Just Another B@lls Up, So What's New

Not doing what you had asked!

2008-05-12T22:44:00.010+01:00

I thought I had cancelled my Debenhams account. At least that is what I had asked their customer support advisor to do.

This morning I received a statement from Debenhams, with the additional late charges reimbursed, but account still showing active. Despite my specific request that I wanted the account closed, it remains active. It's as if nothing happened; that I hadn't brought to their attention the unfair billing and additional unreasonable costs.

Doesn't anyone listen anymore? I said I wanted it closed, and they had agreed to close the account when I phoned up last month. So now, yet another phone call to make, another explanation to give, and more of my time wasted on the phone.

Rule 4: Adopt a proportional response

2008-04-08T11:07:00.009+01:00

Had a frustrating morning, started by opening Debenhams store account statement. I had a total balance of £27 owing for something I bought 4 weeks ago. First time for many years I had missed the payment deadline by ---------- 1 day!

Debenhams had added another £12 late charge payment. Total now £39 .... so I phoned them up this morning.

I said it was totally amoral of them to charge £12 on a balance of £27, especially when for the past 6 years they could see I had always paid off the full amount each month whenever I used the facility, and had spent thousands of pounds with them. Nonetheless irritated, I said politely that I wanted to close the account. They immediately took the £12 off, but not willing to offer apology nor wanting to accept they had acted hastily in my particular case. I suggested in promoting customer relations and reminding me of incurring a late payment charge they could have sent a txt message/made a phone call/sent an email which often they do 4 or 5 times a month enticing me to spend more on my card account, and advertising special purchases in-store/online for cardholders. If there was a late charge imposed then - as the Courts have recently found for normal high-street bank customers - charges should be proportionate to the amount owing.

As a matter of principal, in choosing to close the account for the above reasons, it might hopefully register with their retail company and show a token of disapproval. The retail experience would leave me telling my friends and family how awful Debenhams were, (apart from reimbursing the £12), and perhaps put them off from opening one of their retail card accounts.

Therefore, RULE 4: Adopt a fair and proportional response.

RULE 3: Be reasonable to the point of being unreasonable

2006-09-07T16:00:00.001+01:00

We all like to be considered as acting or behaving in a reasonable manner. However, sometimes just trying to be reasonable, or remaining as such is the hardest thing anyone can do. Indeed, there must come a moment in everyone's life that just being reasonable doesn't achieve results nor pay in any short or long term.

I've spent the past 4 years being reasonable and it's got me to nowhere. Each morning I get out of bed, shower, brush my teeth etc, and then finally put on my reasonable hat before leaving the house so I'm able to face life's little challenges in a reasonable way.

Where has this got me and to what real effect? In short, to the point of diddly squat squared.

Therefore, RULE 3: Be reasonable to the point of being unreasonable.

RULE 2: Do it to them before they do it to you

2006-09-06T16:45:00.002+01:00

How many times have you had something done to you and wished you had done it first? Been there, seen it, got the T-shirt? Oh, to have a mark-one, early-warning crystal ball. If it's out there, please let me know.

So RULE 2: Do it to them before they do it to you

Personal Injury Claim

2005-06-28T23:27:00.000+01:00

DAVID BARRINGTON - v - WORCESTER ROYAL INFIRMARY NHS TRUST
PERSONAL INJURY MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIM

On 5 September 1997 I was admitted to the Worcester Royal Infirmary (WRI) NHS Trust Hospital having been diagnosed with urethra colic by my GP. There followed a series of events that culminated on 9 September 1997 with a Consultant Urologist performing right ureteroscopy, (the insertion of a long, flexible scope up through the urethra, bladder and ureter to just below the right kidney). This routine procedure saw the avulsion (tearing in two) of the ureter at the top where it joins the kidney and a further avulsion at the bottom where it connects to the bladder; in other words, its subsequent entire loss. The resulting injury was accepted by the Chief Executive WRI NHS Trusts hospital as negligent.

From all available evidence the procedure to remove my kidney stone was performed in far from ideal circumstances: I was late for my operation, it was the last operation of the day and I had not had any x-rays taken 24 hrs prior to being pushed into theatre. I had witnessed a temper outburst by the surgeon as I was being transferred to the operating table. In fact, I had wanted to stop the operation because I was unhappy with the conduct of the surgeon. But I couldn't.

