Bitz 'N' Blogs with CJ Cross

The One Where The NDIS Was (still) Taking The Piss Regarding (my) Allied Health Providers

December 3, 2023

To start with – The header of this blog has nothing whatsoever to do with the the subject matter – it’s simply a cool pic ( thanks to IG for the filter) and frankly describes how much I wish I could drink – Given just how much stress the NDIS has caused me in the last 5 days.

Five days ago I received an email from the NDIS regarding the outcome of my S100 application and then, everything went to pot.

(For those playing at home a S100 means a “Review of a Reviewable Decision” in NDIS terms. Frankly, after I read it, I thought someone was playing a cruel joke.. Although, to be fair… The NDIS is a governing body; ergo run by clowns .. so I really shouldn’t have been as shocked as I was)

The NDIS – National Disability Insurance Scheme is designed to support Australia’s Disabled and Chronically ill – giving them access to all the things, all the time with a minimum of fuss. It’s to ensure that the Disabled and the Chronically ill have a fair chance at life and oh.. hang on.. That’s on paper..Heh. Oops!

In reality however, it is a ginormous, twat-berking shamozzle of a shit show- that not only leave those of us who are disabled up shit creek without a paddle – but also our able bodied full time carers with nothing more than a leaky canoe with no lifejackets to help us out.

At time of writing this blog, the NDIS is going through a massive overhaul of how it does things, why it does things and when it does things which means .. everyone and their dog is confused!

Hooray!

Here’s my story. ( And the reason behind today’s blog)

So, I got to the NDIS in 2022. My funding was just over $75K for two years.

Pretty much straight away, I began a “Change of Circumstances” because there was no way I could stretch $75K over two years.

At this point though, my Allied Health providers( My Chiropractic, my Remedial Masseuse, my Podiatrist, my Psychologist, my Physiotherapist, my Occupational Therapist and my Exercise Physiologist) were being covered by the NDIS as enough medical evidence has been provided in my original application for them to be so.

After almost a year of pushing for a Change of Circumstances – it gets approved and I end up with just over $159K over two years . This allows me to purchase Eleanor Whillie ( my Electric Wheelchair) a DAY CHAIR ( that I am STILL waiting on) and a pair of shoes from Dr Comfort. *

On this plan however, ALL of my Allied Health services have been dropped..well, nearly all of them. They’ve kept my Occupational Therapist and my Physiotherapist in. This is great and all but… Hello? Really? Are you kidding me? They’ve also included ( as a money saver, they tell me ) a Therapy Assistant.

I have no idea who or what that is.

I ask around .

No one has any idea of who or what a Therapy Assistant is. Like, literally nobody!

No one on my team has a clue. There are questions asked :

Are they a T.A.F.E Student? A Support Worker with benefits? Who or what are they?

Eventually we turn to Google and look up this mysterious profession. It doesn’t take long to realise that a Therapy Assistant is a person who comes along attempts to be a whole lot of Allied Health providers all at once – (while getting paid less than an Allied Health provider, I might add – hence the “Money Saver” angle they try and sell you) and their job is to try and implement all the things your Allied Health provider does without all the experience that goes with it.. Or, something like that anyway.

Joy.

At this news I completely lose my shit and have a breakdown. I am at a loss as to how I am going to cope with having to pay for all of these services ( I mean, I have my Allied Health team for a reason, guys! And while I’m at it.. What in God’s name I am going to do with this Therapy Assistant funding??) given my Husband and I are not made of money and have only just managed to clear up our last lot of debt. I lodge a complaint with the Office of The Honorable Bill Shorten MP and a representative from his office advises me that my Allied Health invoices can continue to be submitted and paid for under the NDIS

In the meantime my Support Coordinator and I take steps to lodge an S100 – A Review of a Reviewable decision. We have 100 days to gather all the required information to support our argument that my Allied Health providers are imperative to my continued well being and continuing to function etc etc

We began that process in August this year. It’s now December. Five days ago I got the email. In this new, new, new plan I now have just over $206K over a two year period.

As far as my Allied Health Providers are concerned – They’ve kept my Podiatrist, my Physiotherapist, my Occupational Therapist and 2023’s Money Saver of The Year – Therapy Assistant– in … While giving my Exercise Physiologist, my Psychologist my Remedial Masseuse and my Chiropractor the ass claiming either that “Not enough evidence was provided” or “We believe an Occupational Therapist will suffice in these areas” which is an absolute load of bull-twang. There were 40 very heavily worded, exceptionally well written documents submitted for my S100 .. and, frankly, what it all boils down to is one extraordinarily lazy NDIS person by the name of Neerusha who skimmed the whole lot because they couldn’t be bothered to read it properly.. Thus here we ( my Support Coordinator and I) are again. Another 100 days. Another round of reports and supportive letters explaining why these things are important to my mental health and general wellbeing .. Etc Etc Ect …

It just never seems to end.

