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dressing and undressing

Stalin
Stalin Community member Posts: 29 Listener
Hi All,

I have born with my right leg deformity and because of which i am missing my right almost completely. DWP has allowed me 2 points for dressing and undressing activity in 2013 assessment, but denied in the latest assessment carried out in 2019 despite my disability is permanent, lifelong and got worse as age progressed. So, i have submitted the below MR with my justification for 2 points for assistance reuired to get my lower body dresseed and undressed.

This is what i have written and sent to DWP for my MR

 

I would like to bring to your kind attention that the descriptor “Need assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body” for “Dressing and undressing” daily living component has been over looked for me despite I have been struggling with complete deformity to my right leg, right thigh, right pelvic area and right hip joint. These deformities are lifelong as these have originated from birth and which have been getting worse as age progresses.


I am here with providing detailed information regarding my disability and explaining how my right leg deformity has been completely preventing me to get my lower body dressed and undressed including putting on and taking off socks and shoes independently and how I have been completing these tasks with my wife’s assistance.  With this information, I kindly request you to re-assess my condition against this descriptor and offer me appropriate points to get daily living allowance to combat the adverse impact of my disability and manage my everyday life smoothly.


The deformed right leg is about 6 inches in length. It has got a small foot with 3 fingers and a curved bone structure all the way through in it. The Knee and Ankle joints have completely missed. Thigh has formed in a round shape due to deformation of a thigh bone. The pelvic bone has deformed. The hip joint that is above the thigh has also significantly deformed. The spine has also significantly curved to the right due to deformation of its underneath bone structure. These combined deformities have massively restricted my abilities to manage various daily living tasks and mobility needs. These deformities are from birth and for lifelong. The UK disabilities act has rated this combined disability as 80% severe.

  

I use the full-length prosthesis to manage my extremely limited mobility needs. With assistance from my wife, I attach the full-length prosthesis to my body by inserting the deformed leg in to the upper socket and then fasten it tightly with a strap on the prosthesis and then fasten another belt on the prosthesis tightly across to the waist. This process does allow the prosthesis to hold on to my body and then use it for exceptionally short distance walking needs. When I use the prosthesis, I get substantial pain in my deformed right leg, right thigh, right pelvic area and right hip joint because deformation of required bone structure. Walking does also cause severe pain in my spine as it has curved to the right. The upper socket of the prosthesis prevents me to sit properly as it covers whole of my right pelvic area.


Daily living Tasks – Dressing and Undressing:

 

1/ Dressing and Undressing - Need assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body – 0 points allotted:  I was given 0 points for this task / descriptor by saying that I was able to touch my toes with my upper limbs and stand during the musculoskeletal examination. I could touch my left toes for about 3 seconds with significant pain in my curved spine and deformed right hip, right pelvic area, right thigh and right leg as those got pulled down towards left side from their normal (right) side. I was able to do this exercise in the examination because I was on a wheel chair with seat belt fasten and as I was also not wearing my prosthesis.

 

I could hardly stand in the examination despite my wife assisted as I was on a single leg (normal left leg) at that time.

 

When Capita assessed me in 2013, they have established that I need assistance in dressing and undressing my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoes throughout my life given significant deformity to my right hip, right pelvic area, right thigh and right leg.



1 A/ Dressing and Undressing – Need assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body - Can I manage this task independently?  I can’t manage this task independently either by standing or sitting. Since I am missing my right leg completely, I can’t stand independently on a single leg (normal left leg) due to body weight driven imbalance, curved spine, deformed right hip, deformed right pelvic area and deformed right leg. and for the same reasons I can’t reach my toes as well in a standing position. So, I need assistance in standing and then dressing or undressing my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoe.

 

When I sit down with a single leg (normal left leg) on a chair or a bed where seat belt doesn’t exist and then when I try to get dressed or undressed my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoe, I can’t manage it independently as I fall over as I attempt to reach my left toes due to lack of support from deformed right hip, deformed right pelvic area, deformed right thigh and deformed right leg. So, for dressing, I need assistance to take dress underneath of my left leg, then to pull it to its knee level, then to insert my deformed right leg in to dress, then to assist me to stand up, then to pull dress to my waist level and then to fasten button. These steps repeat in an opposite way for undressing.

 

When I sit down with a single leg ( normal left leg ) on a chair where seat belt exists and then when I try to reach my left toes to get dressed or undressed my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoe, total weight of my upper body gets transferred on to my left leg alone because of lack of support from right deformed hip, deformed right pelvic area, deformed right thigh and 



deformed right leg and then that transferred weight doesn’t allow me to lift the left leg up at all to take dress or socks or shoe underneath of it. So, I need assistance to get dressed and undressed as explained in the above paragraph.

 

I can’t raise my left leg high up to bring it closer to my waist to get dressed or undressed my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoe because lack of support from my right side due to significantly deformed right hip, deformed right pelvic area, deformed right thigh and deformed right leg.

 

When I lie down on a bed with a single leg (normal left leg) and attempt to get dressed or undressed my lower body including putting and taking of socks and shoe, I can’t reach my left (normal) toes in any form due to significant deformity on my right side.

