Sad end to the boating dreams

[kiki]

It looks like we are going to have to give up our boating and move back to land. December 2010 the Much Beloved had a bad accident at work - through no fault of his own, a gas cylinder was left on the stairs and not cleaned away, and he slipped on it and went down the stairs hitting his head. Although he is able to still work, his neck is damaged and he can no longer lift heavy weights such as cassettes, diesel containers, coal bags and locks etc. After a year of tests MRI scans etc and of course STILL waiting for the company at fault to accept any blame from our solicitor, we have realised that he can't carry on. I have tried but my back is not great and never has been, so the two crocks are having to face up to the fact that boating is just too heaving work for us.

I feel really upset and cheated out of a life we had so looked forward to, but then as John Lennon said "Life is what happens while you'r busy making plans".

So the Twakkie is going on the market this year and we will be moving into one of our properties, goodbye lovely New Mills, hello Manchester

At least selling it might not be too slow as at least it is on a fully residential mooring and our landlord is happy to just let things tick over as they are now. But in the meantime we just wait it out.

[Mukiwa]

I'm so sorry to hear that Kiki. I shall miss you and wish you and your hubbie all the best for the future.

[Guest]

It's always sad to see a post like this particularly given the circumstances.

 

Good luck with the sale...

[dor]

Sorry to hear that you will have to give up the boat in such circumstances. Hope your partner recovers and gets appropriate compensation.

[cotswoldsman]

Hope it all works out for you both. I trust you will continue to post on here hate to lose a fellow South African.

[calamity507]

Sad news..but know just how you feel..we are almost at the same point for simlar reasons. I think we will be doing the same in the near future.

[NB Alton]

So sorry to here that Bridget, if there is anything we can do to help in the short term just let us know. We hadn't realised Paul was in such pain, we won't be letting him carry anything any more!

 

Wishing you all the best for your new plans.

 

, Brian

[cereal tiller]

Good luck for the future. Hope life takes you in a positive direction.

Hi kiki

serious illness limited my boating for a year or two,but that was 7 years ago and we still do lots of boating.

 

bet you wont be off the water for good!

[carlt]

What an awful decision to have to make.

 

As you choose to live on your boat, rather than live in one of your houses, I'm sure you have gone over your options over and over again but have you considered going all electric?

[wrigglefingers]

I'm sorry to hear this Kiki. What a horrible decision to make. Can the boat not be adapted to allow you to continue? One of my neighbours at Bradford was wheelchair bound except for a few steps and she happily lived aboard. The boat was heavily modified but it worked for her.

[kiki]

Thanks for all the good wishes guys, its been a difficult decision but we are NOT rushing off just yet. Right now its a "swings and roundabouts" situation, our flat brings in income so as long as we can manage we will just keep the boat on the market until we get a fair price so not dissapearing just yet. However as I can see the Much Beloved struggling more and more, its up to me to bully him into letting me carry heavy loads which is not easy. Carl I think changing over to all electric would mean too many changes in the boat and not practical for the continous crusing so we have decided to just let it go. Thanks Brian for the offer, Paul is incredibly stubborn and insists on doing things but I have to try and put my foot down, the longer he carries on trying to do heavy lifting the worse it is getting.

 

As for compensation, these things take ages, our solicitor has now put his foot down with the firm and told them to Name their lawyers so we can get on withit, after a year of too-ing and fro-ing with various excueses time has come to get tough. The 15 stiches in his head left a nasty scar but that is not the least of it, he lost 4 weeks income, damaged his knee to an extent that he can only go down stairs right leg only (if that makes sense) has to now sleep on his back as he cannot take the pain in his neck by lying on his side, which makes his sleep apnoea worse....and then of course the neck is just not good. I am in a rage constantly about it, the unfariness of a building contractor not watching their "housekeeping" has cost us so much I just want them to admit to their fault, but you cannot believe the excuses they come up with, and the denials as well. Luckily we have photographic evidence of the mess.

So hold thumbs we have a smooth sale and are able to make the transition, and if anyone is out there looking for a 4 year old, new safety cert. much loved 58 foot on a residential mooring, let us know.

[mayalld]

Hi kiki

serious illness limited my boating for a year or two,but that was 7 years ago and we still do lots of boating.

 

bet you wont be off the water for good!

 

Bridget and Paul will always be welcome aboard Mr Jinks when they find that they are missing the canals.

 

I was rather shocked when Bridget told me yesterday, and I know that we will miss them enormously. If ever there was a couple who know how to enjoy life....

[Doorman]

If ever there was a couple who know how to enjoy life....

 

That statement makes their plight even more poignant.....

 

Good luck with your fight for rightful compensation, although money alone cannot substitute what you have lost in terms of good health and freedom to enjoy your life!

 

Mike

[greywolf]

i hope everything works out for the best.Sometimes things need a little time to heal sometimes longer.Have you investigated the various supports for back etc.Hope 2012 brings you better luck.

[Semitrad]

Sad to hear this news. I slipped on a newspaper carelessly left on our stairs some years ago and made an undignified descent much to the amusement of the rest of the family. When the laughter had subsided, we realized how lucky I had been to emerge unscathed and from that day leaving anything on the stairs, no matter how small, was banned.

[churchward]

That is sad news. I hope things work out well for you in the end. You never know what other doors may open in the future but it is difficult when you have had something taken away.

 

Good luck for the future and I hope 2012 will not be as bad as you fear it may be.

[Athy]

Life would be easier if you had a pump-out instead of a cassette.

(Dons riot shield and ducks behind parapet).

