Stuart Briggs

Living with sarcoidosis, the good, the bad, and lots of in between.

Category: Blog

  • A shadow within

    A shadow of former self, thats how it sometimes feels.

    Today they have started me on Fluoxetine with a referral back for counselling, we know Pred can play mind games but with some of the memories those games can be made much worse. I often wonder what it would have been like to have a really nice genuine woman to help me when its really tough, I’ll never know.

    The medics at times seem more concerned that I live alone, I avoid local music jam nights as I will probably get known as the village idiot even though im good ‘Stu’s a fucked up bundle of fun’.

    Today my court stuff gets sent to the higher tier, will publish MPs letter later as at least its confirmed he has taken my case on. My fight of getting sorted carries on, getting my bankruptcy discharge was a relief but also a memory of everything I lost, as mentioned before, mainly through no fault of my own.

  • Atos, ESA and the failed system

    I now have an appointment with my MP Kris Hopkins on Fri morning 13th July, we know the law has not been broken so its going to be a huge matter of principle that the ‘system’ seems to not recognise sarcoidosis, I will be writing an in-depth article on my experience of trying to get help from the benefits system while I was at my worse, which we know the system failed me. Thankfully I appear to be improving even quicker – we think? and my search for appropriate employment will deepen.


    All I am after is a system which is fairer to those that can be quite seriously ill but with potential to recover, sarcoidosis is not covered like many other mainstream illnesses, if you put cancer, crohn’s disease, diabetes, and numerous other serious conditions into an illness mixture, what then gets poured out is sarcoidosis, the system fails us big time…

  • July sunshine is such a rare treat

    Look what I found at 6:45 this Sunday morning, I feel sure answers would need to be scrutinised if delivered on a postcard, but it was a glorious sight!

    Here comes the sun – for a little while…

  • The Lynx manwasher kit

    I just had to do it, having £10 in Boots vouchers to spend, Lynx had this offer on for the manwasher, I finally used it as advised and used the showertool to make my skin an equal pink all over, very nice but I just could not reach some areas… offers from nice and gentle females welcome!

  • Low Mill Weir, The Awesome Power of Water

    Simply raindrops all coming together, forming this torrent, immensely impressive, not to step to close though!!! This is approximately three miles down stream from Bolton Abbey and The Strid Wood, a gorgeous part of the Wharfe Valley.

  • Improvement of my chest!

    Today I got news that my chest is improving, substantially it seems, so, all round it appear’s my fallen apart body its finally pulling together again! I must really say that all the walking I have been doing must have been helping, next is to get on my bike and get some cycling fitness again. Exercise sarcoid, it really can help, feeling quite happy, living with sarcoidosis! Bring on that appropriate employment.

  • British Elite Circuit Race Championship 2012 at Otley

    This last corner entering the finishing straight is not for the faint hearted, the video is a little deseiving as to just how fast they are travel, and a great win for local rider Scott Thwaites, second claim member to my club the Ilkley Cycling Club.

    A superb evening with fantastic atmosphere, I was very happy to be involved with the marshalling.

  • From ESA to JSA

    So I have now gone from Employment Support Allowance to Job Seekers Allowance, job centres are superb places, how ‘healthy’ folks stay unemployed for life is a little beyond me, I guess its simply part of that cycle, and next Monday its my personal job helper or whatever. A job by the Autumn should be a decent target for me, silly me thought companies had to take on a % of folks with illness/disability, but, as its been pointed out including this morning its only those companies above a 250 workforce and I would need to be registered. Not to worry, Autumn is a decent target.

    Sarcoids can work but we can be a little limited, for me none starters could be; healthcare – illness needs to be avoided best possible, manufacturing/engineering – fumes need to be avoided best possible, plumbing/construction – dust needs to be avoided best possible. Though I was very good in the Lean Manufacturing environment, maybe a warehouse, retail, work from home? need £16k gross to get by…

    A nice eye to sign on with!

  • The ESA tribunal 7th June 2012 failed.

    It went unbelievably one sided, this is now my response;

    Hello.

    Where do I start…

    Well, I believe I can appeal the tribunal decision if faults are found within one month, I have already found fault with the initial tribunal report.

    I have wrote to ask for a copy of the judge’s hand wrote ‘statement of reasons’ as loads is wrong, for example I was in the room for about 45 minutes, I was told it would be no longer than 25, it was only about the last 10-15 minutes they actually started to go into a small detail of my sarcoidosis inc eyes, all the other time was spent going over ‘mental’ health problems, that I was completely unprepared for, ‘do you carry a crises card’ well in-fact I do and showed it, yet I was at the tribunal because my then – 2nd June 2011 works doctor (DR Smith letters), GP, and chest consultant all said as of 2nd June 2011 I was not allowed to work due to sarcoidosis and the Prednisolone, I lost my job, yet Atos and your government system say otherwise.  The tribunal are hugely at fault. If I had known it was going to take so long I would have taken someone with me for support.

    Just one of the fault’s is this; (tribunal 1) they say my eyes only bother me for 30 mins in a morning, that is roughly what they are like now, but for a minimum of 30 minutes, it can be anything up to three hours, last June 2nd 2011 I was on the back end of Bilateral Uveitis, my eyes could take all morning to start functioning OK-ish, this is when the tribunal is supposed to be based upon, other stuff too, the 11th Feb 2011 eye test with Atos was later in the day, my eyes had started to function OK-ish by then.

    Have a good look at the attached eye photo (10th June 2012 eyes) as for today – 10th June 2012 is a typical look, my eyes blow blood vessels pretty much daily, can feel like pins being driven into them, so this is the present, uncomfortable, painful, cosmetic, but I can cope, last June it was very different.

    I felt fully intimidated and under pressure, I felt I could not get my 2nd June 2011 circumstances across, by the time they had finished interrogating me about mental health I was completely at a loss of where I should have been explaining about my sarcoid and subsequent loss of employment.

    This is a massive lack of reasoning, its very simple, on the 2nd of June 2011 I was not allowed to work, I was quite ill to say the least.

    I will visit the Keyhouse drop in centre, I am also seeking advice on which media direction I can now take this, don’t forget Paul Burstow (PB2) ‘we are committed to improving services for people with this (sarcoidosis) and other long term conditions’ and then his departments next response is that it is not their department huh…

    You all seem to forget, though much of me have improved, my lungs and lymph nodes are now in a worse condition, but thankfully appear stable…

    The tribunal was a complete farce; the whole system is a disgrace, and the grotesqueness to those who are honest, with facts and genuinely ill is unbelievable, but now I certainly believe what a bizarre system it is.

    I trust you will now contact who ever you need to contact on my behalf, I have been completely mistreated throughout this.

    Stuart Briggs.

  • ESA tribunal 7th June 2012

    That’s pretty much all my evidence sorted for tomorrow’s tribunal. I no doubt believe it will fail, so I guess a fresh claim then has to go in from June 4th 2011. I would much prefer to be well again, and not a sarcoid.

    Overall im in a worse condition than when diagnosed, all im after is the ‘system’ to support me while we get my sarcoid stable… then I most certainly would like to work in appropriate employment.

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