A MARRIED couple are terrified of being plunged into debt due to the rising cost of life saving heating and electricity.
Gary and Natasha Waterhouse, who always need the heating on to survive, have already seen their bills increase two-fold this winter and now fear they’ll be left with a life-or-death decision.
MirrorpixGary and Natasha Waterhouse both suffer from life threatening conditions and need the heating and electricity on at all times[/caption]
Natasha, 50, who lives with her partner and three children in Peterborough, suffers from a spinal cord tumour which affects her body’s ability to regulate temperature.
It means extremes of hot and cold can cause her pain.
Conversely, Gary, also 50, suffers from sleep apnea – a disorder that causes breathing to repeatedly stop and re-start when he’s asleep.
And to stay alive he uses a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device that blows air into his airways during sleep.
Gary explained that both conditions require a huge use of heating and electricity – including charging crucial medical equipment – and have forced the family to make cutbacks.
He told The Mirror: “We’ve had to prioritise our electricity to keep me alive. No exaggeration.
“So the other bills have had to take a back seat because we’ve had to have electricity no matter what. Because we’re on a prepayment meter, if we don’t have electricity, it stops.”
The couple have seen their bills soar amid the energy crisis and currently spend approximately £200 a month on electricity and £130 a month on gas.
The pair had previously held down jobs since the age of 14, with Natasha having worked in office administration and Gary as a members of in the civil service.
But after Natasha received her life changing diagnosis in 2017, Gary was forced to leave his previously well-paid position to become hi wife’s full-time carer.
Now the pair have mainly on benefits, meaning the financial pressures of the last few months have hit them hard.
As a carer, Gary receives carers’ allowance amounting to around £69.70 a week.
And he says getting somebody to do the job for him would set him them back £15 an hour.
He has since attempted to improve their way of life by getting a car on finance to drive as a taxi – however, the high-interest payments have proved to be unsustainable.
Gary said: “The taxi lasted two months because the engine went. It now needs money spending on it, money I haven’t got, so now I’m in a worse situation, trying to work my way out of it.
“I’ve tried to keep three teenagers happy, fed, watered. It’s been tough emotionally and physically.”
As a result, the family have been forced to use food banks and rely on their benefits to see them through.
But Gary says this is not enough.
He told the outlet: “Carers in this country are forgotten about really, sadly.
“I had a meeting online yesterday with Turn2us and Carers UK, and everybody said how much money carers save the national health service.”
Gary has now continued his taxi work in the evenings and noted that his children also contribute to amenities through their part time job.
And looking ahead to this Christmas he emphasised: “As long as we get food, that’s the main thing.
“We’ve been making cutbacks for Christmas for the last few years, so this won’t be much of a change. It’ll be just token presents for everybody and then just basically being together as the main thing.
“Presents are material, but family time is the main thing for us, and that’s what we thrive on.”