Taken from pillar to post – mother with rare disease
A partially sighted Albertsdal mother with a rare condition says she knows of three cases where people gave up on getting their UIF, but she is not prepared to take that route.
Tracy Matthews had a job she loved, where she worked as a team leader in the collections department.
The 53-year-old had spent years studying while she was a wife, a mother and a working woman.
Then in July 2021, things took a turn for the worst. She had a headache for a month and eventually went to her doctor who did tests and booked her into a hospital as she had septicaemia. There she was diagnosed with a rare disease.
According to her medical certificate, she was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This rare condition is also known as pseudotumor cerebri because it ‘mimics a brain tumour that does not exist’.
She said her brain produces too much spinal fluid which tends to put the brain under pressure.
“It did affect my sight. They fitted a shunt, which led to seven operations, infections and meningitis in five months but has helped my sight. It, however, swelled my brain and led me to be unable to work as I have had a trauma of the brain with my executive function being affected,” Matthews explained.
According to Matthews, she would have migraines, nausea, anxiety, dizziness, and fatigue and the medication she takes to save her sight makes her extremely sick.
Desperate appeal
It broke her heart to stop working with people as she loves seeing the result of her hard work.
“The unfortunate thing is that the illness affected my performance and attendance at work while at the same time sitting at home affected my self-worth. No one can imagine how frustrating cabin fever is until you sit staring at four walls day-in and day-out,” she said.
In an effort to secure financial relief, she then registered for help at the UIF and submitted her claim on February 21, 2022.
“That was the most infuriating experience I’ve ever had. They constantly told me my matter has been escalated and I must phone back. I have phoned them constantly and not once have they said what is supposedly wrong or the delay with my application,” Matthews explained.
She said the UIF call centre has always been extremely polite, ‘even though all they can do is to escalate the matter’.
After nearly a year of no assistance from the UIF, she said she had no option but to go to a professional to check if there was something wrong with her application.
“She confirmed that everything was correct, and she has since sent 84 emails following up on when payment will be made, and I still phone too.”
She reiterated that she is not prepared to give up on her illness claim, though she is being taken from pillar to post.
The Alberton Record has since escalated her matter to the Department of Employment and Labour. They have said they are investigating the matter,
