Goodbye To Compass
This morning we had our final meeting with Sheila, our Compass counsellor. Since that first meeting, when I was still so withdrawn and suspicious of strangers, it hasn’t really felt like counselling at...
View ArticleAn Overview Of 2012
Every year, for as long as I can remember, I have always taken the year that was and written a review of it. As a child it was in paper diaries; for the last twelve years or so it has been online, in a...
View ArticleEpilepsy And Fitness – Resolutions For 2013
Usually I don’t make resolutions, partly on account of my health and also because I forget what the resolution was in the first place, but this year I am very clear on what I need to focus on...
View ArticleAutism: I’m Not Crazy, But Sometimes My Brain Skips A Beat
Appearances can be deceptive. Outwardly, to the bystander, I’m the smiling, friendly blonde lady who is confident in herself and still retains an appearance of youthfulness and some of the good looks...
View ArticleSexuality And Disability
In my hometown of Cheltenham lives a very famous lady. She is famous for being amazing. For the sake of argument, we’ll call her “Lisa”. Lisa is only a few years older than myself and is a Thalidomide...
View ArticleEpilepsy, Disability And Idiocy
“MOVE IT!” I had just hobbled off the coach, en route to my home town to visit with my son. London Victoria is where I had to change to a different coach, and I was looking forward to the two-hour...
View Article“You Won’t Be Seeing Frank Any More; He’s… No Longer Here”
That was the first thing that my neurologist told me when I met with him this afternoon – a year after I last saw my Epilepsy Nurse, Frank La Rocca. Last August I had to cancel an appointment due to a...
View ArticleHow I Saved A Life
Disclaimer: This piece is not about blowing my own trumpet. I am writing this to prove a point – that people with disabilities can still make an important contribution to society. Colin Brewer,...
View ArticleThe Ultimate Devotion
I love to write free-form, unstructured poetry. It’s honest; it’s pure; it’s emotive in a way that structured, rhyming stanzas are sometimes not. I dedicate this free-form to my wonderful husband, D,...
View ArticleThe Fall Of An Epileptic
Today I am bedbound. During the night I awoke screaming in agony. Why? This delightful type of seizure that they refer to as “abscence”. I felt myself going. I even felt my eyes roll back in their...
View ArticleTurning Japanese And Cross-Stitch Flowers
I am still stuck in bed, but feeling a good deal better. My bruise has come out in some rather amazing hues, but the pain isn’t as bad as it was – in fact, I managed to roll over to sleep on my left...
View ArticleEpilepsy and Blogging
Sometimes, the seizures are so severe that inertia and memory loss set in. My last seizure was a week ago – but I’m still not really making sense of things. D will talk to me and I won’t have...
View ArticleGrowing Up Aged Thirty Nine And A Half
Growing up is something that I tried to avoid for all of my life until now. I inherited Romani blood which runs hot in my veins; I am an autumn child who has spent many years floating free with no...
View ArticleStubborn
Once upon a time, many years ago, my grandmother declared that I was so stubborn that I would even defy death until I was good and ready to turn up my toes. She was right, actually; there have been a...
View ArticleAutistic Son Psyched In A Bad Way
Psych Unit I have mentioned my autistic son many times before. I’ve shared the good times, the bad times, some photographs of my handsome, cheeky little man. A young man who is basically thoughtful,...
View ArticleBaby Love
Google Image In a small maternity delivery room in Cheltenham, long ago, an exhausted young woman lay in a bed soaked with blood, sweat, amniotic fluid and tears; she had in her arms the most precious...
View ArticleWheelchair
I can walk; I can even jog a little, and dance in short bursts. I can get to the local shops and back and sometimes I don’t even need my walking stick. What I cannot do, however, is have days out,...
View ArticleFrank La Rocca, Epilepsy Nurse
This blog post is actually not about Frank La Rocca at all – more about my visit with the neurologist today – but since his name is always amongst “Top Searches” on my dashboard and I received a...
View Article“You Should Get A Job…”
“… And then you’d be getting paid for something worthwhile complaining about.” I looked at her; a pretty woman with blonde hair, a stinky attitude and a smug expression on her face. I stand some inches...
View ArticleStaring Without Seeing, And Other Stories
That’s what I tend to do when I’m waiting for my hospital appointments; I have my Kindle, of course, but occasionally my gaze will sweep the waiting area and see – but not see. Images are vaguely noted...
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