Prior to ureteroscopy I had agreed to this surgery being conducted under anaesthetic. Unfortunately, I had had my pre-medication and the anaesthesia had started to take affect and so I was now no longer in a position to speak or wave my hands. I wanted to tell theatre staff that I was unhappy with the consultant's temper outburst and I did not want the operation to proceed. But the operation did go ahead and for the first few minutes I was well aware of what was being said and the abusive language around me. It is now recognised that I had had only a partial anaesthetic for the first part of the procedure. It came as no surprise for me to finally awake in Intensive Care Unit (ITU) and be told that much of my urinary system had been removed (or torn out!). I was devastated; I felt totally numb for what seemed hours. The hours turned into days, then weeks and then years. Looking back, I feel that I had been butchered. I am still suffering from post traumatic shock.

Emergency surgery followed the avulsion, (whereby a nephrostomy tube was inserted into my kidney and a bag attached externally to collect the flow of urine). This has left me with a wound 20 inches or more in length. Since then I have undergone further extensive ileum-interposition reconstructive surgery, (the insertion of an ileal segment of bowel between the kidney and bladder), in an attempt to preserve some urinary function. This was conducted by a South African urologist at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Birmingham where my care has been transferred.

Following the injury I now suffer considerable pain; this will be permanent. I have to empty my bladder by self-catheterisation five or six times a day; this will need to be done for the rest of my life. I am required to take antibiotics to treat the urine tract infections that occur about every 4 to 6 weeks; these infections happen with regularity and have required periods of hospitalisation. In the future I face the prospect of undergoing the further surgical procedure of right nephrectomy and the removal of some ileum which I am told will involve complex and challenging surgery.

My employment prospects have been severely affected. I am unable to work full time and as a result have suffered both a loss of earnings and a handicap and/or disadvantage in the labour market. I am assessed as 80% disabled. I suffer from post traumatic stress and am continuing to receive ongoing treatment. I also depend upon treatment provided by Pain Management Clinics in Birmingham and Selly Oak. This has made working very difficult.

My last employment was an officer in the Royal Air Force where I held the rank of Flight Lieutenant. I did try and work part-time for the West Mercia Constabulary at their Headquarters in Worcester for three and a half years. This was sometimes difficult due to my injuries, the drugs, problems with cathertering and I found traveling between Birmingham and Worcester just too difficult. I've had to stop driving.

In February 1998 I instructed a personal injury solicitor (Irwin Mitchell Solicitors) and issued a High Court action for compensation and damages. The litigation successfully ended on 3 May 2002 with Judgement being handed down in the Birmingham High Court. I was awarded substaintial damages.

After the court proceding I wrote to the Chief Executive of the WRI NHS Trust, Mrs Ruth Harrison. In her response, she was unable to satisfactorily explain some of the questions I put to her surrounding my injury and the conduct of the operation. I had asked for an explanation of what had taken place particularly the temper outburst of the consultant urologist in Worcester. She replied that as all the staff present during the operation had either left the hospital or retired from service she was unable to help me. She did express her sincere apologies for the difficulties I have experienced ever since.

And so what are the good things that have happened to me?

Meeting new friends who have been extremely supportive and understanding during my many moments of crisis. I have learnt what true friendship is and made new friends, all of whom continue to enrich my life.

It goes without saying I'm really appreciative of the professional care workers, my GPs, the surgeons and nurses in Birmingham, the Shaw Trust (the charity who got me back to work), my physiotherapist in Worcester and my colleagues at West Mercia Constabulary Headquarters; all of whom have helped me adjust my life and get me out of bed each morning.

Road Map of my Inside

2005-06-28T17:23:00.000+01:00

In November 1997 I underwent an operation at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital under urologist Mr Arnold and visiting surgeon from South Africa, Mr Manning. The operation restored my unrinary system by inserting a segment of ileum between my right kidney and bladder.

I am required to void my bladder using intermittent cathetering. My urinary roadmap looks something like this.

