grateful if you would reflect on the additional points contained within, consider the attached care plan and reengage with your Disability Manager, to whom Geraldine is so grateful to for her support and professionalism, to discuss further.

 

Many thanks again, and I look forward to your response.

Is mise, le meas,

Mary Lou McDonald TD                            

Uachtarán Shinn Féin”

 

From: Sinead NiBhroin On Behalf Of Mary Lou McDonald
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2023 4:33 PM
To: ‘Ministers Office’ <ministers_office@health.gov.ie>
Subject: HEA-MO-12632-2022

A Aire, a chara,

Further to your colleagues request below.

Geraldine’s date of birth is 21/08/1986 and she currently resides in Cheshire Ireland Residential Centre, Abbey View Residences, Chapel Hill, Sligo, F91 VO84.

Geraldine has secured public housing to enable her move out of Cheshire Ireland, the congregated setting she has resided in for a number of year, but is unable to finalise her move as Community Healthcare West Disability Services have agreed to fund just 42 Personal Assistance hours per week, which is 5 hours less than provided for by Cheshire Ireland (47) and significantly less than the 56 hours advised in Geraldine’s most recent Care Plan completed in 2020 by Cheshire Ireland, see attached.

Without explanation Community Healthcare West Disability Services have stated that it will not revisit the PA hours without an updated Care Plan from the National Rehabilitation Hospital from which Geraldine was discharged 7 years ago.

I have been pursuing this matter on Geraldine’s behalf for a number of months now.

I am greatly alarmed and disappointed by the refusal to date of the Community Healthcare West Disability Services senior management to constructively engage in Geraldines care needs as she moves into an independent living situation.

Any assistance you can provide to ensure Geraldine secures the adequate number of PA hours needed would be greatly appreciated.

Is mise, le meas

Mary Lou McDonald TD | Dublin Central

Uachtarán Shinn Féin

Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, D02 XR20, Ireland

Fón +353 (0) 1 618 3230 | Ríomhphost marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie | www.sinnfein.ie

Mary Lou McDonald <MaryLou.McDonald@oireachtas.ie>	Mar 13, 2023, 6:17 PM
to Ministers, MoS, John, me

Stephen Donnelly TD

Minister for Health

A Aire, a chara,

 

I have copied the Minister of State for Disability, the Head of Disability Services Community Healthcare West and Geraldine Lavelle into this correspondence.

 

My experience of advocating on behalf of Geraldine over the last few months has provided me with an insight into the unnecessary yet mountainous challenges facing people with disabilities who are actively seeking to move from congregated settings to independent living.

 

Geraldine is one of the most determined people I have ever met, so I cannot begin to imagine how torturous this journey must be for people who do not have her life skills.

 

Mayo County Council have completed the work on Geraldine’s new home with the signing of her tenancy agreement now imminent. This will be her first home since her catastrophic accident ten years ago.

 

Geraldine has fought an enormous personal battle to create this situation for herself yet is now placed in an intolerable position by the Department and HSE senior management who due to PA budget shortfalls, bureaucratic intransigence, or both have refused to engage with me or Geraldine on the provision of an adequate number of PA hours to enable her live independently, see below and attached.

 

As you will note from the attached correspondence Community Healthcare West have still not explained why it continues to seek an updated Care Plan from the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Geraldine was discharged from the hospital a number of years ago. I have attached the Care Plan completed in 2020 by Cheshire Ireland with whom Geraldine has resided in a congregated setting since her discharge in 2014. This Care Plan identifies a care need of 56 hours per week. Geraldine has a C5-6 Spinal Cord Injury. It is enormously cruel for any healthcare professional to infer that an injury such as this will improve over time.

 

The assistance package currently provided to Geraldine Cheshire is 47 hours within a congregated setting which again is an under provision arising from inadequate budgets. It would appear self-evident that if 47 hours is what Geraldine receives in a congregated setting then this is the minimum or base point from which her need should be assessed to enable her live independently, with the ambition to meet in full her care needs as identified in the attached 2020 Care Plan which advises that she requires 56 hours per week.  Instead and without explanation Community Healthcare West intend to cut her PA hours to 42 hours per week when living independently.