[Guest wanted]

Kiki, sorry to hear this, it's always hard when decisions are made for us. I guess what is important now is health. I wish you all the best for a quick sale and a speedy transition.

[kiki]

Thanks everyone, all the kind wishes are making it even harder, but I do appreciate them. Lets just hope it goes through quickly so as not to drag things out even longer. For me the hardest thing is giving up live in New Mills and going back to an apartment in Manchester, but then we are looking at an alternative retirement by buying a little place somewhere in France to retire in, at least that way we can keep lots of dogs and I can take up gardening or something....now all I have to do is learn to speak French !!

[Arphamoe]

Kiki, sorry to hear this, it's always hard when decisions are made for us. I guess what is important now is health. I wish you all the best for a quick sale and a speedy transition.

I hope I am addressing the right part of the forum but please help me! I have a slightly alternative aspect to this thread! Whilst a member of this forum, my wife and I have been looking at a number of boats with the intention of taking to the water to change our lifestyle. Unfortunately, a succession of recent medical issues have made us reassess our capabilities to continue the desire! Whilst we still await a definitive outcome from the medics, I would love to hear about the experience of members dealing with the problems that cancer and embolism issues may provide.

We are aged mid-60's and previously pretty fit but now have to face a bit of uncertainty - who has been there and done it?

[Richard10002]

As for compensation, these things take ages, our solicitor has now put his foot down with the firm and told them to Name their lawyers so we can get on withit, after a year of too-ing and fro-ing with various excueses time has come to get tough. The 15 stiches in his head left a nasty scar but that is not the least of it, he lost 4 weeks income, damaged his knee to an extent that he can only go down stairs right leg only (if that makes sense) has to now sleep on his back as he cannot take the pain in his neck by lying on his side, which makes his sleep apnoea worse....and then of course the neck is just not good. I am in a rage constantly about it, the unfariness of a building contractor not watching their "housekeeping" has cost us so much I just want them to admit to their fault, but you cannot believe the excuses they come up with, and the denials as well. Luckily we have photographic evidence of the mess.

So hold thumbs we have a smooth sale and are able to make the transition, and if anyone is out there looking for a 4 year old, new safety cert. much loved 58 foot on a residential mooring, let us know.

 

I wouldn't be too happy with a solicitor who hadn't got to the point of at least talking to their solicitor in a year. Until they face actual legal action, they don't have to do anything and, God forbid, they also know that if he were to die, the payout will be less or you might even give up on the claim.

 

Perhaps it's not for me to say, but I would be instructing my solicitor to prepare a summons in the appropriate court, and telling the opposition that it will be presented if they don't make a reasonable offer within 7 days. Until you do this, they can sit on their laurels while you rack up solicitors fees - which your solicitor might be quite happy with. They don't need to name their solicitor for you to issue legal proceedings, but they will do so pretty quickly thereafter.

 

I think you need to think about getting tough with your solicitor. At least ask for a barristers opinion..... Probably costs about £500 for a meeting, but you would get a firm answer, and your solicitor would have to start jumping up and down.

 

I could go on, but I think you will get the gist.

 

Good luck

[cheshire~rose]

I am so sorry to read this Kiki. I really do understand just how challenging it can be when the life you had planned and all your dreams appear to have been shattered in a blink of an eye and through no fault of your own. I have been in that situation and being "The Carer" is a tough job (and I donot only mean physically tough)

I know that there were a couple of things that came together for us in the early days which really made a huge difference to our situation. I knew we needed a good solicitor but where do you find one of them? It turned out a good friends daughter worked as a legal secretary for such a firm and although I had never heard of them at time I have heard a lot about them since and would be happy to reccomend them to anyone who might need their services. Within 3 days of us instructing our solicior my fella's emplyers accepted liability! It was to be expected because the H&S exectutive closed the site down for 2 weeks until modifications were made to ensure the safety of the workforce.

The whole thing rambled on for three and a half years (mainly because my fela suffered a severe head injury and the expert opinion is that recovery continues for 3 years and so any payout cannot be quantified until they are sure just how debilitating the long term effects of the injury are) During that time we were able to draw interim payments to live on from his payout and employ people to assist where it was suggested this was something that would aid his recovery.

I am very concerned hat this far along you do not even seem to have solicitors that are talking to each other - I wonder if it might pay you to get a second opinion about the case? Usually this initial discussion would be free of charge - PM me if you want more info on the company we used.

It is very important to remember that just as you had no idea how your lives were going to change that day when the accident happened so you really can't begin to know what the future holds for you now and while you are going through such a difficult time it is very hard to manage to see anything positive may come from it. Just take each day as it comes and cross each hurdle as you get to it and slowly but surely you will get to a place that feels much better and happier. I truly hope that it does not take too long.

[Doorman]

We are looking at an alternative retirement by buying a little place somewhere in France to retire in, at least that way we can keep lots of dogs and I can take up gardening or something....now all I have to do is learn to speak French !!

 

We have friends (ex-boaters too) who've retired in France. They love it over there and couldn't speak a word in French originally, they can now though.

 

Good Luck!

 

Mike

[Laurie Booth]

All the best for the future. I'm sure things look bleak now but this will be a new start to better things.

[DaveG]

Very sad to read this and it does bring home the fact that you never know what's round the corner.

 

When you hear stories of accidents people have had at work and the difficulties they have faced in getting them addressed, it is somewhat dispiriting to then hear our Prime Minister proclaiming he intends to take on the "health and safety monster" and describe safety regulation as "red tape". According to the government's own figures, There were more than 500 workplace deaths through accident and 603,000 workplace injuries in 2010.

 

I lived in France for 17 years, Kiki, so PM me if there's anything you might like to know about.