kathryn67

I'm overwhelmed with the replies and reponses here. Thank you all so much. Ours isn't the run of the mill situation I guess..Georgia's health probs certainly aren't what anyone would want for their child and it's been a learning curve for us both. I'l reply more tomorrow as have been working nights and just knackered right now xxx

Hi Smelly, The benefit system seems to be shambolic ...for my part I detest feeling beholden to it. Haven't claimed DLA for G for several yrs now although I know we could receive it..and have done in the past...call me pigheaded !! We do have time on our side however...G's still in the education system. On the sunny side, we have the whole value of our home behind us...as we have no mortgage...the house has been paid for outright. Perhaps I have just been afraid of taking such a huge plunge. I don't want G to feel that her whole life/income relies upon her having epilepsy. When I look hard at the options for her when she leaves her spec needs school, they are sadly limited. Animal care or some daft arse 'bridging year' ..given that she won't take GCSE's the whole caboodle isn't one I'd advocate.

That's very sensible advice...earlier in the thread a lady mentioned someone who made ear-rings..never done anything like that before...however set off to research and found that suppliers are v cheap....beads, bits & bobs needed to make jewellery..it'd make a marvellous hobby never mind an income..PLUS of course something G & I could do together. I did see a post of yours elsewhere in the forums about knitting...now that's a wonderful skill...ashamed to say I can't ..however my Mum (bless her) knits...she had a stroke a couple of yrs back ..despite that, she churns out little hats & jackets for baby units ..tiny woolies for prem babies. Just shows that once you've acquired such a skill, you don't lose it. Can feel a few lessons coming on from Mum !!!

Thanks for all the replies...am gleaning that we could make some money but probably not loads...curently am in a low paid job and receive tax credits which 'top up'...if I were to go self employed on land, I'd still be able to claim the tax credit if wasn't making a huge income from a business. Wonder if that's the same for living/working on a boat. I'll give the DWP a ring & find out. Realising that to cook/sell food probably wouldn't be feasible with our 4 legged travelling companions 2 large dogs...in fact it'd be total chaos..haha and we'd never satisfy health/hygiene regs. Sueb - G's health issues are epilepsy & some learning probs/delays. We rarely see a GP, but have specialists in both Notts & Sheffield, with a 'back up' Paed here in Derby. Am quite sure that we'd be given a massive thumbs up by her Docs. As long as we had a postal address base here (parents) then we'd have no trouble staying with her current Docs..they would want to keep hold of her anyway. Her treatment is ongoing and probably will be for life as she has a VNS implant plus high doses of drugs etc. I do carry rescue meds plus the magnet of the VNS is used to swipe across the implant in case of seizures which need to be broken up. I'd need to be aware of where the boat was in relation to nearest hospital etc and life jackets..fotunately her seizure types don't inclue tonic clonics although that could happen. Lots to consider for us...but we're quite determined !!

Hello All, I have to ask some advice about earning an income...are there many traders out there able to make a living supporting them ? I've decided that my daughter G & I will at some stage sell our house, buy a boat and away we go. My thoughts are that from the sale of the house & after buying a boat we'd have an amount left over but wouldn't want to live off just that as it's all we have. I was looking at BW fees for licenses and saw there are trading licenses so thought ''ok we'll sell stuff then''...but what to sell ? We don't want to stay in one place, we want to explore..we don't need much to live on and used to not having much cash but we would need some !! I did read about one boat being used to sell some groceries etc from and that's pretty much what i was thinking. About the only thing I'm good at is cooking so selling food would be ideal but I bet there's a load of red tape around doing that. G has a medical condition which has made life rather difficult..it would be so empowering for her (and me too) to be able to change our lives but we have to be realistic and think of the cash !! Thanks, Kate x

Hello ! I'm Kate and my daughter Georgia is 14. We're new here -been enjoying reading the forums, having a little chuckle here and there and learning loads. I know nothing about boats whatsoever apart from the research I've been doing. So far have worked out that we'd need a 57 ft, narrowboat which would enable us to explore without restriction. Not bothered about what kind of loo either !! In fact a swish out under the tap would be preferable. This would mean a complete lifestyle change for us ..well as much as land to water might mean...we're pretty used to challenges. G has a rare form of epilepsy which has dominated our lives for the last 8 yrs. As usual I'm flying in the face (or arse) of convention...hehehe. My ideal for us is to have a boat which would enable us to travel/explore and earn an income at the same time perhaps. I'd like a different lifestyle for us both, one which would be positive for G rather than her trying to fit in to an education system for example which has totally let her down. I expect I sound like a bit of a newbie..yup I am one. Hugs to all, thanks in advance for all the questions I'm going to be asking...Kate & Georgia xx