I went to the local Jobcentre
With painkillers, stick and bag
I had to go, fearing sanctions
Cos I've gone and been put in the "WRAG."
It makes me feel poorly on buses
But with hypos I mustn't drive,
So I stumbled in all of a-tremble,
And barely a quarter alive.
It took me all my precious "spoons"
To balance and to breathe,
I had to watch the pavement
As it starts to shift and seethe.
My 80 year old mother came
To help me open doors
Which invariably seem to stick
Defying gravity's laws.
My appointment was half past eleven,
Though I hadn't slept night after night.
My legs felt as wobbly as rubber
I was sickened by motion and light.
But the Jobcentre seemed rather quiet
With everyone there in their place,
No loud noises were blorting to hurt me
Which was abso-bloomin-lutely ace.
A lass who was wearing a label
Which I guess spelled out her name
Started asking me what was my business
And the reason that I came?
I explained I'm in the “WRAG” group
And I had to meet the girl
Who's my “Personal Adviser”
Who I'll call, for rhyme's sake, “Shirl.”
She looked me up, she looked me down,
She showed me to a chair,
Where in pain I tried to balance
Near to others who were there.
Some were reading adverts,
While others filled in forms,
Some jiggled kids in pushchairs
While others stifled yawns.
But everyone seemed friendly,
Efficient, polite and calm,
And as I got my breath back
One young woman touched my arm.
She said my name and greeted me
And helped me cross the carpet,
Pulled out a chair to help me
Cos by now my “spoons” had scarpered!
She reassured me from the off
She wasn't there to press me,
ATOS had done what ATOS do,
Here no one would undress me
Or frown and say “M.E.? What's that?”
You look fit as a fiddle!”
She listened and she understood
(Not influenced by Rod Liddle!)
I didn't wear my dog-collar,
So I was a bit astounded,
She knew the kind of help I'd need,
Advice was wise and grounded.
She tapped on her computer screen
To calculate & compare,
If work from home might pay at all
What hours, what skills to share.
She knew from my work history
I wasn't one for shirking,
She knew that were I well enough
I'd much rather be working.
She totted up the hours
I could work or volunteer,
On top of what I manage now,
If better health were here.
She built on what my skills are
To make helpful suggestions,
She let me pace things as we talked
And answered all my questions
She learned about my brainfog
And saw it one-to-one,
She's the face among the faceless,
I was really glad I'd gone!
I asked if I had to see her
Every month from here on in,
She said it would not be needed,
(My knees must've met my chin!)
I could call her number any time
For any advice at all,
It should be another year or more
Till my next medical call.
She was honest about W.R.B.
And all the uncertain changes,
She well understood her clients' fears
And the future's scary dangers,
So clued up and supportive,
She went out of her way
To fetch me a pack to make a claim
If needed, for DLA.
Since then I've heard two other friends
At different JCPs,
Have also had this kind of help
In different degrees.
Although it took days to recover,
From this trip to the “bowels of hell”,
I consider myself very fortunate
I've a positive tale to tell.
Before you say, “yes but, no but,
ESA's just for a year.”
I must meet that bridge when I come to it,
I'm thankful for now and here.
For now, I was saved an unequal fight
To be put in the group for “support”,
Not terminal ill, not yet a corpse,
I guess I've been put where I ought.
I know the harsh rules of D.W.P.
Won't find me a miracle cure,
With their strict time-limitation,
But the future is seldom sure!
We can only live in the moment,
And fight on for those with no voice,
Play fair even when we've been diddled,
Or grow bitter and bolshy by choice.
Back at home I was soon reminded,
How true were the things we'd discussed,
How far I am from “fit for work”
The adrenalin soon repercussed.
I slept till the daylight was dying,
As body and brain disengages
With the payback from that short journey
I just couldn't function for ages.
But at least one Jobcentre employee,
Understands disability more,
Has more now of M.E. awareness,
It won't stop me fighting injustice,
With others whom ATOS have harmed,
But I went to the WRAG, and I learned some,
As with all things, forewarned is forearmed.
