Three months after she married the love of her life, X’s life was turned upside down.
X and husband Y had the world at their feet. Living in the Azores, Y worked as a medical assistant in a hospital and X was a civil servant with the Home Office.
They had their own house, a car, and were enjoying life together. But fate had other ideas. During the course of his work, Y picked up an infection from a patient in the hospital where he worked.
His health deteriorated, and the couple moved to the Portuguese coastal city of Porto in order to access better treatment before trying a clinic in Spain. There, Y was diagnosed with encephalitis, a rare condition which causes inflammation of the brain.
Over the course of the new next few years and in the quest to help her husband, X paid for private treatment in London where specialists could try and treat Y.
X had to give up her job to help look after her husband, as the condition had left him with the cognitive capacity of a teenager. The devoted pair returned to Porto and X took other jobs to help support the couple. But unable to meet the demands of the commission-based jobs, look after her husband and survive on a small income, X began looking for work in the UK where they had family.
She took a job with a care provider in Norwich before the company moved her to Rhyl. The pair settled but when the company decided to move X to Newport she was left once again without a job as the couple had nowhere to live.
Desperate, X took seasonal caravan cleaning work and the pair were struggling to make ends meet. Friends advised X to contact the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and, from there, things began to change.
X was put in contact with Working Denbighshire and mentor Rachael Smith takes up the story.
“It was clear that X had lots of skills and experience. She had worked for the Azores Government and had lots to offer an employer. We began by translating and rewriting her CV, helping X to identify and apply for jobs. At one point, X had seven job offers to choose from and she accepted a position as a behavioural support assistant with an organisation in Rhyl,” said Rachael.
Life, however, had other ideas again. Shortly before X would start training for the job, she discovered a lump in her neck. Surgeons removed the lump before doctors broke the news the tumour was cancerous, and cancer had spread to her thyroid. X is now facing a round of radio iodine treatment. This means X’s job is on hold until she has had her treatment, and more is known about her condition.
Rachael added: “We really thought we had cracked it for X and then this. Fortunately, the employer has kindly agreed to keep the opportunity open for her and I went with her to explain the situation to them. But our support for her doesn’t end with work. Now X faces an operation and both her and Y need our support in different ways because there isn’t a regular income coming in.
“We have organised food bank parcels for them so X can ensure Y has food during her next stay in hospital. We’ve helped meet the cost of electricity and gas, supported X with making doctors’ appointments and met the cost of a bus pass so she can get around and to the hospital.
“We’ve also put her in touch MacMillan cancer support and helped with a grant application for an additional bed for X as she won’t be able to share with Y until the effects of the treatment, which effectively leaves her radioactive for a time, have worn off.
“Some people might say these are not employment issues we’re dealing with. They might not be directly, but they are human issues. If we continue to support X, then hopefully she can focus on her recovery and build up her strength without stress or worry so that eventually she will be able to start the job she was so looking forward to.”
In the meantime, X is volunteering at Rhyl’s Citizens Advice Bureau, helping others who find themselves in similar situations.
She said: “This has been a difficult time. We have spent our savings helping my husband and had to return our home and car to the bank in Portugal. Everything we had is now in a friend’s garage. I didn’t come to this country to have to take accept benefits and help. I wanted to work, pay my taxes, and look after my husband. I don’t like to accept help, so I have found that difficult, but my husband is my hero – he has been through so much and we keep going.
“I am so thankful and grateful for all of the support I have had from Working Denbighshire and from Rachael. There is joy in my heart to know I matter. I was miserable, flat, for such a long time. I was a fish out of water, and I couldn’t breathe. Working Denbighshire has helped me back to the water so I can start to swim again.
“It’s not just the support from that has made a difference but the friendship offered to me too. The overall aim is for me to work, I have a job waiting, and I hope I can get there soon.”