There’s something about awkwardness and disability that seem to be intrinsically linked. Nobody likes awkward situations but when you have a disability it’s nigh on impossible to avoid. The majority of the times I leave my house I’ll be faced with an uncomfortable situation. I’m a powerchair user but I also rock a set of…
Category: disabled
Train Journey’s Are Never Simple When You’re In A Wheelchair: My Disaster Trip
You’d think travelling via train in a wheelchair would be simple, wouldn’t you? What could go wrong? Passenger assistance is booked, the assistant meets you, gets a ramp, you wheel onto the train, and the same happens at the other end. Easy right? Hell-to-the-no. Nope. Nada. Nah.It’s becoming a joke now. Travelling by train is…
24 Things I Couldn’t Live Without As a Spoonie
Luckily in this day and age we have a lot of resources and equipment at our fingertips. As someone with a disability, there’s quite a few items I need in my everyday life to help it run more smoothly. Now, I don’t have unlimited funds (if only) so I don’t have every product that could…
I’m Not Superhuman: Not All Disabled People Can Be Paralympians
Let me start this off by saying that this is not a post slagging off the Paralympics. The athletes that partake in the games are absolutely amazing and I tip my hat (I’m not wearing a hat, but let’s pretend I am) to all of them. My problem is with the media and how Paralympians…
How Aren’t You in Pain?
As I lie here with my left knee heavily braced, the pain surging through my whole leg, pulsating, agonising, my mind begins to wander. I only ever voiced this a few months ago and as soon as I said it out loud, I realised how ridiculous it might sound to someone who doesn’t know me….
I’m Really Flexible and it’s NOT Sexy
I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome type 3; the hypermobility kind, the stupidly bendy ‘how don’t you snap?’ one. Some people will probably call the majority of us with EDS 3 – double-jointed, but that’s a myth, I mean, how can you have double the amount of joints? I’ve written quite a few posts on EDS, and…
Proprioception and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
When I was diagnosed with EDS type 3, (hypermobility, HEDS, whatever you want to call it) ten years ago I was naive enough to think that Ehlers-Danlos would be the strangest words I’d hear regarding my condition. Alas, my nineteen year old self soon learned a lot more; proprioception being one.What is proprioception?Basically, proprioception is…
#ShitAbledPeopleSay – My Response
Every other day a hashtag appears on Twitter and causes controversy. I first saw this ‘shit abled people say’ hashtag last Saturday and after scrolling through the comments disabled people shared, I decided to add a few of my own. My somewhat naive self didn’t realise that by disclosing a few of the hurtful, uneducated…
What Disability?: The Adaptability of Children
I spent last weekend with my three year old nephew, Kaine, and it got me thinking about how he sees me. I’m his Auntie Sarah, I use crutches, I use an electric wheelchair, I wear splints and take tablets, but most of all, I make a huge fuss out of him, I buy him toys…
The Disabled Body During the Victorian Era
Three years ago I handed in my Masters dissertation on the ‘Victorian freak show and the commodification of the disabled body’. I absolutely loved spending a year researching and writing my 20,000 word thesis, and I’m pretty sure I’ll always be fascinated, or perhaps obsessed, with all things 19th century. My Masters is in English,…