 

Mayo County Council have completed the accommodations to Geraldine’s new home, and the signing of her tenancy agreement is imminent. The IWA are currently overseeing a recruitment campaign to secure the necessary staff to enable the move.

 

As Community Healthcare West has already advised the Intensive Home Care Package is not open to Geraldine as it is limited to current patients discharged from the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Therefore, the PA scheme is the only option for her which does allow for a weekly allocation above 42 hours per week.

 

I understand that Community Healthcare West Disability Services have not been in contact with Geraldine in recent months which again is a further cause of concern.

 

Ignoring the unresolved matter of inadequate PA hours is not an option, nor is the matter magically going to resolve itself. There needs to be a concerted and direct engagement by the Department of Health in terms of budget and Community Health West on PA hours to ensure Geraldine can move into her new home.

 

Geraldine is an intelligent and determined young woman who has created a new life for herself against immeasurable odds.

 

As a resolution is now urgently required, I would like to arrange a call with you as a matter of urgency so that a satisfactory solution can be found.

 

Is mise, le meas,

 

Mary Lou McDonald TD | Dublin Central

Uachtarán Shinn Féin

Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, D02 XR20, Ireland

Fón +353 (0) 1 618 3230 | Ríomhphost marylou.mcdonald@oireachtas.ie | www.sinnfein.ie

 

 

Then we introduced the National Advocacy Service to see if they could facilitate my struggle. We brought Ms. Kilgallon up to date with all that had been previously done to support my case by the Mary Lou McDonald party (Uachtarán Shinn Féin).

 

Sinead NiBhroin <Sinead.NiBhroin@oireachtas.ie>

Feb 28, 2023, 5:53 PM

Hi Martina

Great to hear from you.

I’ve copied Geraldine into this email as I would be more comfortable if she in included in any correspondence between us.

 

We first raised Geraldine’s case in the Dáil on the 25 October last year with the former Taoiseach Micheál Martin who responded by stating –

 

I am not familiar with the case in its entirety. I agree, however, that the more independent living services and facilities we can provide, the better. As the Deputy knows, we have different opinions from time to time in terms of closing residential care or evolving people from a residential care environment or integrated care setting to a home care setting. This approach has often created challenges for the services, particularly in terms of chronically sick young people or young people who, for a variety of reasons, have disabilities arising from accidents and so forth. There was a need for a resourced home care-based approach or independent living-based approach, which has been developed over a long period. I do not have the specifics of the case but the principle of facilitating independent living is accepted. Resources have been allocated on an annual and incremental basis. I am not familiar with this individual case. The Deputy stated that eight years have passed and that an appropriate setting has still not been provided, which is not satisfactory for that person.

Deputy McDonald subsequently wrote to the Taoiseach setting out the details of Geraldine’s housing and personal care needs and copied the Minister into this correspondence. No response was issued bar the Taoiseach formally passing the matter on to the Health Minister before leaving office on the 15 December. The Health Minister’s office recently contacted the Deputy, and I outline the purpose of this below.

 

Deputy McDonald first made written representations to John Fitzmaurice, Head of Disability Services, Community Healthcare West in early November last year with a number of exchanges thereafter. To date the core matter of an adequate weekly provision of PA hours for Geraldine remains outstanding and their position remains unchanged.

 

Their most recent response of the 1^st February issued by Alma Joyce, General Manager, Disability Services, Community Healthcare West states –

 

I refer to previous correspondence in the above regard and particularly your email to the Head of Service received on the 13th January 2023 with regard to further representations that you have made on behalf of Geraldine Lavelle. The following response outlines the position.

I have been in contact with the Disability Services Manager and Case Manager for Geraldine who have advised that Geraldine’s current care plan is based on current care needs and delivered within existing available resources. Please note, should the National Rehabilitation Hospital clinicians state otherwise in relation to Geraldine’s changing needs or additional needs, then a review will be carried out.

 

As Geraldine will have discussed with you the HSE’s reference to NRH is illogical as Geraldine was discharged over seven years ago, a Care Plan was completed in 2020 by Cheshire (which has been provided to Disability Services by Geraldine and Deputy McDonald) and critically the nature of her injuries is in effect permanent.

