Adrift on the Sea of Banishment . . .

Hello Friends!

I am still adrift on what I am now {as a Traitor Superfan} calling my Sea of Banishment . . .

First, though, let's talk Parkinson's.  At the beginning of February, I have an appointment with my Parkinson's General Medicine Practitioner {from now on I shall be referring to him as my PGMP because he is not a specialist, nor is he a neurologist.  He's a practitioner of general medicine who happens to have a keen interest {sarcastically, I call this a hobby} in Parkinson's.  

Backstory synopsis: for those of you who don't know, I was diagnosed in Sept 2021 and was told I would be seen by the PGMP every six months face-to-face {F2F} with unlimited access to a Parkinson's Nurse {PN} between appointments.  I have been badly failed and after a series of rescheduled appointments, I have now not been seen F2F for 30 months.  

I received a standard hospital appointment letter with the details of my appointment including all the usual instructions to report to reception, to bring the letter, and to bring my meds with me etc.  However, a chance meeting with a PN two weeks ago brought it to my attention that this forthcoming meeting is not F2F but a Zoom meeting!!!   There is NO INDICATION whatsoever, not a dicky bird, on the letter that this is anything other than IN PERSON!!!

Our NHS is in bad enough shape without the potential waste of an appointment made in error by an administrative assistant.  Had this not been discovered, I would have paid for transport to and from the hospital, arriving for a non existent appointment while the PGMP was attempting to reach me by Zoom. 

For two and a half years, I have been self-treating and have deteriorated in many ways since my last F2F that I no longer know what symptoms are Parkinson’s and what might or might not be something else.

I think this Zoom appointment is scheduled to be no more than 30 minutes. That’s not a lot of time to cover everything that needs to be addressed after 30 months. If this appointment is anything like previous ones, ten minutes will be wasted by me having to clarify and repeat my medical history pre Parkinson’s, my current medication regime, and my medical history since my last appointment. This, imo, are things he should bring himself up to speed on BEFORE he phones me.

I have drawn up a spreadsheet of symptoms and my interpretation of how bad/good/do not have on a scale of 1 to 10 as pertains to me and also prepared a document of bullet points that I wish to cover and have emailed it ahead.

I think, I hope I’ve covered everything I want to address, but am going to be seriously {mad as a rabid dog} assertive if I do not get enough airtime. I think he will be mad at me because in December I reported the inadequacies of my region to my Senedd representative who is fully on board with me.

Update on the BANISHMENT . . . yes, I am a Traitors Superfan . . . from META platforms.  I have, as of the time of typing this, heard nothing.  Did I expect to? {rhetorical question}.  The message that I shared on my last blog entry from my Facebook page remains the same.  I have, however, found out that while one of my Instagram profiles is deleted, the other one is only partially so, which is bizarre.  I can post photos and comment on the photos of others, but not everyone can see or comment on mine, while some can, and some followers/friends can Private Message me, but others can't.  The situation keeps on getting weirder and weirder.

I spent ages last evening faffing about on Microsoft Designer learning how to use it {it comes with my Microsoft Office monthly subscription package} and made the following poster to draw attention to my plight on Instagram. 

{I confess that maybe I had a little bit too much fun playing with this programme}

I think maybe I should make another one asking people to disseminate my plight on their own platforms so that people will know why I've suddenly disappeared, er been BANISHED . . .

In the meanwhile, I am making an altered book.

I purchased this lovely Almanac in 2019 and it served me well, but being an Almanac, it is full of date sensitive material which after 2019 is of little use other than reference. So, I am working through it, keeping the remaining useable information pages intact and creating art in various forms on the other pages.  I will share these with you from time to time.  Here are two in progress . . . 

I hope that I will soon have better news for you about my Banishment.

Until next time

Debbie xx

Humanity, Common Sense and Artificial UNintelligence

Hello Friends!

Just to let those of you who are friends with me on Facebook and/or follow me on Instagram you may find yourselves a friend or follower down because META in their infinite wisdom decided to disable my account without telling me why.

Yesterday evening I was online with my Facebook tab open and the next thing the page flickered and suddenly I was looking at a blank page with a warning triangle and a message informing me that I have violated their T’s&C’s.

Of course, I have not been told what I have done, just that I have done it, whatever "it" is, and that "it" has been decided by AI technology. 

Well, thank you very much META. This is the point where I have to step back and remember to breathe.  Suspending me for breaking rules is one thing but suspending me and not telling me what it is that I have done so that I can defend myself is pathetic, ridiculous, and unfair. This is artificial intelligence, {or should that be unintelligence} my friends.

I struggled with page after page of instructions on how to submit an appeal, then struggled filling out forms to submit said appeal only to be told that there is just one shot at this and if unsuccessful there is no right to appeal said decision.  Either it will be successful or it won't and if the latter, then they're going to permanently delete all my profiles.

Aside from not knowing what I have done wrong, the most irritating thing is that not only has this decision been made by a non-human, but the appeal is also conducted by AI technology or, possibly by a human being. I honestly think if a human being had assessed whatever is causing the problem we wouldn't be in this situation now. To think that my future on these two social media platforms is being decided by an obviously inferior entity beggars belief. 

FYI: I have two Facebook profiles, one of which is obsolete and has not been used for 12 years, and my current one. I keep the old one as a backup and my current one is to keep in touch with local organisations for information, e.g. the local City Council, the County Council, the GP's surgery, what's on in my locality, and so on. I also keep in touch with several Parkinson's organisations and forums. All of this is vital to me, providing me with information and keeping me updated on news regarding Parkinson's.

So thanks a bunch META for being such absolute petty Jobsworths and in making the life of at least one disabled person extremely difficult. Goodness only knows how many others you've put in this situation.  What happened to humanity and common sense?

It would be courteous if they at least allowed me to defend myself and send an e-mail, but no, we the users of these platforms are so unimportant that they won't even let us speak to someone.  This my friends is the way forward. I'm not going to be allowed to have any say in the matter.

My Instagram profiles are countrywaysandcottagedays and WelshDebsArt.  I have not been able to confirm what has happened to WelshDebsArt, but I can confirm that countrywaysandcottagedays has been deleted. I can also confirm that both Facebook profiles have been deleted as I have had someone check for me and they are no longer visible.

Since composing the above, I have discovered that this has something to do with my "Business account" which is interesting as I do not have a business account!!!

Until next time

Debbie xx