My Story - On the receiving end

2005-06-28T13:13:00.001+01:00

Published in medical journal 'Human Givens – Radical Psychology Today' Volume 9, No 2 Summer 2002
ISSN: 1473-4850 Edited Denise Winn

On the receiving end . . .

David Barrington describes how he has been helped to overcome the trauma of a devastating incident of medical negligence.

ONE day in September 1997, my name was the last on the morning surgery list at a hospital in the West Midlands. I had been admitted as an emergency five days previously, in excruciating agony from a kidney stone. Given the choice of waiting to pass it or, the recommended option, having a surgeon remove it via a ureteroscope, I had been happy to opt for the non-evasive surgery. No one had mentioned any risks, which apparently were negligible. So began the day that changed my life.

Despite being down for morning surgery, it was 2.30pm before my turn came. I remember being given an injection and having a mask put over my face but I was still conscious as I was wheeled into the theatre. There I saw the surgeon, red in the face, and bellowing at the theatre staff. Why had I been brought in so late? Why hadn’t I had my X-rays done? He seemed to be roaring at the anaesthetist to get a move on with anaesthetising me, as he was in a hurry and had an afternoon list to start, for which he was already late. The theatre staff seemed to be trying to look busy, to distance themselves from what was going on and to avoid being drawn into the confrontation. The surgeon had completely lost his temper and was swearing and being abusive. He clearly didn’t want to be there and, from that point, neither did I. I lost all confidence and wanted to stop the operation from going ahead but my muscles were already paralysed, preventing me from signalling my distress. Shortly I slipped into unconsciousness.   

The surgery goes wrong. . . Somehow, it was no surprise when I woke up to find myself in the intensive care unit being told that something had gone wrong. Yet no one told me what or why – I was just informed that I had three options for corrective action. The brisk manner of the staff and the marked lack of anyone acknowledging responsibility made me think I must have been to blame myself – I had done some demanding stretching exercises the previous evening to relax myself and wondered if I had overdone it.  

Eventually I discovered that, during the operation, the ureter, the tube which connects the kidney to the bladder, had been torn away from the top of the kidney and that, when the surgeon removed the ureteroscope, he had torn the other end of the ureter away from the bladder as well. It at once seemed obvious to me - even as a lay person - that he must have used considerably more force than was clinically acceptable, a likelihood reinforced by the fact that I had myself witnessed him in a temper.  

Shortly afterward, it was decided to transfer my care to another hospital and surgeon. I was transferred in an enormous amount of pain to a university hospital where, on the recommendation of a South African surgeon who took time to comfort me and explain my options, I was given an ileum conduit. This involved removing a section of my ileum and attaching it between kidney and bladder to provide a conduit for urine. I had been warned that, although the procedure offered the best chance of good quality of life, it carried a raised risk of infection and, while the operation went well, infection duly set in afterwards which took several months to heal. Significant scarring also developed around the wound. I knew, however, that I was on the mend when the suprapubic catheter and nephostomy tubing could be removed and I was able to pass urine in the normal way.

But that was far from the end of the matter. Once home, I remained in considerable pain from the scarring, which seemed to surface out of the blue at any time. Despite using distraction techniques to control it, it would always break through. Also, every six weeks or so I regularly suffered a bladder infection, causing cystitis-type pain, shaking and flu-like symptoms. From being a very active person who enjoyed climbing mountains, walking and going to the gym, I could hardly do any exercise at all, couldn’t sit in one position for long and, when driving, could manage only about 20 or 30 miles before having to stop altogether.  

A roaring lion . . . I had decided to make a compensation claim against the original hospital on grounds of negligence and had to spend much of my time dealing with correspondence and documents and talking with lawyers. For some (to me) inexplicable reason, every time I tried to talk about or deal with some aspect of the injury, I would experience a huge welling of emotion and end up in floods of tears. The reaction was completely out of my control and always shocked me with its magnitude. I would be dripping with perspiration and almost reliving what I had gone through. This happened frequently when I was with my lawyer or work colleagues, to my enormous embarrassment. I started to be fearful about how I would ever get through a court appearance. But,desperate though my situation felt, I also had a sense of determination to confront it and sort it out.