Thanks for reading

Ceej

*I wish there was some kind of sarcastic font for this.
The Cafe With No Cutlery.

November 19, 2023

This blog is a little late.

Have not long gotten home from doing the grocery shopping with Hubby and running a few errands down at Chirnside Park.

For those not familiar with Chirnside Park, it is one of many local shopping precincts near my house ( I live near 4 such places) and while its smaller and doesn’t boast as many shops as the others, it is the most disabled friendly by design and thus I get to zoom along in Eleanor Whillie and join in the fun.

Today I also purchased a new handbag ( one that’s easier to carry while going out and about) a new hat ( more about that in a moment ) and a quick pit stop at SpecSavers to get my glasses adjusted, cleaned properly and get a quote on some potential transition lenses or sunglasses.

Todays weather has been nothing short of spectacular and to be able to go out in it – despite the obstacles I currently face (and believe me, there’s a lot) makes me very happy.

However, I digress. Today’s outing is not the purpose of today’s blog. By now, I would wager, you’re probably wondering what the title of today’s blog has to do with my shopping extravaganza and the answer, dear reader, is nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It has everything to do with what I got up to yesterday!

( And if you’ve read you’ve read this far, then I congratulate you for sticking it out with me)

Yesterday I went here:

Park Orchards Market

Park Orchards Market is held the 3rd Sunday of every month 10am -2pm at the local Primary School

It was my first time at a local market and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere. It was also my first trip back to Park Orchids (it’s literally 15 minutes from my house) since 1995. Back then, it had one bus that travelled there every hour and it was one of those small *blink and you miss it* places that no one really paid any mind to – unless you had to go there.

In the 20 years since it has grown to be quite the affluent suburb where the locals know everyone ( and their business apparently .. but you didn’t hear that from me) and houses are worth in the vicinity of $1 million dollars + on any day ending in Y .

The people of Park Orchids seem to be quite the snobs .. what, with their fancy cars, designer dogs ( in lieu of designer children) and the suspected illicit affairs taking place right under your nose – just as you sit down for lunch. (Long story, I’m getting there, I promise)

That is, except the lovely folks at the Park Orchids monthly market. As I have already said, it was my first time at a Market like this and I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw there.

Through my NDIS plan, each fortnight I am granted Community Access with a support worker. I have an allocated 5 hours whereby I can go out and do some small activity independent from my Husband -who is also my full time carer – and give him a break from taking care of me. I can pretty much do as I wish – Go to the movies, do some shopping, visit a reserve, go out for lunch, visit a friend – any number of activities as long as it’s none to costly and can be completed within the allocated 5 hours

Yesterday’s choice was the Market. There were plenty of things to look at and peruse as well as live music from a local musician. Entry was free (bar a gold coin donation) and plenty to eat and drink .

Members of the CFA popped in ( For my American Readers – CFA stands for Country Fire Authority. They are a group of volunteers who are trained as Firefighters to assist during our Summer bushfire season) which kept the little ones entertained for hours!

Myself and my Support Worker “Miss B” spent a good few hours there . I went away with a lovely scented candle, some homemade Baklava and Turkish Delight and a jar of Christmas Pesto (your basic basil & pine nut mix combined with sweet chilli and cranberries – Bloody delicious!)

Pleased with my purchases, Miss B and I decided to go and find a local Cafe for lunch.

We found a small place just down the road and around the corner (Eleanor Whillie and I had an interesting time navigating the wee bumps, cracks and dips in the pavement) and although they had no disabled access to speak of – they were soon able to rustle up an extra table from inside and bring it outside.. which was nice of them.

We placed our order ( Two Chicken Schnitzel burgers) and waited. ….. And waited ….. And ..waited. Almost an hour after we placed our order our meals finally arrived. We thanked the waitress?? Owner?? I dunno .. and began to eat.. Only to discover we were not given any cutlery! Not a knife. Not a fork . Not a spoon. Nothing.

Thank God for fingers .. am I right?

So there we were eating our meager meal, with our fingers, in the well do to suburb of Park Orchards, surrounded by snotty nosed well-to-do’s with their designer doggo’s (OK, so the one we saw was cute AF and super friendly) all the while listening to ( not deliberately I might add) a guy who spoke a few too many decibels above fucking reasonable – discuss his vacation plans with his (future ex – I could just tell. Girl was bored and annoyed as hell) Girlfriend/ Wife/ Fling to Singapore over a cup of coffee.

