I earn £100,000 for killer disease dad

Jun 8 2008 Additional Reporting By Jane Barrie

THE heart-breaking plight of Raymond Edmond is one of the most harrowing cases I've come across in all my years of fighting for readers.

Dad-of-two Raymond has a life threatening growth on his brain which cannot be operated on.

He cannot carry out many basic tasks and there's little chance of him working again.

Yet Friends Provident were refusing to pay his £100,000 critical illness policy.

When Raymond's wife Larian called me in their young family was spiralling deeper and deeper into debt and relying on family and friends for handouts and buying food.

Devastated Larian, 29, said: "I am begging you for help. You are our only hope.

"We took out the critical illness cover to insure ourselves against the worst. Now when we need it most they won't help."

Raymond, 30, of Maryhill, Glasgow, was rushed to hospital in January after complaining of persistent headaches.

Larian, a full-time mum to Cameron, seven, and Lauren, 11, said: "He had been to his GP who passed it off as stress.

"He said if there was anything really wrong with him he would start to lose his motor skills."

But the next morning Raymond could not talk or walk.

Larian said: "He was taken to hospital and it was touch and go. I was numb. I couldn't believe what was happening.

"The doctors initially thought it was an inner ear infection but a CT scan confirmed the worst. He had a growth on the stem of his brain which could not be operated on because it was too dangerous."

Raymond, a spray paint shop foreman, was taken for surgery to alleviate the pressure and ended up in hospital for five weeks.

Larian said: "To this day the surgeons don't know what the growth is because they can't take a biopsy because of its location."

Raymond suffered a massive seizure after the surgery and has been left with emotional and mental problems.

Larian said: "It was horrific. When he came back from theatre he had a drain and staples in his scalp.

"He may have made a recovery but Raymond is not the person he was. There's a complete change in his personality. He used to be laid-back now he's angry and anxious.

"This is particularly hard for the children as their dad is just not the same any more and they can't understand that. He has no short-term memory, gets tired all the time, can't sleep or see properly."

Larian submitted a claim to Friends Provident in January as they had taken out the £21-a-month policy in 2003.

She did not expect any problems in receiving the £100,000 they were due.

But Friends Provident had other ideas.

They refused to pay because the growth had not been officially diagnosed.

Larian said: "The growth can never be diagnosed because of its location. Friends Provident know that. They are trying to wriggle out of this on a technicality."

The couple tried to borrow money to survive. They have a £22,500 mortgage and their outgoings are £1300 a month but they only receive £580 - sick pay, benefits and a small income replacement policy.

The £100,000 would pay off the mortgage and clear their crippling credit card and hire purchase debts. Larian complained to Friends Provident but got nowhere.

She said: "They just kept saying the diagnosis of Raymond's condition is unclear and they are unable to justify paying the claim." I got on to Friends Provident and in an amazing turnaround they agreed to pay the £100,000...plus interest.

They said: "We declined the initial claim as it didn't come under the terms of his policy. But a later CT scan showed a small area of bleeding in his brain.

"A review of the medical evidence was undertaken. As a result we are satisfied we can regard the illness as a stroke within the terms of the policy."

Tearful Larian said: "I don't know how to thank you. I can concentrate on getting Raymond well now. You have no idea what you have done for us."

I'm just glad to be able to help.