To make things worse, most nights of the week, I would wake up in a great panic, drenched in sweat, trembling and shaking from nightmares. Once I dreamed I was being eaten by a roaring lion and was aware of huge commotion and noise as I desperately tried to fend it off. On another occasion, I dreamed I was watching my own surgery and was trying to hold an undulating, gaping wound together with my fingers. Another time I dreamed that someone was sawing my hands off. Anxious to get back to work and have something else to engage my mind besides the compensation claim, I found a job through the Shaw Trust, a charity that helps less able bodied people find employment, and started a job as a systems analyst. (Previously I had been an IT computer specialist.) It has taken 4 years for me to work up to the 16 hours a week that I currently do. Still suffering debilitating pain, however, which seemed to increase rather than diminish, I was referred by a physiotherapist to Dr Browne, a musculoskeletal and sports physician at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham. He talked a lot of sense about the nature of my pain and worked with me on ways to lessen it.  

When he asked about my sleep patterns, and I told him about the nightmares, he said that taking the emotion out of my memory of my experience would lessen my pain and help me cope better with anything connected with my injuries. He then told me of a technique involving hypnotherapy which could help to do just that. I wasn’t too enthusiastic, as I had had some counselling and hypnotherapy in the past and it hadn’t been helpful. This, he said, would be different. I was sceptical but, because I trusted him, I agreed to give it a try.  

A beach in Crete . . . At our next appointment, Dr Brown explained that he would be putting me into a deeply relaxing trance. I was quite happy for him to do that and found it very easy, as he suggested, to imagine myself in a place, real or imaginary, that I found safe and special. I chose a particular beach in Crete, my favourite place in all the world to be alone in, where a stream of fresh water meanders down the coastal mountainside.

I first had to imagine watching myself looking at a big remote controlled video screen. Then, as if pressing a rewind button, I had to watch a backwards run through the trauma of the operation, starting from a time when I felt safe because the trauma was over and ending at a point before the trauma had begun. Then I was asked to ‘fast forward’ through the incident, starting at that point pre-trauma and ending up after it was all over. If I became overly anxious at any time, I was to feel free to return to my beach. But I didn’t feel anxious. I felt comfortable and deeply relaxed and, after running through the event twice both backwards and forwards, felt no further need to do it again. It had lost its potency.  Dr Brown then led me through a rehearsal of a forthcoming meeting with my lawyers in London, which I had been dreading. I visualised myself discussing my injuries clearly and calmly, without any tears.  

A milestone in recovery . . . When I was brought out of the trance, I felt extremely relaxed and peaceful. In the car home, I remember feeling the same sensations of returning after a marvellous holiday – relaxed and refreshed but now focused on collecting luggage, getting home and getting on with daily life. I felt strongly that something had happened to change things. It was a significant but subtle feeling, and I recognised it as being as important a milestone in my recovery as when I first started to benefit from completely emptying my bladder by means of daily catheterisation. My nightmares stopped immediately. I may have had just one bad night’s sleep since, which paled into insignificance compared with regularly waking up desperate, fighting for my life.

 After the session, I sailed through a meeting with my lawyer and later, a case conference with Counsel. In fact, I started to worry that people wouldn’t believe in court what suffering I had been through. I had no trouble coping with three days in court during the trial, and I did win my case. Occasionally I might have felt a slight rising of anxiety but, as Dr Brown taught me, I just slowed my breath and waited for it to pass. It even happened a couple of times while writing this article. But I know now that I can control it and no longer have the terror that I am going to die. I can separate talking about the injury from the re-experiencing of it, and can see my post-traumatic reaction, which previously mystified and overwhelmed me, for exactly what it was.  

The physician’s tale . . . DAVID was referred to me in December of 2001. He had been suffering with intractable regional pain affecting one half of his body down to his groin, round the kidney area and stomach, for about four years. It all came on after a major operation which had gone badly wrong. The hospital trust admitted negligence and the case was expected to go to trial for the award of damages a few months after I first saw David.  

The social, occupational and emotional consequences on David’s life were major. What impressed me immediately about him was his determination to move on and restore quality to his life again. He had had treatment in a pain clinic and had attended a counsellor. Furthermore, he did not harbour excessive anger or bitterness towards the surgeon, and I was stuck by his objective and balanced account of events.  

