- The screening form that has to be filled out by my GP only had to the option of 'Major Depressive illness'; as I have depression my GP had to tick it.
- 'Major' Depression is a contra-indicator for the programme so we had to get another form for the GP to sign to say that my depression isn't major; All was ok from there, we got the green light.
- The they said that because I had been sent for an EEG and was awaiting results I would have to wait til the results of that come back to start the programme.
- The results came back normal, we thought they'd be able to give the green light once more. They didn't. They said they needed yet MORE information from my counsellor.
- They spoke to her, and yesterday we were informed via someone else that they were kicking me off the programme, even though I'd tried ringing them several times and left messages asking them to call me personally so I could try and soothe their remaining concerns, BEFORE they made a decision.
So there's the story so far. So obviously, after hearing yesterday that they were kicking me off, I was very upset not to mention a little angry. However, I decided I wasn't giving up that easily; a) they hadn't actually got in touch with us to tell us I'd been kicked off, and b) I wanted to know their reasons for not letting me continue and for not calling me as I had asked.
I rang again this afternoon asking for a call back within the hour, and finally managed to speak to someone just over an hour later. I told her why I'd had to have a EEG, that there was never any real suspicion of epilepsy, that the group therapy counselling sessions would not affect me in any adverse way, to the contrary, and talked for England. To be honest, I think I did really fucking well. One of their concerns had been that they hadn't spoken to me directly, but as I said to them, the only reason for that was that mum had only got in touch with them originally to obtain this other form we needed, and it was only when more problems appeared that she ended up dealing with it because she was their first port of call. The woman I spoke to sounded happy enough with what I told her, and she said she would take the information I had given her, eg more reliable and hopefully good enough for them as it came from the horse's mouth, back to her manager, who would then review the case yet again. Seeing as the reason they kicked me off was apparently because they didn't have an explanation for why I had to have the EEG in the first place, because it had come back normal so they wanted to know why I'd even had one (apart from the fact that my mother had told them what happened) I'm hoping that the info I gave her, eg what DID happen and why I DID have the EEG, will be enough to sate them.
So we're now waiting to hear back from them again. They've said I should have an answer by 6 pm today, but they've said that before. Part of me is hopeful, but the rest of me is telling me that its not the end of the world if they still say no, I handled it eloquently and in an adult manner, and actually the fact I was strong enough and confident enough to talk to them myself is an achievement in itself. If they still say no, I'm going to put it down to bureaucracy and their obligation to cover themselves if anything were to go wrong. I've been exploring other options anyway, so it wont be the end of the world.
H.x
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