Renata’s answers, in the order they appear on the paper form

On most days she can now walk to the kitchen using her wheeled walker, but she still cannot cook a meal. She does not have the strength in her hands and arms to lift a kettle with water in it, open the microwave door, open the freezer, open tins or jars, or peel and chop ingredients. She cannot use the oven or hob. She can only manage very simple things: she can turn on the tap, lift a fork or spoon, and carry a plate or a small mug a short distance. If food has already been cooked and left out for her in a pot or pan on the counter, she can help herself to it.

All of her meals are cooked by family or by her carers, who visit once every day (arranged through the council) and prepare food and drinks for her.

On bad days she stays in bed or in the armchair and everything has to be brought to her. Last month she had a fever and was back in bed for a whole week, unable to do any of this.

She has improved compared to earlier this year. On most days she can feed herself with a fork or spoon, and she can cut up her own food as long as it is not hard to cut — harder food such as meat still has to be cut up for her. She can now lift a small mug and drink from it, although anything bigger or heavier is too much for her hands.

Because of the muscle wasting caused by her liver condition, she still needs to eat little and often. She sometimes forgets or has no appetite, and family or carers still need to prompt and encourage her to eat. The vomiting episodes she used to have have stopped.

On bad days she needs much more help — food has to be brought to her in bed and she needs encouragement to eat it.

She cannot manage her medication fully on her own. Several of her medicines come in bottles with screw lids which she cannot reliably open because of the weakness in her hands. A friend who lives in the same household prepares her medication in a daily pill box and gives it to her. She can push pills out of foil blister packs herself.

Carers arranged through the council now visit her once every day, usually between 9:30 and 11:30, and give her food, drinks and her medication if needed, as well as helping her around the house.

Her condition is still checked daily by the friend she lives with, her family and the carers, who look out for changes such as increased confusion or a decline in her mobility.

She attends physiotherapy roughly once every three weeks. She cannot get there on her own — a non-urgent ambulance service has to be booked in advance to take her and bring her home.

She also does the home exercises the physiotherapist has shown her, in bed, on her own or with help from family — these are helping her slowly regain mobility at home.

The house only has a bath, no shower, and she is not steady enough to get in and out of a bath or stand in it safely, so she still cannot bathe or shower at all. Her washing is done with a flannel and wet wipes.

On most days she can now stand at the sink and slowly wash her hands and face and brush her teeth herself. She can also slowly wash parts of her body with a flannel, but she cannot manage a thorough wash — someone else still has to wash the parts she cannot reach, and her hair always has to be washed for her.

On bad days she cannot manage any of this and is washed in bed by family or carers.

On most days she can now walk to the bathroom using her wheeled walker. On worse days she uses a commode kept in her room, which someone else has to empty and clean for her. She still wears incontinence pads at all times as a back-up, because she does not feel completely safe — the diuretic medicines she takes for fluid retention make her need to urinate much more frequent and urgent.

She can usually clean herself and change her own pad, but slowly. Sometimes she cannot flush the toilet because the lever is too stiff for her hands.

On bad days, and during spells of illness such as the fever she had last month, she cannot get to the bathroom at all and needs help with all of her toilet needs.

On most days she can now dress and undress herself slowly, but only in loose, comfortable clothing. Socks and anything tight-fitting are still too difficult for her, and usually the carers or her family help her get dressed in the morning.

She cannot wash or change her own clothes — she does not have the strength to open the washing machine — so her daughter and the carers manage her laundry.

On bad days she cannot dress or undress herself at all and someone has to do it for her.

English is not her first language (she is Lithuanian), so she can need extra time to understand and respond, especially on the telephone.

Her confusion has improved a lot compared to the start of the year. On most days she understands what is going on around her and can hold a normal conversation. She is a little more forgetful than she used to be, so she writes appointments and important details down herself — a system that works well for her.

She still has occasional bad spells caused by her blood and liver condition. Last month, while her haemoglobin was very low, she had about a week where she was noticeably forgetful and followed less of what was happening around her. Between such spells her thinking is clear.