While I won’t go into anymore detail – because frankly, it’s none of my business but ….Some things are best left discussed in private, you know what I mean? Not loudly at a Cafe with no cutlery ( did they even get a spoon, I wonder?) on a Saturday afternoon in a place where everyone gonna be knowing your business by the time you ask for the cheque.

Over all, it was a lovely afternoon and I am seriously thinking of going back. Everyone was super friendly there and I was so sorely tempted to buy one of everything!

If you’re ever in the area – do check them out.

Who knows what you’ll find

Ceej
The One Where I Was Tired ….

November 5, 2023

I had plans of writing a blog today .. Instead I have no energy and my eyes are all puffy and itchy

Anyway, I do apologize and we’ll try again next week

Ceej
The One Where Eleanor Whillie Showed Up! ( And other things!)

October 28, 2023
For those playing at home, I have a Floof sitting on my desk …Well, I did have until I moved a whole bunch of stuff off my desk for her to sit next to me and she moved on … Pfft! Cats!

But I digress.

I apologize for not writing a blog last week but I had all the things happening all at once.

For a start I had my 1 week off in October ( I had an appointment with a Rheumatologist mid week so it made sense to simply take the week off ) The good news is, I DON’T have Rheumatoid Arthritis .. The Bad news is .. We’re still no closer to figuring out the cause of all the things that are wrong with me .

That aside, In some absolute epic news .. After 7 months of waiting, wondering and a new OT later – ELEANOR WHILLIE is finally here! I’ve had her a week and my god she’s awesome!

The Picture I’ve posted doesn’t do her justice but It’s just so you can see what she looked like

She’s got
- A horn
- Sensors ( for when you’re too close to something)
- A convenient carry basket ( that can carry 6kgs of stuff)
- The ability to become a manual wheelchair – for a brief period of time if required
- The ability to be controlled via an app on your phone
- The ability to lock down completely when I am away from the chair at any point
- The battery can be removed from her to be charged ( requires only a standard powerpoint)
- She’s occasionally passive aggressive and will tell you off if you try and do something its not made to do .
- She has 4 speeds ( and three levels of sensitivity for the control stick) and at full speed can go 8kms /5mph
- Distance before battery dies – 18kms /12 miles (Which, according to Google is from about my house to Menzies Creek)
- She’s pretty much an all terrain dealo – can go anywhere within reason.
So, as you can see – she’s a wealth of fun and activity!

So far, I’ve taken her out to the following places:

A Cafe

A Reserve / Mini Museum

The local shopping precinct

And so far, things are going OK. There are still a few things to tweek and fix

(such as the seating and back support) but other than that – she’s a dream to use!

In other news – I seem to have injured myself. At time of writing, I have torn a groin muscle on my right side. About a week ago I lost my balance in the bedroom while trying to turn off the bedroom light. My right leg slid out sideways and the rest seems to follow in a game of 1-player -only – Twister that left me doing the splits. Suffice to say that two days that followed were some of the most painful I’ve ever experienced and my ever loving but long suffering Hubby had to stay home with me for two days just to see me to rights.

I’m currently taking Prodeine every 6 hours for the pain and so far… It’s taking the edge off .. but that’s about it. The only saving grace is the Wheelie Walker my Physiotherapist gave me – I can sit on it and be pushed from the toilet to the bathroom or my office if need be. ( Ironic really when you think about it – Given it was given to me to assist with walking. I found the frame to large and the wheels to cumbersome for turning corners)

Will keep you updated on my progress

On that note, it’s almost 5pm and I should post this before I forget… again

Thanks for reading

Ceej
The One Where Life Got in the Way

October 14, 2023

*Blinks*

Ok then, so it appears I have missed a week. Apologies about that. It seems I was required to Adult for a bit. I promise it won’t happen again.

To be perfectly honest, I don’t really have much to say at the moment .

Things are moving along ( as far as the NDIS is concerned) and hopefully, I’ll have my new Day chair soon.

I have no idea what’s going on with Eleanor Wheelie – That’s my electric wheelchair for those playing at home- but after weeks and weeks and weeks of stressing .. I’ve decided not to worry about it too much at the moment.

In fact, on advice from just about everyone – I’m going to stop stressing about a lot of things. I’ve been doing it for about a year and a half and I’m exhausted.

Even writing this blog – I’m tired …

My husband has the weekend off work so we’re just spending quality time together

My apologies this is short – but sometimes that’s all there is

Ceej
The One About The Time I Was Late

October 3, 2023

Tuesday .. 10.45am

As I sit here and prepare to summarize the week that was – the rain falls steadily outside my window – washing away a weeks worth of dust, pollen and all manor of allergies with it.

