Aneira's story
Famous from the day she was born, Aneira has led a full and
interesting life. As the first baby born to the National Health
Service (NHS), Aneira was named after Aneurin Bevan and is someone
for whom the glass is always half full. Life isn’t always rosy
though and this strong woman is not shy about asking for some
support when times are tough.
After a misdiagnosis and many long months of ill health,
Aneira’s husband recently died of cancer, having received no
palliative care. To keep him as comfortable as possible throughout
the winter, the family kept the house very warm. During this time
Aneira was not aware that any financial support was available for
people in her situation. It was not until after her husband had
passed away that she began approaching organisations for help with
the enormous heating and electricity bills left behind. Tragically
a number of cancer charities would have been able to assist but
were not able to do so after the person with cancer's
death.
If this were not enough, Aneira’s sister was killed in a fatal
car crash at around the same time. On top of trying to cope with
her grief, she had to pay for her husband's funeral and her debts
continued to rise.
Aneira had previously worked as an auxiliary nurse. She has
considerable family responsibilities that place additional
strain on her finances. This includes acting as carer for her
son for the past 25 years, who had a stroke, leaving him unable to
be self-sufficient and looking after her 16 year old
grand-daughter who has recently come to live with her.
An advisor from Macmillan Cancer Support suggested that Aneira
should contact Turn2us to look for some financial assistance.
Turn2us were able to provide her with names and addresses of
several suitable grant-giving organisations and some very useful
advice about state benefits.
“It was such a great relief when I found out that help was
available,” says Aneira. She has now been awarded £1000 from the
Road Haulage Association Benevolent Fund to cover her husband’s
funeral costs, £300 from the Eaton Fund for Nurses, £900 from
The Sandra Charitable Trust and support from the Junius S Morgan
Benevolent Fund. In addition, with the help of Turn2us, Aneira
has also been able to claim a state entitlement for carers.
“I really don’t know how I would have managed without this extra
assistance,” says Aneira. “I have been under a lot of emotional
stress recently, trying to get things sorted out and the grants
have taken away a lot of the financial worry. I didn’t know where
else to turn to up to this point and Turn2us has made all the
difference,”
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