 

Deputy McDonald continues to raise the following with Disability Services –

 

It is not clear to me why you have requested an updated Care Plan from the National Rehabilitation Hospital. As you are aware Geraldine was discharged from the hospital a number of years ago. I have attached the Care Plan completed in 2020 by Cheshire Ireland with whom Geraldine has resided in a congregated setting since her discharge in 2014. This Care Plan identifies a care need of 56 hours per week. Geraldine has a C5 -6 Spinal Cord Injury. As you know with an injury of this type the care Geraldine requires today is the same as it was in 2020.

The assistance package provided by Cheshire is currently 47 hours which again this under provision is a function of inadequate budgets. It would appear self-evident that if 47 hours is what Geraldine receives in a congregated setting then this is the minimum or base point from which her need should be assessed to enable her live independently, with the ambition to meet in full her care needs as identified in the 2020 Care Plan. 

Geraldine’s new home is nearly ready, and I understand the IWA are eager to initiate a recruitment campaign to secure the necessary staff to enable the move. This is an exciting time for Geraldine. She has fought hard to reach this important milestone. We are collectively committed to the agreed national policy to support people with disabilities to live independently as set out in Time to Move On from Congregated Settings.

As your Disability Manager outlined to Geraldine in February last year, the Intensive Home Care Package is not open to her as it is limited to current patients discharged from the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Therefore, the PA scheme is the option that must be progressed, which does allow for a weekly allocation above 42 hours per week.

 

We are also pursuing Geraldine’s case with the Minister for Health as the HSE decision on PA hours remain contrary to government decongregation policy. In its most recent correspondence (27 Feb) the Minister’s office sought Geraldine’s date of birth and current address and on providing the Deputy reiterated the matters raised above.

 

I hope this sets out the Deputy’s advocacy to date and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any further clarification.

 

Is mise, le meas,

 

Sinéad Ní Bhroin | Comhionannas Inscne, Polasaí, & Rannpháirtíocht le Páirtithe Leasmhara

Mary Lou McDonald TD | Dublin Central | Uachtarán Shinn Féin | Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, D02 XR20, Ireland

Fón +353 (0) 1 618 4045 | Fón póca +353 (0) 87 9266764 | Ríomhphost sinead.nibhroin@oireachtas.ie “

 

 

 

I myself continued to advocate for myself. When I failed to receive mail from Ms. Delaney I contacted other members of the Disability Services Castlebar and pleaded to their human side, explaining “It has been a cause of immense stress and has taken a toll on my mental health”.

No reply received.

 

 

Geraldine Lavelle <gervelle3@gmail.com>	Tue, Mar 21, 1:05 PM
to Matthew.cruse

Hi Mathew,

April 2023- Even When my home was ready after 6years in Castlebar (2017-2023) I was unable to move in due to the ongoing limited care package problem and the lack of a provider of the care package sourced by bthe HSE.

I asked local representatives to advocate on my behalf over the years in Mayo to allo0w me to transition to Castlebar. Michael Ring. Dara Calleary, Donna Sheridan, Lisa Chambers, Alan Dylan to name but afew.

Below the same response received asMr. Rings office. 

“20th March 2023

Dara Calleary TD
Minister for State at Trade Promotion
Digital & Company Regulation
Dail Eireann
Dublin 2

Re: Geraldine Lavelle, 36 Rathbawn Drive, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.

