Monday 17 November

The last few days seem to have been frenetic!

On behalf of Elizabeth Finn Care, earlier in the week I spent a morning in a radio studio in Central London, talking to different radio stations all over the UK and Ireland about my difficulties and the issues facing disabled people. Recent research carried out by NOP suggested that some two-thirds of the British public think that disabled people are lazy - simply sitting around doing nothing. The reality is very different and I was keen to get that message across to listeners. It was a busy morning packed with many interviews, which produced waves of nostalgia from the days when I used to do a bit of radio presenting. One of the stations greeted me like an old friend, which was really good. It certainly gave me a bit of a boost.

The news agenda recently has been filled with the tragic case of Baby P, who was callously ill-treated over a long period by his mother and various friends of hers up in Haringey. It seems almost unbelievable that the same Borough that allowed the Victoria Climbie case to take place should fail in this way yet again, and I find myself sharing in the popular outrage promulgated by the Press and Media. Serving as a school governor, as well as my involvement in a couple of voluntary organizations, has brought home to me the importance of good child protection procedures in order to safeguard those who are most vulnerable in society.

It is a disgrace that Baby P was not taken into care. Yes, of course good practice should always try to facilitate families staying together. However, over the course of a few years, I have come across numerous cases where the so-called “family” is totally incapable of looking after a young child - let alone themselves. To try to pretend that blood ties are sufficient to make a family unit coalesce together and function is simply to live in cloud-cuckoo land. Maybe we need to accept that some people are just too stupid, lead lives that are too chaotic, or exist in a situation that is virtually feral, and realize that for the good of the children they must be taken away. Perhaps we should even think the unthinkable: take measures to stop some unsuitable people having children until they can prove that they have adequate parenting skills!

I discuss the issues raised by my psychiatrist last week - that I may have Sado-Masochistic tendencies - with my therapist. Dismissing them as a load of nonsense, she told me not to worry! She reassured me that in the couple of years that I have been seeing her, such thoughts have never surfaced. Certainly in the accepted sexual sense everything seems to be quite healthy and I have no interest in such thoughts! The only slight correlation was my need for nurture and parenting and the disappointment I sometimes faced when people who I expected to fulfill this role failed to do so.

There was good news when I returned to the hospital later in the week to visit the glaucoma clinic. As usual, there was the long wait to be seen (why hospitals find it impossible to see people at the appointed time is a mystery!) My Consultant eagerly tells me that he has just returned from the USA where he discussed my difficult case with experts from all over the world! Upon checking my eye pressures, he is surprised to find that they are at an acceptable level (12 and 16 for those who understand these things) and is very pleased that, at the moment, things seem to have stabilized. We had an interesting discussion about hypertension and how this condition is being better managed now as well as emotional happiness and its effect on sight, and agree that we should continue to monitor the situation. So, a bit of good news to round off the week!

Finally, I take some pleasure in being able to sort out a young jobless friend with some work by pulling a few strings and making a few phone calls. I persuaded a contact to give him an interview, which resulted in him being offered a management trainee post - effective immediately! I feel a bit like a proud parent must feel when their children get their first job. Fortunately I don’t have to provide the packed lunch though!!