Helping a fellow blogger

If you have a moment to spare this eveing, we'd REALLY love you to read this post from Cactus Kate. It's an outstanding insight into a very sad situation - check this out:

HoS appears to have been reading the sad plight of my mate and the mate of many bloggers, Whaleoil aka Cameron Slater.

Today is probably the most truthful article yet on Whaleoil because it was written with cut and pasted words from his wife and best mate aka Spanish Bride from his blog.

I've only known Cameron for a few years and all the time I have known him has been under the mantra of Whaleoil. Unlike SB, I have not known him as Cameron, before his spiral into depression.

I don't know all the background of his fight with Fidelity and what led up to his depressive state, because I wasn't there. SB was. She remarks that he was a different man before the events leading to his illness. I believe that now totally.

We've had a few conversations with Cam lately, and with some of his mates. All is far from well with him. Fidelity Life's unilateral decision to cut off his income protection payments has imposed enormous stress on Cam and his family - Cactus notes:

Insurance companies are not paid to care. I feel however they are paid to follow contracts and assist their clients back into the workforce so they are not made to rely on payouts. There's no doubt in my mind that Cameron Slater as Whaleoil is one of the most clinically depressed people I have ever met. While the original event leading to this depression may have been minor in the scheme of things Fidelity and the medical professionals who treated him from that point in time have failed miserably and created Whaleoil as we all read him today on his blog.

We know a bit about depression - from bitter personal experience. We've been in that endless, dark tunnel. We've even at one point considered ending it all. It's not a place we ever want to go back to, and God willing, we won't.

WhaleOil doesn't have that luxury. He has been treated appallingly by his insurer. He wants his day in Court to seek recompense, but that is far from assured. In the meantime, his life, and the lives of his wife and children are in limbo.

Cactus Kate tells this story far better than we ever could, and we commend her blog-piece to you. WhaleOil may not be everyone's cup of tea, and he's written some pretty strong stuff of late. Cactus' post gives an insight into that.

In the meantime, we send our thoughts and our prayers to the Slaters; it's all we can offer at the moment, but we believe from experience that prayer works. In particular we acknowledge Spanish Bride who has supported her husband way, way beyond expectation.

And should anyone from Fidelty Life read this, we have a plea for them; sort this mess out, suck it up, and show some of the qualities your website refers to - especially the bit that says "Keeping families strong". It's not too late for you to do the right thing.