On Sunday – the day I usually set aside for writing about me week, Hay fever had well and truly owned my ass – to the point that i blew my nose so hard and so much .. I made it bleed.

Therefore, I had concluded that I was in no fit state to write anything.

Thus, here I am.

Normally, at this time I am just about ready to jump into an hour long session with my Psychologist but today’s session has been moved back till 2pm. ( That actually works out kinda well TBH – It means I go straight into my PT session afterwards. It also means I don’t have the time to sit and dwell on things that were discussed either- Yay doing the things back to back)

So, to begin….

Workwise it has been pretty quiet – not the norm for an 8am -4pm shift but this week it was rather dead. Whether it was due to school holidays or the buildup to a long weekend ( Victorians had a long weekend due to the AFL grand final, QLD had a long weekend due to it being their turn to celebrate His Majesty’s Birthday and NSW for the NRL grand final) or that people were just not wanting to deal with my workplace this week – who knows.. but it was quiet nonetheless.

On the personal front – the body has been rebelling quite a bit and my pain levels being almost unbearable. I have cut back on a lot ( So long “Holiday diet!”) and am currently going through a process of elimination regarding what foods/ drink causes pain flare up and what doesn’t. The most recent victim was lemon, lime and bitters. Yep. Turns out 3 lemon,lime and bitters is enough to make ones feet and legs swell -So they also end up on the “Nope, you can’t have that” pile.

*Sigh*

On that note – I am off to get some lunch. Apologies that this blog was late (and short) and hopefully, with the help of the Good Lord and a poke with a sharp stick – my next blog will be on time.

Cheers for reading

Ceej
Holiday Wrap Up

September 24, 2023

Sunday.

10:31am. It’s the last day of our Holidays and I’m eating salted caramel crackers and chocolate mousse dip.

It’s lovely outside. I should be outside getting a decent dose of Vitamin D .. Instead, I am inside at my desk and writing this blog ( interspersed with watching Tik Tok videos of the recently reformed BackStreet Boys – and honestly,it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen – and didn’t know I needed) They’re old – and they admit it with no shame whatsoever. And, TBH I respect that.

We got a lot done over the last two weeks. All the things that we kept putting off due to work and other commitments that are part of our daily routine. However, all but a few of those things have now been ticked off the to do list. Which I am very happy about.

We celebrated our 17th Wedding anniversary over the break. A low key quiet affair. Hubby purchased a new guitar and I got a fancy new foot massager . Both of us have been using it and it’s done wonders for our feet!

I spent a large chunk of my holidays chasing up NDIS stuff – in particular my Day Chair and Eleanor Wheelie ( my new electric wheelchair) as well as getting everything prepared for my S100 review. At time of writing this blog – the quote for the Electric Chair has been put forward, the quote for the Day Chair has been received but not submitted ( yet) and all documents required for my S100 review have been filed and prepared for submission.

Side note: I was able to get my shoes from Dr Comfort. However, they don’t fit *grrr* so I am wanting to see what I can do about that. Stay tuned for updates on that.

I have no doubt whatsoever that upon my return to work – It’ll be spent chasing up aforementioned things to ensure they are taken care of ( Will it ever end?)

Speaking of Return to work – another thing I was able to complete was my extension of Work from Home. So, there’s that done and dusted.

This two weeks off was for the sole purpose of getting all the loose ends tied up and I am glad we were able to do that. No, we didn’t go anywhere ( minus that one day where we went out to breakfast) and we didn’t do anything FUN per say however, what we did do needed to be done and now we no longer have to worry about it .

For now though I am going to enjoy the rest of my day

Cheers for reading

Ceej
A Holiday Update

September 19, 2023

*Blinks*

Hello Tuesday…. Where did you come from? You kinda snuck up on us real quick…

To be honest, this update should’ve been written as per my normal Sunday blogging schedule – but both Hubby and I ( My husband more so than myself TBH) have been running around like blue-ass flies trying to get all the things we couldn’t get done due to having to work. So far, we’re about 3/4 through our to do list.

We’re also on the 2nd week of our Holidays and today ( well, this afternoon anyway) Hubby is going to get an eye test and I am off to get my hair done… and provided I get home from the HairDressers in time – I will also have my PT session at 3:30pm this afternoon.

Another thing that’s occurred is that I now have seem to have developed a rather nasty case of Chilblains. Thankfully, I was able to get in an see my GP last Friday and get a script for some cream to put on it. I am also grateful to my Husband who went out yesterday to get it for me.

