This blog post is about one of my more selfish concerns. It what I worry about when I think about the things that might be cut by David, George and the rest of the Eton gang who are currently mascarading as our government. I make no apologies for the fact that it's entirely fuelled by concern for my daughter.
When my daughter was just five months old, she contracted Bronchiolitis and was admitted to hospital in the middle of the night with a rocketing temperature, difficulty breathing, reduced blood oxygen levels and a heart rate that sounded like the drumbeat to a gabba rave tune at +8. It was a scary 24 hours, and watching her tiny body try and cool down and get enough breath was the kind of heartbreaking experience a mother only wants to go through once.
She recovered pretty quickly and was home with us safe and sound a couple of days later. At a follow-up check-up with my GP, we were warned that the virus that causes Bronchiolitis, RSV, would have a bit of a free reign in her immune system for a while and that up until 3 or 4 she was likely to get every sniffle and snuffle going. He told us to be prepared for a lot of snotty noses, gluey ears and sleepless nights. This turned out to be a very accurate prediction.
Most significantly, she became extremely prone to picking up ear infections. And as a result, her ear drum perforated 2 or 3 times before she was 2 years old. She was referred for an operation to insert grommets into both her ears when she turned 2. A couple of months later she had this operation and the ear infections became a thing of the past.
At about the same time, she had a hearing test which showed that she was experiencing reasonably significant hearing loss in her right ear. We were reassured that it was likely that this was caused by all the gunge in her ears, so we weren't too concerned. And we were told that she would continue to be monitored as she grew and developed.
I remember sitting in the audiology clinic at the Royal Sussex Hospital and thinking "Yeah, sure. You mean she might get a check up every few years."
But my cynicism was misplaced. Since she was 2 years old, she has been attending regular hearing tests and check ups. First of all these happened at the audiology clinic, but from the age of 4 onwards, they happened at school. And unbeknownst to me, as the hearing loss didn't disappear with her gluey ears, she has been observed and supported by an audiologist in her classroom with a visit every term since she started school.
This audiologist, a lovely lady called Sul, last term took the decision to recommend that our daughter try using a hearing aid, because, as she told me: "Your daughter's really smart and confident, and she could probably manage ok with a bit of lip reading and a bit of asking her friends what's going on. But why should she have to? Why shouldn't she have the opportunity to be supported to hear things as well as she can."
So a couple of weeks ago she was fitted with a rather natty sparkly blue hearing aid, and Sul has been with her in class and here at home a couple of times now to help her to get used to it and to do everything she can to make sure that my daughter is hearing things as clearly as she possibly can. She'll be visiting her in school every month for the foreseeable future, and if anything goes wrong with the hearing aid in the mean time we can call her and she'll pay us a visit and help us sort it out.
I've been sitting here this afternoon pondering the fact that we've had all of this care, help and support since my daughter was 5 months old (she's 9 now) and it hasn't cost us one single pence in direct costs. Just the hearing aid itself costs £1500 if you buy one privately. And what price all the hours that Sul has put in to helping my daughter in class?
Every day I hear about the next round of cuts. About the need for "austerity". About how the public purse just has to be sorted out. And I wonder how long it's going to be until outreach services like the one that my daughter has benefited from will be considered "a waste". (After all, her hearing isn't *completely* damaged. She probably could muddle through with some self-taught lip reading and asking a few questions about what the teacher just said.)
What I don't hear being asked is what the banking system is being asked to do to address the deficit. After all, wasn't it their "credit crunch" which wrecked our government's finances? Before we tackle the small fry "scroungers" who make living on benefits "a lifestyle choice" perhaps we could have a look at better ways to TAX the VAST salaries and bonuses that these SELFISH BASTARDS are paying themselves just 12 months on from our bail-out.
I may be selfish in my desire to see my daughter's care continue. But you know what? I have paid for it in my taxes for the past 16 years that I've been working since leaving university (which I also paid a contribution towards). I've never once hired an accountant to help me find "tax dodges". The "smart money" would say that makes me a fool. I think it just makes me a decent and contributing member of my society. But if those stinking rich Tory BASTARDS come for my daughter's health, it'll time to stop being nice and start taking action.
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