Epilepsy with a twist….

******Warning this post contains a lot of exclamation marks******

Ok, so anybody reading this who knows me, or who follows me on twitter will know that I have been moaning A LOT lately. Let me assure you that I am not normally such a killjoy, but as of late I have been finding it increasingly hard to be cheery.

I am trying to arrange to move house soon as since getting my flat I have managed to acquire a few housemates in the form of a man, a dog & a baby…..all of whom take up a lot of space that had originally belonged to my vast collection of ‘stuff’. To make this move a reality I had to get finances in order & this is where quite a bit of my stress comes from, because to help me do this I have had to deal with an endless stream of very unhelpful people. I wouldn’t mind so much, except for the fact that it’s these very people who are paid to be helpful!

I’m epileptic, which I don’t normally talk about much but it is necessary to mention it to explain why I have to deal with the ‘delightful & oh so helpful’ people at the Department of Work & Pensions. I’m entitled to tax credits for being specialeptic & have been trying to arranged how to receive them…..however they make it as hard as possible, and seem to have a licence to be as rude as they like too! I have had to endure comments that are offensive & uncalled for, the best example of which was being asked if I thought it was ‘wise or responsible of me to have a baby with my condition?’ and ‘should you be out on your own?’………WOW!!! Who knew that it was still the opinion of a government department that people with epilepsy should be sterilised & locked up inside?!?! I honestly don’t know how they deal with people with other more severe problems, but I sure as hell hope it’s more tactful that they do with me!

What makes me even angrier is that as a well educated & generally quite vocal person I am able to swiftly put said DWP Employees in their place, however there are thousands of very ill or disabled people who also have to deal with this narrow minded comments but without the ability or energy to respond or stand up for themselves. This means that this behaviour will go unpunished more often than not……

So to the man who berated me for having a child & the woman who questioned whether i should leave the house I have a message for you: I pride myself on the fact that I have learnt to live my life around having epilepsy, not based on epilepsy. It is not who I am nor will it ever stop me getting what I want! I may take a little longer to achieve my goals at times, but I always get there in the end. To imply that anybody in this day in age should accept less because they have a disability is awful, especially from people who are supposed to help them lead normal productive lives! I am a fantastic mother to my son, who is well cared for and loved, and I am never going to let him think that when bad things happen to you the way to behave is to ‘roll over and take it’…..I hope to be his role model who showed him that you can achieve ANYTHING you want & do it bloody well, regardless of illness or having to deal with morons ALL THE TIME!!

Ok now that is off my chest I promise my next post will be happier….all about boobs, birthdays & helping little babies!