For those who are not aware as to what Chilblains are – see below :https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/chilblains

So yes, not great. Apparently, a lot of folks I know had them as children but like all things with yours truly, I never experienced these things as a child so I get the displeasure of dealing with it now as an Adult… And I gotta say.. It’s not fun. That said, the cream I have works a treat and it’s doing the job quite nicely.

In other news, We celebrated our 17 year Wedding Anniversary over the weekend. It was a low key affair with a lovely dinner and a bottle of wine while watching Futurama from the beginning ( It’s been a long time and neither of us can remember much of it) I treated myself to a Foot Massager from Amazon while Hubby purchased a new guitar. His first one in quite a while and I have to say – it’s really rather lovely.

Oh! We scored a Green Waste bin from the local Council – so that’s another thing we can scratch off the to do list. Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue but the last time we asked our neighbour if we could use her Green Waste bin – she allowed it – only to become rather petty shortly thereafter and keep it locked in her garage for several weeks afterwards – preventing Hubby from being able to complete the gardening that he needed to do. Now with one of our own.. we’re all set to go! *

Tomorrow Miss Floof is getting clipped and groomed. Thanks to a local community site on FaceBook ( Meta if you’re one of them) I managed to find someone who was willing to take our baby girl on. She’s quite knotty and tangled – She loathes being brushed- so we’ve no choice but to do it this way. We’re hoping to be able to get her used to brushing after this – as it will make both her life and ours ( and that of our cleaners) much easier!

Hay fever seems to be the bane of my existence this year with it making a triumphant return after an almost 8 year absence. Those who know me know I despise sneezing ( it’s the most grotesque of all the Human bodily functions in my opinion) so the very fact that I am now dealing with seasonal bullshit on top of everything else is complete and utter bollocks!

On that note, boys and girls I shall end this blog as I feel another coffee and some breakfast coming on

Thanks for reading

Ceej

*As a rule there is one Green Waste bin between two in the unit complex we live in. Everyone else understands this bar our neighbour at #8
The Midweek Catch Up Blog

September 13, 2023

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlefolk of internet land. As promised, this is your Midweek catch up blog.

I don’t generally write blogs during the week as I am working however, my Husband and I are taking some time off from work to tie up some loose ends and do the things that we’ve had to put off doing for months – consequently, we’ve spent the last few days doing just that.

So, where were we? Oh yes, I know. My last blog covered what was one of the longest weeks of my life. If you would like to know why ( because of course you do!) you can do so here:

The Week That Felt Like a Year

My latest blog about the longest week in my life .

To start with, that blog pretty much ended up with me watching the livestream of my Grandfathers Funeral. He was 93 years of age when he passed and by all accounts had a wonderful life with his Wife of 63 years, Pat and her family. From the bits that I could piece together, my Poppy met Pat when they were living in the same area in Victoria when he was 31. ( This tells me he met and married my Grandmother, June when he was in his 20’s. I figured all was not well between them when my Mother was born and they divorced shortly thereafter)

I saw my Mother and Sisters in attendance as well as various members of Pats family and friends – Most of whom I’d never met.

Still, it was a lovely service and I shall forever remember my Pop as a kind man with an awesome sense of humour and a big smile!

From there it was just the countdown to two weeks away from work. I continued following up on all things NDIS ( At time of writing this blog, I am STILL waiting for one more piece of evidence to be submitted for my NDIS plan – Review of a review. I had an in depth conversation with my Support Coordinator G about where we’re at with it.)

On the plus side, I was finally able to order my new shoes from Dr Comfort! (Yay!) and the long awaited quote for the Day Chair came in – Ironically, it now needs to be put on hold as Hubby and I are currently exploring other options on how to get one elsewhere.

As well as this, I have arranged to have a catch up with my new OT, Alana. She will be picking up where the lovely Triza left off – as she has since moved on to greener pastures in the pursuit of bigger and better things.

Tomorrow I have my visit with my Remedial Masseuse and then it’s off to my Fathers for a morning cuppa.

Friday I find out the results of the bloodests I had on Monday and speak to my GP regarding all the forms I need her to fill in 😀

I am unsure whether I will be able to post another blog on Sunday – as it’s my 17 year Wedding anniversary and I believe Hubby and I have plans… So, there may be another midweek blog next week as well!

Till then, thanks for reading,

Ceej
When Sunday is Father’s Day!

September 3, 2023

Good morning, everyone

There will be no blog today – due to the fact it is Father’s Day here in Australia

Go spend time with your Dad! He’s worth it!

For those who are missing their Father – please know that I understand how difficult today must be for you and you’re all in my thoughts.

Ceej

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