He had some goals to aim for which I thought were realistic and achievable, and one of my tasks was to identify the obstacles to his progress towards these goals. Rather surprisingly for a chronic pain sufferer, he did not appear significantly depressed. He did, however, suddenly become tearful and distressed when talking about his bladder function.  

Pain signals. . . When I physically examined him he was very anxious and clearly became hyperaroused. The tissue paper on the examination plinth was soaked with sweat after the examination. He was extremely sensitive to light touch over the painful areas.  

I explained to David that one contributing factor to the pain problem was the excessive muscle tension (myofascial pain) in part of his back and the abdominal muscles. I spoke about the nature of chronic pain – that it is generated by abnormal and excessive signalling in parts of the central nervous system. The nerve reflexes set up self perpetuating feedback loops. Minor mechanical stimuli such as touch or movement then can trigger these sensitised nerves to fire off pain signals. I used the metaphor of a motor vehicle alarm system being set off by the wind or raindrops on the roof rather than by forced entry. I also mentioned that longstanding emotional arousal lowers the threshold for pain signalling, inhibiting the body’s repair systems and maintaining tension in muscles that already had excessive tone. I proposed that I could use acupuncture needling to stimulate a relaxation response in the overactive deep muscles for a start. Progressive physical exercise then would improve his fitness, strength and endurance.  

I knew that David had a significant sleep disturbance, as most chronic pain patients do. At the next appointment, I enquired a little deeper about his sleep pattern. David told me for the first time about his nightmares. Not only had David been traumatised by the surgery outcome, but he had experienced an horrific partial anaesthetic. I commented on such a shocking and horrible experience, and asked if he used to experience these nightmares before the operation. He said he did not.

  I was then aware that there might be a post-traumatic stress problem, because of my knowledge that dreaming is the brain’s way of deactivating, emotionally arousing introspections from the day before. Also, spontaneous crying and sweating are indicative of hyperarousal states, characteristic of post-traumatic stress disorder. Any thinking or mention about his problem was triggering the fight or flight stress response. David would, of course, be unable to avoid stimuli associated with the trauma because of the need to pass urine, the pending court case, with all the correspondence and documents he had to deal with in connection with it, and the pain itself also acting as a constant reminder. So he was forced to focus on his problems and that in itself was an obstacle to his recovery. It all provoked emotional arousal which his brain had to try to discharge in metaphorical form through dreams at night.  

The roaring lion, which David dreamed of, is representative of a powerful, angry creature, and of course a surgeon is in a very powerful position when he is about to cut someone up or take their insides out! The noise and commotion he was conscious of probably equated to the bustling about of the theatre staff as the surgeon swore and blustered. Similarly his dream of holding his wound together might have been a metaphorical representation of his knowledge that he needed to keep himself together to get through this difficult time. Having his hands sawn off no doubt stood for the damage inflicted on his ureter, which he was obliged to dwell on daily.  

Turning down the oxygen supply. . . I put it to David that having to dwell on his experience, with all the emotions it aroused, could be fuelling the pain, just as oxygen fuels a fire. If we could turn the oxygen supply down, or even off, we would, in effect, be dealing with embers, which are much easier to put out. The post-traumatic distress was the most significant obstacle to overcome on the road to recovery.  

I then explained to him about the visual-kinaesthetic dissociation technique, otherwise known as the fast-phobia or rewind treatment, and said that I felt there was potential for improvement if we could do the technique. He agreed, and we arranged another appointment.  The trance induction was extremely easy with him and he slipped into a deeply relaxed state. I de-traumatised two memories and did some guided imagery, making a point of mentioning mountains, as he was a mountain climber, and flowing water. I talked of water flowing naturally down mountains, as a metaphor for a painfree flow of urine. While still in trance, I encouraged him to rehearse particular events coming up in the future that he might find difficult, such as travelling to see lawyers; he was breaking down in front of lawyers when discussing his problems.  

When I reassessed him two weeks later his sleep pattern had improved dramatically, and his nightmares had stopped immediately. He had travelled 100 miles to see a lawyer and had not broken down when talking about his case. During the consultation I intentionally asked him to talk about his problems again and this time he didn’t break down. When I examined him physically the tissue paper was dry on the plinth and I was able to do a little bit of physical treatment using acupuncture needles without causing distress. I asked David if he had noticed that the paper was dry, which was a way of validating and confirming his improvement. He now felt confident that further lessening of his pain was possible.  

