Why are arthritis sufferers like me being left in agony?
I’VE been suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for 13 years, since I was 23. After waking in agony at 3.30am last week, I’d had enough.
First, because of government cutbacks, my disability living allowance/personal independence payment was removed in February, as it was decided I no longer fulfilled the official criteria as having a debilitating condition.
I wasn’t classed as having a disease that affected me that much, even though it is a lifelong condition without a cure.
Then, nine weeks ago, I was suddenly told the drug treatment I have taken for the past six years was being withdrawn because of a loss of government funding.
Injecting Enbrel once a week has kept me mobile, so I could enjoy life with my partner and two young children and stay in work as a driver. It stops my body from attacking itself so my joints don’t become swollen, stiff, difficult to move and very painful.
I don’t understand how a drug that has been working so well for so many can lose government funding without a replacement.
My consultant mentions a new drug called Benepali, but cannot say if, or when, I will get it.
Recently, the pain has become unbearable. Ibuprofen and cocodamol hardly touch the sides. A cortisone injection was supposed to give me relief for three months; the effects lasted barely two weeks.
I am struggling to work and to cuddle my children, which breaks my heart. I need answers. I don’t usually moan about my condition, but enough is enough. KIERON TAPSELL,
Northfleet, Kent.
Deaf to reason
I FIND it odd that anti-poppy campaigners feel entitled to shout all they like about it but expect pro-poppy people such as myself to keep quiet.
In the run-up to Remembrance Sunday it’s not unusual to find people declaring: ‘I don’t want to hear about why you wear a poppy.’ Usually these people are young and their experience of war is via news reports. It’s amazing they style themselves as liberal when their attitude is anything but.
JAmES mERRILL, Edinburgh
Has-beens’ outing
I WAS pleased to see Kenneth Clarke, Nick Clegg and Lord Adonis arriving in Brussels, until I realised they didn’t have luggage.
Sadly, they returned to London to continue striving to overturn the will of the electorate. The fact they were received by EU negotiator Michel Barnier is proof these has-beens are more concerned with their personal situation than the good of our nation.
F. mcmANUS, Leeds.
Honour Bomber boys
I TOTALLY agree with ex-pilot Wing Commander Jim Wright that there should be a campaign medal for those who served in RAF Bomber Command (Letters). I am a next-generation bomber pilot who had the privilege of commanding an Avro Vulcan squadron.
On my station we had three Vulcan Mk2 squadrons, each with a crew on alert with an aircraft fitted with a Blue Steel nuclear weapon. A five-man crew could be airborne in four minutes.
We did not have the fuel to return to the UK, so in war it would have been a one-way trip.
We’ve never received a medal to recognise we were the nuclear deterrent force before Trident subs.
Footballers get vast payments and numerous awards, but those who served in Bomber Command are still constantly criticised.
I had the privilege of escorting ‘Bomber’ Harris to the standdown of Bomber Command on April 29, 1968. Wg cdr P. J. GOODALL (retired),
Silverstone, Northants.
Summer Time blues
CONTRARY to supposition, the 1968-1971 all-year-round British Summer Time experiment wasn’t universally unpopular (Letters).
A social survey revealed those in favour of continuing with BST outnumbered those against by five to four.
Moreover, the Road Research Laboratory estimated it led to a reduction in road traffic injuries and fatalities. Nevertheless, the Government voted to discontinue it. What price democracy and road safety?
P. F. LORENZO, chertsey, Surrey.
SNP ignores our rights
NICOLA Sturgeon said it is the democratic right of the people of Catalonia to determine their own future.
The people of Scotland had the same democratic right but this was ignored. How can she stand up for the rights of the people of Catalonia but refuse the people of Scotland these same rights?
JAmES RObERTSON, Grangemouth, Stirlingshire ODD that Nicola Sturgeon says the rights of separatists is Barcelona must be respected.
It seems to me it is the EU which is cracking down – the same EU Miss Sturgeon insists Scotland must not be separated from.
TOm bUTLER, Glasgow
Martial misstep
ONWARD Christian Soldiers is the wrong choice for a Remembrance Sunday service (Mail).
From a theological perspective, it is inappropriate for the occasion. Remembrance Sunday is a time when we honour those who died in wars of all faiths and nations.
This hymn encourages Christians in the spiritual battle against Satan and evil, emboldening them for this purpose.
Rev bOb SHORT, beeston, Notts.
Luxury in Economy
THE article about the golden age of first-class rail travel (Mail) had me reminiscing. When I reached the dizzy heights in my company, I could go first-class.
My first trip was from Waterloo to Bournemouth for a speaking engagement. I boarded the train expectantly and was delighted to see antimacassars straight out of an episode of Poirot.
I sat down and started working on my notes. Another man entered the first-class carriage and took a seat in the opposite corner. Then another, and another.
By the time we left Waterloo, the compartment was full and cramped.
Halfway to Bournemouth, I needed to visit the facilities and walked through an economy class carriage, which was empty.
I returned to first class, collected my briefcase and for the rest of the journey luxuriated in economy. ALAN JARRETT, Rochester, Kent.