Returning to Drive, Hand Control Adaptions required

OUT OF HOURS HEALTH AND FAMILY (INTERACTIVE)
1

Hi All,

I’m new to the forums, wasn’t sure where to turn for help with this one, so I’ll start near the beginning…

I had minor car crash in July 2018, I got out of my car after the crash and my legs were very weak and felt numb, I assumed I was in shock and refused any medical treatment from the paramedics. A few days after I went to my GP and was seen by the nurse practitioner who insisted the numbness in my legs was due to diabetes, which I knew wasn’t the case as I get tested yearly, been a HGV driver. She sent me for blood tests and I was told wait up to 8 weeks for the results.

After 8 weeks of continuing to work, while my right leg was getting weaker and more numb, I went back to the GP as I hadn’t had the results of the blood tests… I saw a GP this time om 31st August, and he sent me to hospital same day, and told me to avoid driving until diagnosed.

So as of 31st August 2018 I haven’t worked.

Fast forward until 9th January 2019, with lots of MRI scans, a CT scan, blood tests and paying to go private to speed up my return to work, the whole time my legs were getting weaker, and the feeling was getting more and kore reduced, I was unable to move my right leg and was dragging it around and i was loosing my bladder and bowl control, whole my loser back was in constant pain… They found a tumour on my spine at T10/T11 during all the scans…

I saw a neurosurgeon at King’s college London on the 9th Jan, by which time I could no longer stand even with crutches i brought without falling so I was reduced to using a wheelchair…

They admitted me as a emergency and the following day on the 10th they removed the tumor. Which was a W.H.O. Grade 1 benige Meningioma tumor (rare on the spine, rarer in males, very rare in my age group of 35)

I was then in a rehabilitation ward learning to walk again until the 19th of February when I was discharged. I have since taken a step backwards in my recovery and I can’t walk as much as I could on the rehab ward, due to no community care physiotherapy.

I’m also in alot of pain around the surgery site and some numbness in my right leg has returned… so I’m still on some very strong pain killers…

Fast forward until yesterday, 12th April…

I have just passed a private driving assessment with QEF.ORG.UK to see what adaption I will need to continue driving a car, which is with hand controls as my right leg can’t be trusted at the moment. It turns out i will need another assessment for my HGV side of things… to which I will need a truck with Hand Controls already installed, insurance for the adaption and then I can be assessed to drive trucks and return to work…

Speaking with the assessor who does the truck side of things at that centre in Croydon, Surrey. He told me he doesn’t know any disability assessment centre in the country that has a HGV with hand controls for me to be assessed… so I’m caught up in catch 22…

I can’t drive trucks until I have a assessment in a truck with Hand Controls adaption… BUT there isn’t any trucks in the country at a assessment centre with hand controls for me to be assessed in…

Sorry for the rambling, but here comes the questions…

Does anyone know of any disability centres/HGV trainimg schools that have hand controls in a truck in their fleet?

Anyone with a truck with Hand Controls adaption, be willing to rent me the truck so I can be assessed at a centre locally to you?

Anyone got ideas on how I can get back to driving trucks, all ideas welcome…

getting desperate now… I have until 1st June, before my work terminates my contract that I have worked for, for 5 years… They wouldn’t pay sick pay, so I’m on SSP and benefits and now SSP has ended…

I’ve gone from £3500gross lunar pay, to £481 a month, I’ve got debt collectors on the door, mortgage hasn’t been paid since August and now they are talking about repossession…

So any helpful advise would be great, IF anyone can help…

Thanks

Patt.

2

Hi Patt

Sorry to hear of your difficulties, it’s been a really tough time for you.

Might be worth dropping Peter Smythe a PM - he’s the sponsor of the newbie board and if anyone knows the answer to:

Does anyone know of any disability centres/HGV trainimg schools that have hand controls in a truck in their fleet?

he will.

Can you do other work, desk based, whilst you continue your rehabilitation to keep the wolves from the door?

3

get out of your job asap and get n dla then your income should be around 3 times as much as your getting now,plus all the other add on benefits.
you will get nothing whilst still getting wages of any kind.
you can get a wet room instead of a bath,stairlift ,all sorts of stuff to make sure you max out your income.
you will have worked all your days and paid fortunes in tax and vat,time to recoup some of that back now and milk it to death before they give it to a new import who has contributed nothing.
just bite the bullet,sit back and take everything you can claim for.
obviously you will be eligable for a blue badge as well which can be handy,plus the mobility car,but they will take the dosh for that from your payments so that part is not for everyone.
once your on a stable income theres less pressure in fnding even a wee part time income to top it up.

4

dieseldog999:
get out of your job asap and get n dla then your income should be around 3 times as much as your getting now,plus all the other add on benefits.
you will get nothing whilst still getting wages of any kind.
.

He can’t get Disability Living Allowance as it has been discontinued for new claims. It wasn’t means tested anyway so the bit about not getting it while earning is pish.
Same applies to its replacement - Personal Independence Payment - it’s not means tested.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

5

Roymondo:

dieseldog999:
get out of your job asap and get n dla then your income should be around 3 times as much as your getting now,plus all the other add on benefits.
you will get nothing whilst still getting wages of any kind.
.

He can’t get Disability Living Allowance as it has been discontinued for new claims. It wasn’t means tested anyway so the bit about not getting it while earning is pish.
Same applies to its replacement - Personal Independence Payment - it’s not means tested.

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
god,you must sit endlessly paitiently waiting on me to post so you can nitpick and analyse it to death mr pedantic pants.
his best bet is to end work due to permenant disability,onto dole,he cant do jobseekers as he is unfit so itl be straight onto esa,then also pip ( commonly known as the dla similar as we refer to vosa as vosa or the ministry)
to maximise his income he will end up on pip and esa,get a blue badge and all the add ons that follow…£ kerching for him as itl be £1200 per month minimum without trying to work…pedantically or otherwise ffs.get a life :unamused:

6

As Patt is having a bad time, can we keep the bickering to zero on this thread. I’m sure he’s investigating what he can and can’t claim and can consider the points you’ve both raised.