Giving my family hope

15.10.09 - Vicky

Up in Newcastle we have long been fighting for justice for pleural plaque sufferers, in particular for my dad.

He was diagnosed with pleural plaques a few years ago and it actually broke our hearts, after we found out the repercussions. We were horrified when the House of Lords decided that pleural plaques sufferers were not eligible for compensation because of its "lack of symptoms"... it scars the lungs! How can they say that it has no symptoms!? We were also horrified to find out that if you have pleural plaques, they won't give you life insurance... so there must be something wrong there.

We read in the evening chronicle that they were heading a campaign for justice so we eagerly jumped on board.

We decided to send petitions around everywhere we could. Peoples' reactions were generally good - they were disgusted to find out that people like my dad who have worked all of their lives are being forgotten. The unionstogether video gave my family hope that other people are campaigning for the same thing as us.

I just hope that my dad will last until my wedding day so he can walk me down the aisle in three years time. It’s terrifying to think that someone so close to you is going to be taken away by something which they can’t be blamed for. I hope that we shall get a ruling soon, as it would benefit so many people like my dad who deserve to be compensated for what they have to endure.

If you can please sign any petitions online, and send an email to Alistair Darling and Peter Mandelson, that would be great. The evening chronicle has been campaigning for justice for a while now and its a breath of fresh air to know that it is a nationwide thing, rather than just a regional thing.

Thank you for giving my family hope, especially my dad.

Vicky x

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