Case study transcript - Fiona McCall

Fiona McCall

“I’m 54 years old, I am a counsellor and a trainer of counsellors and we run a training project called TLC. I am also a Cruise Bereavement Counsellor as well. We also, as part of the project, have a gift shop next door called ‘One of a kind’ which promotes local crafts and local artists work as well.

I’ve got two conditions, I’ve got peripheral Muscular Artrifry and that’s a hereditary condition, I was born with that and that basically means that the main muscles in my arms and legs don’t work at all and everything is done by the minor muscles. It affects my walking ability and it also creates fatigue. I often say that it is quite like it is in-between ME and MS, I’ve got symptoms that are similar to both of these. And then about four years ago I also developed Osterotive Golititis, which is a chronic condition as well, so I’ve also got that to cope with so I’ve got the two.

I was attracted to using Self Directed Support because of the flexibility that it allowed and also because I was able to manage it myself and to arrange it around my lifestyle. So rather than me having to adapt to carers and their timetables and when they were able to come in, using Self Directed Support allows me to keep my lifestyle going and to employ people directly myself that I can then work around my timetable because my days, everyday can be different.

Probably the most important was that its helped me is that its allowed me to keep on working and keep on doing as much as I can, as active as I can, both physically and socially and I also like the fact that I am involved in interviewing them, I advertise, I select, I interview and then I can then build a relationship up with them. The flexibility and that continuity of support from people that I know and I can trust is important.

I think the important thing with Self Directed Support is that it actually encourages you to try and manage more, that probably for me is the most important part of it. Its actually about keeping people being able to do things that if I didn’t have Self Directed Support I would have cut out of my life or reduced even more. This year, for example, I went off to America, partly a holiday-partly a training course and I was able to take a Personal Assistant along to help me through that and I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t have the Self Directed Support. I would have said Ah no, I can’t go abroad anymore’ so I would have cut that whole aspect out of my life. So Self Directed Support allows you to keep things in your life that you would otherwise lose.”