Wish him luck! ESA Appeal today

Almost a year after being rejected for ESA with 0 points, my OH, suffering widespread inoperable musculoskeletal/nerve problems and severe depression, has his ESA appeal. We eventually managed to get the services of a Welfare Rights person who will be accompanying him with me, I have amassed an army of additional medical evidence and can tear to shreds the ATOS doctors original decision (and the decision makers). WR person has told him not to worry!! as his case is very very strong and should in fact be claiming mobility and other things - but in my experience, that means nothing.

This hanging over him has upped his levels of anxiety to an unbelievable level with the family and I just hope he gets through it OK - for all our sakes! The toll on me has been massive too, mentally and physically - and MY doctors are getting really worried.

If only these people knew up close, what they are doing to people - not helping but only hindering and compounding their and their loved ones quality of life perhaps they would look closer...........but then again - probably not!

Wish you and your husband all the luck in the world!

Best wishes,
Rachel

After waiting an extra hour to get into tribunal, our Welfare rights person asked them to look at about 12 descriptors (mental and physical). She had thought they would concentrate on physical first.

Straight away they asked mental health questions (very sensitively I would add) and after a harrowing 15 minutes they asked us to leave! We went into private waiting room and OH was in a right state - and me having problems keeping it together.

Five minutes later WR person returned with a smile. 15 points on two mental health descriptors alone - nothing else asked. She was right, as we knew it was all along, he had a very very strong case, but having been let down at IIB tribunals before, we never thought it would happen.

Hopefully it will be some time before he has to go through that again, as when we think we are getting somewhere with his problems, this sort of thing just knocks him back months.........he's now in bed, in a very dark room after taking more meds (which he isn't due for another two hrs ) just to take the head pain down.

Hopefully he will feel better after a few hours sleep - and me - I cannot believe for once it went the way it should. Thanks for all the help of this site with their guides and information, who made me make sure, we had the relevant information to send in prior to the tribunal or he would have had to go through all this verbally on the day.

Feel numb now.......perhaps celebrate later tonight with a nice bottle of wine


I probably will just get more annoyed later as I think of what the Government/DWP are putting people through and how much worse they make people in OH's situation (and their families).

I am hoping for the best of the best results and that you both can breathe easy shortly...cmarie510

Aaawww, bless your hearts, I'm so relieved for you both.
As you said earlier, do the 'powers-that-be' know of the effect they have with their decisions.
Last Tuesday I was informed I'd been awarded 0 points after my ESA medical. For the first few days it seriously seemed that suicide was the only way out.
Hope hubby feels better after a sleep & that you can both now relax x