Last July my husband age 52 suffered a severe struck which left him in hospital for 6 months - the stroke has effected his right side limbs there is no movement from shoulder to hand and whilst walking with a crutch and AFO the speed in which he goes is probably the sixth of what I do.
At present he does not leave the house due to the level of concentration the walking takes - so he is mainly self confined to our home walking on the patio (flat surface)
So we was advised to apply for PIP, we had the letter today and whilst he gets the high rate for daily living for motobility he received 0 points which to be honest completely shocked me due to how limited his life now is. We will appeal but was wondering what do you think we was missing or are we simply unlucky as he experiences no pain when walking and maybe we was too honest in the meeting. My husband is a very proud man so he was always going to air on the positives. We live in the suburbs of our town so whilst the report says they estimate that he can walk 200m in 5 mins (Im not sure on this fact to be accurate) this would get him no where of any use. So for him to become more independent we really hoped to have received the notability part as I have to accompany him on all hospital appointments using a taxi. I accompany him as we take the wheelchair with is as once we he visited the hospital the amount of people about was overwhelming so I don’t think his brain could cope with all the people and their random movements - something I take for granted the ability to change direction he cannot. The last hospital visit the vehicles that transport patients to appointments kept stopping to see if he wanted a lift as he was so slow - but like I say he is determined and proud.
Any advice of people in similar situations would be useful. It’s taken me a while to accept that this has happened to him so please go gentle with me.
Hi @KAG1234 , welcome and sorry to hear about your husband. One thing is true about stroke in that we all are affected differently, no matter how proud and strong we are it leaves something behind. I have great mobility, good eyesight and got back to work as well, but I’m lucky
PiP is not the easiest to negotiate and as @Janetb said re-read the questions and one piece of advice is to answer at your husband’s worst day in every aspect as we all have good days and bad days. Pride has nothing to do with this it is what the worst day for your husband is like in every way. Please let us know how you get on - be ready to appeal as if affected this money is what he deserves. Good luck and wishing you both well in this journey.
Hi @KAG1234 & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your husbands stroke & the subsequent issues you are having with PIP.
You do have to be careful about how you answer PIP questions & need to answer based on their criteria which they don’t always apply themselves. One of their criteria is that it should take no more than twice as long as an average person to do a task. You also have to be able to do it reliably i.e. as many times as you need to. So if walking that distance once wears him out and he couldn’tdo it again that day then he is considered not to be anle to do it. Have a look at this link re PIP walking expectations.
When answering their questions rather than saying yes I can walk 200 metres but it takes xxx long. Say I am not able to reliably walk that distance and it takes me xx times longer than the average person. If you tell them how long it takes him to walk the distance they use as a benchmark that will help. You should time him. So you cod say in 1 minute he can only walk 5 metres for example.
Welcome to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your husbands stroke and the difficulties you’re facing with PIP.
We do hear often that people don’t get awarded PIP on the first attempt and have to get them to reconsider and eventually appeal. It can sometimes help to get some help to fill out the forms. There is citizens advice that can help or you could try the charity Turn2us that help with this too. Also don’t forget that our Stroke Support Helpline:0303 3033 100 is also there for you to call too should you need the support.
I hope you’ll also find this community helpful. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Well done for “accepting what has happened to your husband” - this is always a good sign and I hope too that your husband has also accepted what has happened to him.
I can see you have a very good understanding of what needs to happen now that you have accepted what has happened and I expect you have already learned a lot as it is now coming up to nearly a year since your husband has his stroke.
You are clearly aware of the help that is available i.e. financial as well as other supportive care but of course if you have any questions, this forum and its members are here for you and generally we are able to point membas in the right direction
Wrt PIP, I cannot add anything above and beyond what the previous respondents have advised and so I wish you success as you apply for a mandatory reconsideration and then if necessary an appeal.
If I may, I’d just like to say with regards to the above, in my view there is no such thing as “too honest”. I believe you are either honest or you are not, but I would just leave it as that I don’t wish for this to turn into a debate about something that is not all that important in the grand scheme of things.
I would suggest you/your husband have done the right thing to supply the information as requested and as per your understanding of the questions. And so now, to the nitty gritty - as others have said, you do need to be aware of what is being asked and what the implications are.
And so on that I refer you back to what @Mrs5K, @Janetb, and @Jbob have said and if you follow their guidance then you will have done all you can
I would like to say that in my view, I admire your husband’s pride, his positivity and his determination. These are all qualities that will serve him well as he travels the journey he has noe embarked upon.
