Let's Have A Catch Up..

I wonder if I'll ever be able to write a blog post that doesn't start with 'omg I can't believe it's been so long' or 'Long time no speak!' but maybe that's just an insight to me as a person.. A lot has happened since I last wrote on this blog so let's see if I can give you a brief recap!


I have a new diagnosis! I might do a whole dedicated blog post on this new condition and how I was diagnosed etc so I'll make this very brief. I went up to St George's Hospital in London to meet with the Neurology team up there and they officially diagnosed me with a neurological condition called Functional Neurological Disorder; FND for short. It felt really great to finally have some answers to all the neurological symptoms I was having and symptoms that were ruling my life, and I'm currently awaiting some treatment options for that. I did a Get Ready With Me on my YouTube channel explaining (poorly) about FND in more detail and my experience doing some medical research on balance disorders here!

____________________________________________

I purchased a Smart Drive! Oh my goodness. My relationship with mobility question is.. tricky. I have tried and tested a lot of different things, spent thousands of pounds trying to find something suited to my needs. There's no help book or manual for knowing what sort of aid will greatly help, or hinder me. I don't get any support through the NHS either so I basically just have to take a leap and go for it. Again, I think I need to do a whole dedicated post on the Smart Drive and just the whole process of finding mobility equipment; but I have a short video and testimony of my experience of owning the Smart Drive so far here.

____________________________________________

I've been leaving the house independently. I addressed how that's been possible in the testimony I did for RGK about my Smart Drive but it's been so amazing being able to leave the house in my manual chair; I can get on the bus, I can go into town, I can go to my GP and local hospital appointments, I can put in and collect my own prescriptions, the list just goes on. I'ts been amazing for my mental health to not be so housebound!

____________________________________________

I took part in a Triathlon! I had been in contact with RGK Wheelchairs after the popularity of the vlogs I made documenting my experience of getting a custom made wheelchair through them, but at the end of July they invited myself and my partner to take part in the SuperHero Series Triathlon on one of their rely teams. I made a small vlog of the day and our thoughts on the whole experience here. It was such a difference experience for me and I really enjoyed the chance to step outside of my comfort zone and see what I was capable of. My particular chronic illnesses make being active quite difficult, but it was really awesome to see so many people there with such a vast range of abilities that it's (potentially) inspired me to find an adaptive sport that my body can handle in 2019!

____________________________________________

I turned 26 years old. I mean, I don't really have anything exciting to say about that, but it happened!

____________________________________________

I shaved my head. Yes, you read that right! I want to do a dedicated blog post on this so I'm just going to mention that it happened! If you want to find out a little bit about why I did it I do have an instagram post on it here.

There we go, you should be all caught up with all the major events that's happened to me since I stopped blogging. Now the catch up is done, expect (semi) regular posts about everything to do with my health, disability, lifestyle and anything else I want to talk about!