Dear Minister Calleary
Thank for your email dated the 14th March 2023 to John Fitzmaurice, Head of Disability Services, requesting an update on PA supports for Geraldine Lavelle, 36 Rathbawn Drive, Castlebar, Co. Mayo. The following response outlines the position.
I wish to advise that the common practice in these situations is for the Case Manager (CM) to carry out an assessment of the care needs to ascertain the support required. While it is the case that Cheshire deemed that Geraldine would require 56 PA hours per week in her new home, the Mayo CM assessed that 42 PA hours with smart technology in the home and using alternative online shopping services would allow Geraldine’s needs to be met with 42 PA support hours. There is no budget transferring from Cheshire Services and the Mayo Disability Office were informed that an intensive home care package (IHCP) was not an option as Geraldine was not a delayed discharge from an acute setting. The Mayo Disability Services Manager approved the package of 42 hours from new funding made available in the 2022 National Service Plan in order to support Geraldine’s transition to her new home. This is an extraordinary approval for a PA package amounting to over 50% of the new budget made available for the year.
Unfortunately, the PA budget due to a lack of investment for many years is extremely limited and therefore we tryto allocate it as fairly as possible to as many people as we can. It is a massive burden on a small budget to have to cover such an intensive care package. It is important to note that the PA service ordinarily allows for a maximum package of 14 hours per week.
Please be assured that the staff in Mayo Disability Services are committed to assisting Geraldine move to her new home and are doing everything possible to ensure this happens.
I trust that this response has clarified the matter that you have raised in this instance.

Yours sincerely

____________________
Laura Rochford
Acting General Manager
Disability Services CHW”

 

With each campaign encountered your frail condition is depleted abit more of its vitality. Years of these exhausting mental taxing psychological warfare has made me realize I have to guard my valuable energy with avid prudence as it was starting to break my spirit. Frequent cognitive and physical battles drained my energy reserve far below healthy levels and consumed stamina my body could have been using to heal pressure sores and fight infections.

Often rattled and discouraged, I would leave their meetings with a few more puncture holes in my armour, with my energy rapidly escaping like a blimp- slowly going down. Feeling antagonized and displeased I had no choice but to return to my institutional world as they clocked out and went home to their regular abodes. There I would lay in bed deflated and discombobulated at my inability to be the main authority in my life.; feeling like a giant infant not an adult. Chagrined by my position in life I would lay there at night in silence the days activity having taken every drop of my mental energy.

Despite my own immense physical advancement’s I was not ultimately in control. Sleep is only where I could block out the frustrations of my new existence and to top up my exasperated spiritual power bank. Some days so worn out from it all, I would lay my head on a pillow on my dresser table and sleep for 30mins. My energy ebbed between each battle, correlating between my rest and the pending blows to the point of almost complete deflation of my already energetically compromised fragile being with each defeat worse than before. These spats consumed more energy than becoming physically strong after an injury. They consumed time and energy and wore me down. Time spent before the meetings, during and after organizing, processing, and clarifying practises that governed my new life. Wasting time, energy and effort I could have been using in much more productive ways is one way to look at it.

 

 

I had almost given up. After a long and detailed battle my home care package was increased to 51 hours.

 

“RE: C75/23/ DOT/SNB Geraldine Lavelle

Dear Deputy McDonald

Thank you for your representation on behalf of Geraldine Lavelle, 36 Rathbawn Drive,

Castlebar, Co. Mayo. Apologies for the short delay in response, which was necessary to

make the appropriate arrangements.

In conjunction with Community Healthcare West I can confirm that Geraldine’s personal

assistant package of 51 hours has been approved for funding.

I wish Geraldine the very best wishes in settling into her new home. Thank you for your

advocacy in this case.

Yours sincerely,

___________________

Bernard Gloster

Chief Executive Officer”

 

Knowing the HSE provide more care than this I contacted my spinal cord specialist and asked that she support my case further with a letter on my behalf. She wrote to the HSE representatives detailing my case.

 

“Miss Geraldine Lavelle is well known to me since the onset of her spinal cord injury, C6 Asia impairment scale A in October 2013. As you know Geraldine has been living in the Cheshire facility in slightly with 47 home care hours per week, plus shared overnight care. Nine years since she left the NRH, Geraldine is now due to transition to independent living. It is my understanding that she has been assessed as requiring 42 care hours per week by the HSE West.

I would like to draw your attention to the integrated care pathway for the management of people with spinal cord injury, a HSE developed through the national programme for R. Rehabilitation Medicine. Model of Care.HSE.ie. It is recommended that someone with a C6 Asia impairment scale A spinal cord injury has between 53 and 66 hours of home care support per week. In Geraldine’s case, as she will be living alone, this should probably be towards the upper end of this range. This is an evidence-based document developed by health care professionals who work solely with patients affected by spinal cord injury. It is not unusual for us to hear of our patients care needs being underestimated usually due to a lack of understanding of the unique needs of people with spinal cord injury given that it is a rare condition with very specialist requirements. It is my understanding that Cheshire suggested that Geraldine required 56 hours to transition to the community and this would seem somewhat more acceptable than 42 hours being offered by HSE West.