 

When I wear the prosthesis for my deformed right leg and sit on a chair to get dressed or undressed my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoes, the prosthesis’s upper socket and knee joint prevents me reaching the toes of both the legs because structure of the prosthesis and hence; I need assistance to get dressed or undressed my lower body even when I am on the prosthesis. It was clearly assessed and confirmed by Capita in their assessment carried out in 2013.


1 B/ Dressing and Undressing – Need assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body - How I have been managing this task? My wife has always been assisting me completely to dress and undress my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoes. To get dressed, my wife first assists me to wear the prosthesis, then she dresses the prosthesis (including socks and shoe), then she dresses my lower left leg (including socks and shoe), then I stand up with support from my prosthesis, then my wife pull dress up to my waist level and give it to me to fasten buttons. These steps repeat in an opposite way with my wife’s assistance to get undressed.

 

 

1 C/ Dressing and Undressing – Need assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body - What happens to this task in case of absence of assistance? I can’t manage this task independently and I must wait for my wife to be available for assistance.  So, my wife always ensures of being around to assist me in this task.

 

Based on the above, my disability is completely preventing me to manage independently dressing or undressing my lower body including putting on and taking off socks and shoes and hence; I need assistance for the same. So, kindly requesting you to assign the descriptor “Needs assistance to be able to dress or undress their lower body “as like before and grant relevant points.

 

Thank you very much for your patience and valuable time for reading this reconsideration request form.

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,317 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    I'm sure you posted this a few days ago and i replied. There's no timescales for MR decisions but hopefully not too long. Good luck.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • Stalin
    Stalin Community member Posts: 29 Listener
    Hi Poppy / Ilovecats....Have posted this to reach wider community and for their thougths....
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,317 Disability Gamechanger
    I don't understand why you posted it again when you previously did. No one on an internet forum can advise you exactly what you should write for the MR because no one knows how your conditions affect you.

    I previously advised you that you should decide which descriptor applies to you and stick to that but in this MR you have wrote something for 3 descriptors for the same activity and you can only score once for each activity.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    @stalin - I don't know anything about prosthetics but I hope that you might find this useful....

    Your comments are well written - but I don'f understand why you cannot dress yourself (I don't mean any disrespect - I'm sure you can't it just that I don't understand why)

    I agree with @poppy123456 - you seem to be giving evidence for three of the descriptors so there's a lot of information on each but when I've read it I'm not clear which one you think applies. It's a bit like backing three horses in a race....

    Can I suggest you might decide which one you think applies, and then cut the rest out? it might read more clearly then..

    Good luck anyway....
  • twonker
    twonker Posts: 617 Pioneering
    cristobal said:
    . It's a bit like backing three horses in a race.......


    My other half when I took her the one and only time to the local evening races years back, decided on a formula that would guarantee a winning horse and rider. It was a 5 horse race and she backed them all to win!! 
  • Stalin
    Stalin Community member Posts: 29 Listener
    Dear All,

    I strongly believe i should get 2 points either for "Need assistance or aid in dressing or undressing "  or " Need assistance to be able to dress lower body " as my right leg is a deformed leg with 6 CM in length, 3 little fingers, and curved bone structure.This deformity has lead to right thigh, right pelvic and right hip deformity. So, i have only my left leg functioning. I can't stand on that one leg itself. I use a wheel chair at house, a mobility scooter to go to work and a full length prosthesis to walk up to 10 meters only. My job is a desk job and my employer has been exceptionally cooperative to me in providing required amenities  very close to me at my work including parking space for my mobility scooter, My spine has also curved to right as i was bending on my walking. When it comes to dressing and undressing, my wife has been assisting me completely as i can't stand on one leg. During the recently conducted face to face consultation at home, i have presented myself in a wheel chair with seat belt fasten. In the MSK examination, i have touched my left toes from sitting position for 3 seconds with support of fasten seat belt. So, DWP has cut down 2 points for dressing and undressing task saying that i can dress and undress when seated as Capita confirmed in that way. However, Capita hasn't disclosed the fact that i was with seat belt fasten and MSK examination did last only for 3 seconds. Capita has also ignored the facts like when i sit with one leg on the ground and when i touch the toes of that leg, my whole body gets transferred on to that one leg and makes it unmovable  so i can't take anything underneath of it. If i try to lift my normal leg up with out reaching it, i can't do it as i don;'t have my right leg on the ground. Capita hasn't elaborated as to how i can get dressed and undressed with one leg on the ground when seated. So i have raised an MR with the above explaining all scenarios. I am planning to complain to Capita about their assessor mistakes as well.
  • Stalin
    Stalin Community member Posts: 29 Listener
    Dear All... DWP has approved my claim of MR for 2 points for dressing and undressing. Many thanks for all your help in this regard.
  • atlas46
    atlas46 Community member Posts: 826 Pioneering
    Hi @Stalin

    Great news for you.

    Well done for your persistence.
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @Stalin, that's great news! Thank you for taking the time to let us know!
    Scope

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