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Do You Want to Help Heal a Heart?
I remember receiving my first diagnosis. I never imagined then, at 18, that there would be a time when I would look back at just one diagnosis in rose-tinted nostalgia. Perhaps it’s better that way, I have a laundry list of diagnoses now, but none of the labels constrain me. The disabilities are just the footnotes, I am the adventure story. But I’m getting ahead of myself, that’s not where I began. In the sterile office, with fading winter light slanting in through the blinds, and the grey institutional carpet under my red ballet shoes, I heard the doctor say those words ‘no cure’. I took the wound to my…
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Let’s Talk About Self-Worth
Maybe you aren’t a size 6. Maybe you can’t do downward dog. Maybe you aren’t exactly setting the world alight. Maybe you don’t know who you are, or what your passion is. Maybe brushing your teeth feels like a huge task. Maybe you aren’t earning 6 or 7 or 8 figures like a #boss Maybe your blog isn’t the talk of the town. I don’t care. You, my dearest, are worth everything, everything. Let’s talk about self-worth… Self worth is respecting my right to be a human being not a human doing. It means, I get space on this planet simply by being here, and I don’t need to rush/prove/busy myself…
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Dear Grace Q & A: Building a Life with Disability
Question: “What can people do, who don’t feel they can start their own business or aren’t able to work in their circumstances? What kind of projects could they get involved with? What kind of things can they build their life around, if they currently lack focus? What kinds of hobbies can ill and disabled people take up?” Answer: The real answer, of course, is to find your passion and then make it accessible. Just as you’d build a life without a disability. What do you want to do? What do you love? If you don’t know what you love, can you explore? But I do have a list of accessible options and…
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Dark Times, Towards the Light: A Healing Journey Update
I was discharged from hospital on Thursday, and am so happy to be home. I am okay. I had “not-a-stroke,” but we aren’t entirely sure what it is. I was admitted on Wednesday afternoon, because my right side suddenly went numb and felt like it had collapsed. I had weakness, loss of sensation and numbness in my right side from head to foot. I still have these symptoms, but they’re better than they were. I’ve had All Of The Tests from heart trace to CT scan, everything is clear so that’s good news. The doctors think perhaps it’s related to my pre-existing conditions. I’m home and safe and in the best position to…
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Immune Suppression and Winter Loneliness
We had the first proper frost here yesterday. The grass was crunchy underfoot (and wheelchair wheels), the air was bitingly cold. My yoga trousers did not provide enough protection and Linus dashed back into the house to grab my fleece lined leggings (yes, they exist, yes, they are awesome). There are lots of wonderful things about winter but it can be very isolating. In winter it’s easier to get lonely, especially if you have a chronic illness or need to stay at home for any reason (caring for small children/an adult, working from home, living in an isolated area, etc.). I’ve just had a viral infection, and last winter I had chest…
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