|
Mother’s battle for proper care for disabled son
 By
Trevor O’Sullivan
A Manchester-Irish family is at the heart of a struggle against adversity
to get proper care for their disabled son.
Galway woman Cathy Jackson, who suffers from diabetes and failing kidney
function, has spent over five years trying to secure a home for her severely
physically disabled son Matthew.
The 27-year-old suffers from cerebral palsy, a chronic back condition
and a dislocated hip.
But despite this disability, 60-year-old Mrs Jackson depicts a sense of
pride in her son that many mothers of able-bodied children would struggle
to equal.
She said: “Matthew’s condition is traumatic to experience
but he is mentally very intelligent and has an extremely high IQ.”
“He loves everything and has a great sense of humour. He even takes
an interest in Irish music because of me. But all the family are my age
or older and so we have nobody to take care of him.”
“At 16 he developed scoliosis and had operations on his spine which
inserted metal rods but the body rejected them and it caused bleeding
to the spine.”
Since 2002 the Jackson family has attempted to get Bury Social Services
to provide Matthew with a specially-adapted home, a care-giver and a mobility
car.
And Mrs Jackson claims that because of a refusal to fund a special car
the family were forced to take out a six-month loan to lease a vehicle
themselves.
In a desperate attempt to resolve the stalemate she has written to Gordon
Brown and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern who has sent the case on to his Minister
for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern.
In a statement to The Irish Post Bury Social Services said: “In
common with all other authorities, individual’s needs are assessed
and resources allocated on application of the Fair Access to Care criteria.
“Whilst we are unable to comment publicly on individual circumstances,
Adult Care Services has a formal complaints procedure that individuals
can access if they are unhappy or concerned regarding the service they
receive.
“Adult Care Services are not aware of any formal complaint being
received regarding this situation.”
|
