Personal budget? Give it to me.

Quite simply, what could happen? Unreliable staff? Difficulty covering services? Stinking lazy employees? Daily frustration because of partly - sorry, it's like this - partly incompetent, pretentious, ignorant contemporaries around me? The next day, suddenly everything is more beautiful than one could wish for. Followed a day later by the free fall of my care and the only explanation you have is... none. Sustained. But I mean, what's going to happen that I don't already have.

It's really intense. Is it me? I have an attrition rate of carers that is unbelievable. Those who know me know how I have reduced my personal demands. Clean, full and pain-free. When I have that, I won't complain. The many I have thrown out - at not only the current care service, by the way - have not even managed that. Only four guys and girls have "survived" me and my demands. Just the four who make up my team for up to 744 monthly working hours plus 8 working hours for domestic tasks. By the way, I have to pay for cleaning and laundry myself. I have to ask directly what that is for. They don't even remove my own stains from my KARE table. Oh, what am I talking about. No medical equipment has been cleaned for months. I only know one who would do that if she could find the time.

Don't break my neck that I'm also paying a domestic helper for the same activities that the care service is already charging for. Paddy's got it. With all due understanding, it doesn't make a good impression. Until today, there has been no team meeting to discuss all the issues. No one can tell me that I haven't tried every possible way. Those who haven't noticed this should perhaps be a little more attentive. I can't talk, you can.

Again, mea culpa. All verifiable facts for which there are dozens of witnesses. Now something has to come from you.

Make a plan B so you don't need it. I have no idea how the application process works exactly. I don't need to know. You don't need to know everything. You just have to know who to ask. And so today this nice little letter went out to the cashier. Okay, with this post I'm relatively close to the tooth of time, it's been a few days though. As always, so as not to be able to draw any conclusions about anyone involved.

Hello dear AOK team,

If I interpret the information on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs correctly, I can apply for a personal budget informally with my health insurance fund or my long-term care insurance fund. Other providers would also be eligible. However, since the procedure in my case should end up with the AOK anyway, I hereby submit an application for a personal budget.

                     Request for my personal budget.

The reason for my application is that I contracted ALS in August 2017 (or sometime before). As you can see from your records, I have survived three different intensive care services since then. Literally. The horror stories of my current care provider alone are enough to last a lifetime. And that's not even the reason for the frequent changes.

The first one kept cancelling services at short notice because he was short of staff. The second one gave me two weeks' notice without any warning. The third has been stumbling since day one and can only cover the services if the only four members of my team work more than 200 hours a month. One caregiver is leaving at the end of the year, and there is no replacement in sight.

To cut a long story short, I don't want to complain but rather prepare a plan B. The personal budget seems to me to be the obvious alternative.

Unfortunately, I can't find any information at all about what documents you need from me. They say that you will be informed individually. Therefore, please forgive me if I only include my last doctor's letter and the initial diagnosis, as well as the determination of my disability.

In joyful expectation I remain

With kind regards

Patrick Ruppelt

Er, yes, as usual the disclaimer. I really have no idea what such an application is supposed to look like, and I don't give a damn about it any more than I do about a new Bayern player moving in from England somewhere next door. Some people here get all excited when they meet another Bayern player on their doorstep. One of them lives diagonally opposite. So, yes, I've seen him several times during my office hours. Just a little one told me who he was. My goodness. But now what has to be said and so ciao, see you tomorrow. Like every day at two past twelve.