An unexpected call

I’d just got the curry to the plop – it’s Chicken & Cranberry Curry for dinner tonight – when the phone rings. It’s Social Services.

Every Monday, Angie, comes to clean for us, along with generally chatting to boost my sometimes waning morale. She is paid for with respite vouchers from Social Services. It’s renewal time yet again. This time Social Services have decided they need to visit before re-issuing vouchers. They didn’t bother last year but I suppose it’s not surprising they should feel the need to check how we’re managing.

So this afternoon, before we do the food shop, we’ll be seeing this lady from Social Services, let her know my health has only deteriorated since they last saw me nearly two years ago & that the Fox’s health since his stroke has not miraculously improved.

I just hope we get the vouchers. I know Social Services are trying to make cut-backs to save money. I was surprised we managed to get our vouchers renewed as easily as we did last year.

We would be loathe to manage without Angie. I suspect we would have to find a cleaner at least, probably cheaper than a care worker as Angie is, & pay for her out of our own pockets. I suspect the day the Fox had to go to Kendal to do his Speed Awareness course last summer, we should have arranged a care worker to come to be with me at least some of the time. I was certainly very relieved when the Fox got back home.

 It’s an expensive business being disabled! As it is we have to pay for a gardener. Keeping that tidy is way beyond our abilities. I’m hard-pushed to even get to the far end of the garden, let alone do any work when I've got there. The Fox isn’t much better.

We’ll just have to see how it goes. At least it will be a quick dinner when we get back from the shopping. That's something.