The court case was settled satisfactorily in April and he coped with the three day trial extremely well. Having overcome that obstacle, David was ready to move onto the next stage of his rehabilitation by reducing the painkilling drugs that he was taking and embarking on a physical training programme. I agreed to continue to provide monthly acupuncture treatments during this phase as he was deriving considerable benefit.  

I fully believe that the significant obstacles to David’s further recovery have been removed, and he will be able to move on in his life. This case serves as a reminder that post-traumatic stress may be underlying and perpetuating chronic pain states that develop following trauma of any kind. The good news is that the rewind technique is a fast and effective treatment.

Quote - Anything than can happen, Will happen

2005-02-28T00:46:00.001Z

Anything can happen to anyone at any time and you shouldn't just live through the days, or you lose them. You should do what you can to enjoy every moment.
Sarah Brightman

Anything that can be done chemically can be done by other means.
William S. Burroughs

I wouldn't mind dying in a plane crash. It'd be a good way to go. I don't want to die in my sleep, or of old age, or OD... I want to feel what it's like. I want to taste it, hear it, smell it. Death is only going to happen to you once; I don't want to miss it.
Jim Morrison

If you don't make things happen then things will happen to you.
Robert Collier

In every adversity there lies the seed of an equivalent advantage. In every defeat is a lesson showing you how to win the victory next time.
Robert Collier

Most of us, swimming against the tides of trouble the world knows nothing about, need only a bit of praise or encouragement - and we will make the goal.
Robert Collier

Playing safe is probably the most unsafe thing in the world. You cannot stand still. You must go forward.
Robert Collier

I don't go around regretting things that don't happen.
Virgil Thomson

Danger - if you meet it promptly and without flinching - you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
Winston Churchill

Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.
Winston Churchill

Threescore years and ten is enough; if a man can't suffer all the misery he wants in that time, he must be numb.
Josh Billings

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.
Douglas Adams

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair.
Douglas Adams

Who is the most sensible person? The one who finds what is to their own advantage in all that happens to them.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Who is the wisest man? He who neither knows or wishes for anything else than what happens.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Whoever, in middle age, attempts to realize the wishes and hopes of his early youth, invariably deceives himself. Each ten years of a man's life has its own fortunes, its own hopes, its own desires.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.
Herodotus

I'm the type who'd be happy not going anywhere as long as I was sure I knew exactly what was happening at the places I wasn't going to. I'm the type who'd like to sit home and watch every party that I'm invited to on a monitor in my bedroom.
Andy Warhol

Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never happen.
James Russell Lowell

Some People are Born Victims

2005-02-01T08:55:00.004Z

I strongly believe some people are born victims. Victims of circumstance, life, debt, illness, disability, abuse, war, rape, family violence, disaster; the list is endless.

During my life I have been abused as a child, lost my parents, been in a motorway pileup, been in an avalanche, been made homeless, been bullied at work, suffered from Gulf War Syndrome, been a victim of serious medical negligence (my ureter being detached from the bladder and kidney because a surgeon lost his temper in the operating theatre!) .... The list seems to be never ending; no sooner than one catastrophe ends another catastrophe is found lurking behind life's next corner. I think the past 10 years my life has been a catalogue of back-to-back catastrophes.

Equally I believe some people start their life not with just one silver spoon but from the moment they are born the air of good luck seems to follow them around. It's plainly not fair! When they leave the hospital operating room they are wheeled out with a whole canteen of silver cutlery under their arm.

The good news - if being a victim can have any good news - is that often out of adversity comes greater strength and fortitude. I feel I am a better person for all that has happened to me since I'm better equipped to deal with more of life's challenges. In a sense, I now quite enjoy seeing how I can turn the negative elements of living into positive outcomes. For instance, due to fate and circumstance I am able to realise my dream of living in a top floor inner city apartment. But then, had I not been so badly injured there is no doubt in my mind that on a £67k salary with potential earnings of £120k a year assessed by the High Court, I would have clearly made it to the top sometime in my life.

So do you believe people are born victims?