I might also draw your attention to a collaboration involving Roisin Maguire, General Manager for Older Persons Services, HSE acute hospitals and the NRH working on complex discharges to the community, where home support in excess of 56 hours per week is required. While this is focused on transitioning patients out of the acute setting and Geraldine is not in an acute setting Geraldine’s needs are the same as someone with a similar level of injury who is being discharged from the NRH for the first time. In fact, if Geraldine is discharged with the 42 hours care proposed by HSE West, it is highly likely that she will develop a secondary condition and end up in acute care which in turn is likely to result in her having to access funding through the aforementioned collaboration. I would be grateful if you could undertake a review of the home care package being offered to Geraldine to enable her to transition to her own accommodation in Castlebar.

Yours sincerely,
Eimear symth”

 

And then I got the news.

On the 15^TH May 2023,after almost fighting 10years for my home and my adequate career hours I learned that my persistence has paid off finally.

15th May 2023

Ms. Geraldine Lavelle,,
Castlebar,
Co. Mayo

Dear Geraldine,
I hope this letter finds you well. I wanted to write to you to let you know that I have
increased the provision of your Personal Assistant hours to 56 on receipt of additional
information from the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

I would like to take the opportunity to assure you of our full support for your transition
back to the community and our desire for your transition to be a successful one.

Kind regards,

Laura Rochford
Interim Mayo Disability Services Manager I
Bainisteoir Seirbhísí Mhíchumas Mhaigh Eo

 

So despite the HSE insisting for approx.2years that due to budget shortfalls I would only receive 42 hours of care, in a matter of days, due to my campaign funds for 56 hours were found. Like that no questions asked. But how my stress and time was wasted on my behalf.

Then Dawn reappears to congratulate me after disappearing for the longest.

 

I signed my tenancy agreement with Mayo county council on the 10th May 2023.

What an achievement after so long!!!!!It’s emotionally healthy to be sad; when loss occurs, grief is appropriate. The question is how to recover and return to a state of well-being.

Another way to view this situation is almost ten years of developing resilience and strength to show others everything is possible if you grit your teeth and keep pushing forward. I have an amazing story about the resiliency of the human brain and I want to share that with others. Needing a goal to work towards is how I functioned.

 

 

Finally a resolution after so long or so I thought.

 

After weeks of communication, care plans, clinical assessments, zoom talks and ongoing discussions with the HSE and agency planned to provide my care (since December 22-present) email on a `Friday evening 17th of July 23’ at 4.45pm. I had a removal truck booked for the following week.

“Dear Geraldine,
Following on from the recent resignation we are currently not in a position to provide you with an ALS service due to acute staff shortages in the area and a lack of availability of high calibre staff that would be required for your service.
We were working diligently to identify and support an ALS service here in Mayo, but for the above reasons, we are not in a position to proceed.
We communicated this with Dawn Delaney as per your request. It is our understanding that the HSE has set out to identify an alternative provider for your service and will engage with you directly.
Many thanks and continued success in identifying a suitable provider for your service.”

Manager, IWA

And that was that.

 

Here I was again with that bitter taste of disappointment I know only too well.

 

I did not quit. I took my story to several radio shows, National and local papers. Drivetime, Oceanfm, The Tommy Marren Show, The Irish Times, the Irish examiner…anyone who would listen.

(See articles for links to all)

Months more contact with the HSE and still on the 10^th of September I am still here…in the same position as before but this time around forced to pay double rent, electricals, utilities..

And still I wait……..in hope?

Recap timeline of events:

 

Despite it being over a month since media coverage showcasing the inequalities that exist in our societies I am still no further on.

 

 

Monday the 18^th of September I have been given an 8 week deadline to move into my home.

 

I can only hope.

But I can’t live in hope forever…