Her first language is Lithuanian, so she reads English more slowly than a native speaker. On most days she can read and understand ordinary letters and instructions, taking her time.

During a bad spell — like the week last month when her haemoglobin dropped very low — reading tires her and takes longer, and family help by explaining letters in simple terms. On normal days she reads and understands her own letters without help, just more slowly because English is her second language.

She is still housebound, so her social contact is limited to her family, the friend she lives with, and the carers who visit every day. She gets on well with the carers and enjoys talking to them, and this daily contact has genuinely lifted her mood — she is much less depressed than she was at the start of the year, because she can see her health slowly improving.

She only goes outside into the garden, and only with family supervision, as she is unsteady on her feet. She is waiting for a wheelchair so that she can be taken out to the street or the park. Apart from hospital and physiotherapy appointments she has no social life outside the house and cannot visit anyone or attend any activities.

On bad days and during spells of illness she becomes more withdrawn and less communicative — not in a bad way; she simply follows less of what is going on and has less energy for conversation.

On most days she is mentally able to plan a journey, but she is still physically unable to make one on her own. She never leaves the house alone. She goes out only for hospital and physiotherapy appointments, and for those a non-urgent ambulance has to be booked in advance — the crew bring a wheelchair, take her to the appointment and bring her home again. She cannot use public transport or get to a vehicle by herself.

Otherwise the furthest she gets is the garden, with a family member supervising her because she is so unsteady. She is waiting for a wheelchair so that family can take her out to the street or the park.

Her walking varies from day to day. On a typical day, using a wheeled walker, she can manage about 20 metres before needing a long rest; on bad days she cannot walk at all and stays in bed.

Indoors she gets around with a wheeled walker frame, which she pushes rather than lifts. She is unstable the whole time — she walks like a toddler learning to walk — and tires very quickly because of the muscle wasting caused by her liver condition. Without the walker she can only take a few shaky steps, and she never uses the stairs.

On bad days she stays in bed and uses a commode in her room. Illness sets her back badly — last month a fever put her back in bed for a whole week. Her fractured foot causes constant pain, like walking on glass, and regularly swells, which makes walking harder again.

She is housebound and does not yet have a wheelchair of her own; for hospital appointments a pre-booked ambulance crew bring a wheelchair and help her into it. She continues physiotherapy about once every three weeks and does her exercises at home, but she still cannot move around outside the home.

Her liver disease decompensated in around October 2025 and she spent about six months severely ill and almost completely bedbound. New medication started in late 2025 (including Rifaximin) made a big difference: her liver has recompensated and since spring 2026 she has slowly been regaining mobility with physiotherapy. This form describes her needs as they are now.

Even so, her needs remain substantial. She is housebound, walks indoors only with a wheeled walker — about 20 metres before needing a long rest — and needs help every day with cooking, washing, medication, laundry and dressing. Council carers visit once every day (roughly 9:30 to 11:30), on top of daily support from her family and the friend she lives with.

Her health still fluctuates. Her haemoglobin remains close to critical levels — in late June 2026 her GP sent her to A&E after seeing her blood results, and she was sent home with iron supplements. Bad spells arrive without warning: last month a fever put her back in bed for a full week, and there is an ongoing risk that her liver could decompensate again. A liver transplant is planned once she is strong enough.

The house is not adapted to her needs — only a bath, which she cannot use safely, so she is washed with a flannel. She uses a wheeled walker and a commode, wears pads as a back-up, and is waiting for a wheelchair so she can be taken outside. Emotionally she is much better than she was, though she still has low days when illness sets her back. She still needs encouragement to eat, and she keeps written notes to stay organised.

+447938559300 (son – preferred contact on behalf of claimant)

Please do not call before 1pm on any day.

She is housebound and does not yet have a wheelchair of her own. She cannot use stairs and can only walk about 20 metres with a wheeled walker before needing a long rest. If a face-to-face assessment is required, she would need non-urgent ambulance transport to and from the assessment, with a wheelchair provided by the crew or available on site. For these reasons we would strongly prefer a telephone assessment.