“A new kind of internet and social media influencer has been born, the ‘chronic illness influencer’ and some are attracting huge followings“ So says the Octavia Woodward on a BBC News article entitled “Sickness and Lies“ this week which so far sounds ok, isn’t it great to see more chronically ill and disabled people on social media? Isn’t it liberating to see how they handle their conditions or how they cope? I would definitely applaud it but after seeing the video article, there seems to be a much deeper darker side to this story. There are millions of people in this country who have a...…“A new kind of internet and social media influencer has been born, the ‘chronic illness influencer’ and some are attracting huge followings“ So says the Octavia Woodward on a BBC News article entitled “Sickness and Lies“ this week which so far sounds ok, isn’t it great to see more chronically ill and disabled people on social media? Isn’t it liberating to see how they handle their conditions or how they cope? I would definitely applaud it but after seeing the video article, there seems to be a much deeper darker side to this story. There are millions of people in this country who have a...WW…

Last week, I had a large response to my post “Are disabled people missing out when it comes to the COVID vaccine?” with many people expressing concerns about how the wider disabled community have been treated during the COVID outbreak and subsequent lockdowns. So I decided to ask some friends who have 1st hand knowledge of this and find out what they thought….. My friend has a teenage daughter who has Down’s Syndrome and I asked him for his opinion on how the lockdowns had affected her. (Name changed for Privacy reasons) “As an adult with Down’s Syndrome who is on the Extremely Clinically...…Last week, I had a large response to my post “Are disabled people missing out when it comes to the COVID vaccine?” with many people expressing concerns about how the wider disabled community have been treated during the COVID outbreak and subsequent lockdowns. So I decided to ask some friends who have 1st hand knowledge of this and find out what they thought….. My friend has a teenage daughter who has Down’s Syndrome and I asked him for his opinion on how the lockdowns had affected her. (Name changed for Privacy reasons) “As an adult with Down’s Syndrome who is on the Extremely Clinically...WW…

Yesterday, 7 years ago in 2014, I spent my last ever day as an ‘able bodied‘ woman and teacher. After a spontaneous Sacral spinal/pelvic fracture during lesson 5, my life would never be the same. The pain was horrific and then made so much worse by 5weeks of physio (can you imagine? ‘Hello Mrs Broken Bone, I know, let’s make it better by lying on a tennis ball so that the fracture just gets worse & causes more damage!‘ 🤦‍♀️🥺) Now as I look back, 7 years later, with nerve damage, a constant pain syndrome and a super-cute electric wheelchair in the boot of my car, I have learnt the...…Yesterday, 7 years ago in 2014, I spent my last ever day as an ‘able bodied‘ woman and teacher. After a spontaneous Sacral spinal/pelvic fracture during lesson 5, my life would never be the same. The pain was horrific and then made so much worse by 5weeks of physio (can you imagine? ‘Hello Mrs Broken Bone, I know, let’s make it better by lying on a tennis ball so that the fracture just gets worse & causes more damage!‘ 🤦‍♀️🥺) Now as I look back, 7 years later, with nerve damage, a constant pain syndrome and a super-cute electric wheelchair in the boot of my car, I have learnt the...WW…

Today marks the so called ‘Freedom Day‘ in England, the day when most of the social restrictions are to be lifted. This means an end to social distancing, the end to compulsory working from home and the end of mandatory mask wearing. The Prime Minister is advising people to ‘be responsible‘ and that rules must be replaced with “personal responsibility”, to think of the risk to others and now placing the responsibility completely on the shoulders of the English public. But the laws, the rules and the majority of the compulsory mandates have now brought to an end. But this has left many...…Today marks the so called ‘Freedom Day‘ in England, the day when most of the social restrictions are to be lifted. This means an end to social distancing, the end to compulsory working from home and the end of mandatory mask wearing. The Prime Minister is advising people to ‘be responsible‘ and that rules must be replaced with “personal responsibility”, to think of the risk to others and now placing the responsibility completely on the shoulders of the English public. But the laws, the rules and the majority of the compulsory mandates have now brought to an end. But this has left many...WW…

The news that lockdown restrictions are easing and the world is opening up (albeit not as fast as many hoped) was great to hear and meant that for loads of us, things that we’ve been denied for over a year has become available once more. And whilst that has meant that I can now get back to my yoga class and my volunteering, it has also, in my head anyway, meant that I could start out visiting friends and family and sort of get back to my routine. But….. Boy, was I wrong…….. I have totally hit the wall this week. Yesterday, I….. * wrote up my notes from my sign language class the day before...…The news that lockdown restrictions are easing and the world is opening up (albeit not as fast as many hoped) was great to hear and meant that for loads of us, things that we’ve been denied for over a year has become available once more. And whilst that has meant that I can now get back to my yoga class and my volunteering, it has also, in my head anyway, meant that I could start out visiting friends and family and sort of get back to my routine. But….. Boy, was I wrong…….. I have totally hit the wall this week. Yesterday, I….. * wrote up my notes from my sign language class the day before...WW…