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Diagnosis Finally Received

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jourdain2 | 19:56 Fri 30th Jun 2023 | Body & Soul
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For Sqad and all you others who have cared and been interested in the mysterious and sudden illness which has hit Dave, my 68 yr. old Brother-in-Law.

I didn't think it was going to be good - and it isn't. I wish it had been quicker and he could have been spared so much pain and messing around.

I'd never heard of this:-
Mesotheoioma - a rare form of Asbestos Cancer. (I did know a fair bit about that because I lived for a while in Hebden Bridge in Calderdale and there was an asbestos factory.......)

Apparently it is not always caused by asbestos, but is associated with welding (car bodywork), which was Dave's job, although he became a specialist in the paint shop.

There has to be another biopsy to establish what stage he is at. I don't expect that it will be at the further end of the 5 mths. to 3 yrs. timescale he has been given, t.b.h..

This is devastating. He will be on morphine until the end of his life - not much use worrying about addiction now. I'm so angry and sad and want to cry. A hard-working grafter who started from nothing,almost illiterate since he switched off school after coming home for dinner and finding his mum dying (he made up for this lack). and ended up with his own garage.

My sister, understandably, doesn't want to talk right now (we arranged a conduit of news through my elder daughter) and it will probably be some time before she does.

I'd like to say thank you to you all, especially Sqad
Sqad - anything you know that could be of any help, please? Best to know where we are.

Thanks again, everyone,


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he will (probably) be able to make an industrial disease compensation claim

yes he can - and should for the family he leaves AND
as bestos has special law rules
Hecan sue any company that is still trading that employed him and used asbestos. Asbestosis 'triggered' and not related to length of employment
So sorry to read this. I just pray that he is spared pain.
Every day on the TV in the USA there are lawyers touting for business from people and their families who have been affected by mesothelioma. Not sure now is the time to be talking about that.
Many years ago, I turned down a job offer from TBA (Turner Brothers Asbestos) in Rochdale. A few of my friends took up the offer and are now suffering from things like that disease mentioned, plus asbestosis.

The galling thing is that TBA and the French govt knew for many years about the harm that that asbestos was doing, but they covered it up for over 20 years, maybe longer. TBA finally went into liquidation and declared bankruptcy knowing full well that former employees would sue the armpits off them.
See here:

Asbestos victims and aftermath
As part of their business, the company was one of the first to industrialise asbestos,[1] and its eventual demise in 2001 became entangled with issues of asbestos litigation. Asbestos-related disease had itself become recognised due to a coroner's report into the death of Nellie Kershaw, a worker at their factory, in 1924, and various parliamentary inquiries and reports into asbestos-related disease thereafter. The company had directed their lawyers to strongly defend all such claims, due to the risk of litigation.[14]

Following the demise of the business, UK victims of the company's asbestos pollution, such as those near to the former J.W. Roberts factory in Armley, Leeds, were offered a fraction of the compensation to which they were entitled.[15]

The T&N Subfund of the Federal-Mogul Asbestos Trust[16] was organised to process, liquidate, and pay all valid Asbestos Trust claims for which the T&N Entities have legal responsibility. The trust was created December 27, 2007 as a result of the confirmation of The Federal-Mogul Chapter 11 Joint Plan of Reorganization.[17] The purpose of the trust is to provide fair, equitable and substantially similar treatment for all Trust claims that may presently exist or may arise in the future in substantially the same manner.[18]

The Trust Distribution Procedures (TDP) approved by the bankruptcy court provide for resolving all asbestos-related personal injury and death claims caused by conduct of, and/or exposure to products for which Federal-Mogul Entities are responsible in the manner set forth for the specific Federal-Mogul Entity.[19]

For claimants whose principal exposure to asbestos was in the United Kingdom or one of several other non-US countries, a UK Asbestos Trust was established to
the front page lead story in the Sunday Times today is about this "10,000 killed by asbestos in schools". (Which might be relevant to granny grump's brother.)
so sad to hear this my son in law died of this horrible thing x
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jno! I'm not a Granny Grump, honestly!

I am so touched and indebted to you all. The information is too much at the moment, but over days to come I'll try to get on top of it. Possibly my very practical and financially literate elder daughter (a Chartered Independent Advisor & also has a degree in Chemistry from Durham) will get her head around it all.
I'll admit that compensation hadn't entered our thinking at all, they'll need money to make up for losing his pension.
Meanwhile we wait and absorb things and hang on in until things become clearer.

You are all so kind to be so sympathetic, thoughtful & helpful. Thank you. Jourdain xx
when/if he starts to feel better, it may be that he will get some comfort from claiming compensation - it sometimes 'keeps people going' and they feel it's something they can do when they feel so useless
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Bednobs, yes, I agree. It has sunk in now and more positive thinking is possible. Once the diagnosis was made all sorts of help has been postulated. I hesitated to mention the question of Industrial Injuries to my sister when we spoke last night, but it seems someone else already has and they will gear up to it. Main thing now is to get him eating and control the pain. We've even working on how to plan a short holiday in the UK for them once this has been done. Thank you for being so helpful.
there are plenty of places geared up for ill people to holiday. i dont know if the mac,illan hotel is still open in bornemouth, but ive been there and its great
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Thanks for that idea, bednobs. x
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Moorea 7 Thank you! A very good reference, he loves fishing. :)
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I need to update this. We are locked in a horrible situation. Dave, still not convincingly-enough diagnosed for legals, returned to Jimmy's a couple of weeks ago. The specialist was shocked by his skeletal appearance and got him in to feed him up and do biopsies. Last Mon./Tues. (I can't remember) they did 3 biopsies in his r. lung - obviously no results as yet.

He only got accelerated because my sister threw a wobbly in the GPs surgery & waiting room and accused them of neglect and demanded treatment 'NOW'! It's awful out there on the NHS.

Anyway, Dave wanted to come home so it was agreed for a carer to come in mid-day to allow sister to work. This is only around a week ago, remember that. He came home Monday evening (21/8).

Early hours Tuesday (22/8) he collapsed big time - blue lights etc..
At 5p.m. today I was informed that he is at home in a hospital bed, watching TV, drugged up to the eyeballs and that he may last 1 - 5? days.

That's shocking. We knew that he was incurable - but were led to believe that there was time. We still don't know the cause of his condition except that it was some sort of lung cancer. He had started coughing during lockdown, but no-one would see him and he gave up (I've just discovered this).

I've stopped crying - for now - and just pray that he will be released from pain. He has had un remitting pain for months and months and NO-ONE DID ANYTHING TO STOP IT or tell us they hadn't a clue or - anything.

I'm waiting for the inevitable phone call.
Awful situation for all of you. I hope Dave can get a bit of relief and be a bit more comfortable.
Is your sister aware of the assistance your bil and sister can get to help with his care at home ?
I am sad to read your update - I know how you all must be feeling, having lost a dear friend (too young) to an undiagnosed lung cancer.
Kind thoughts.x

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