Mary has severe rheumatoid arthritis and cannot use her limbs. Her personal assistance is funded by the Independent Living Fund. She says, “It gave me my life back, because I’d spent two years in my bed watching the seasons change, and this funding comes along saying, You don’t have to live like this.” Now the government has announced the Fund’s closure, Mary says, “It is hitting me at the heart of my being.” She explains how she will be forced to give her two dogs away, unable to finish her lunch because she is only allowed one hour of care, to stay in wet incontinence pads for hours at a time, and sit alone in her chair all afternoon. She says, “I am absolutely petrified of my future. My weight has gone down to six stone. At one point I almost snapped, so I had a little brick wall built around my pond so I didn’t go in.”