Author: Nicola Golding

My name is Nic, I'm 26 and just happen to have Cerebral Palsy that I've had since birth. It mostly impacts on my legs and my left arm and so I use a walking frame. When I'm not blogging I can usually be found making YouTube videos, reading or trying to write a novel.

The Serial Casting begins

It’s fair to say that the last couple of days have been quite busy, and today is looking set to be the same.

I had my Serial Casting pots put on on Friday as expected. I was quite surprised when they decided to cast me while I was on my tummy this time around because it helped to get my legs in a better position due to how tight they are. I don’t remember them having to do it this way when I was a child. I didn’t really mind it to be honest, although I was a little upset that I couldn’t be nosey.

They decided that instead of only keeping them on for a week, because they’d got my feet into such good positions they would keep them on for a fortnight instead. When these come off, I’ll go straight down to the orthotics department to have my new splints cast too and then go back into another set of pots for probably another two weeks at least.

This time, I didn’t get to  chose what colour I had the casts, but the plaster technicians did offer to put some glitter on them for me. I decided against this so that my family and friends could draw all over them for me instead if they wanted.

Things seemed to be going okay from there. I mastered walking in them pretty fast and my only worry was that my feet were cold, given the time of year.

Later on the evening though, my little toe on my left side started to really hurt. I thought it was mostly because my feet were nice and warm by that point. It got worse during the night so I went to the hospital on Saturday morning just to see if they could trim the pot back a little bit to see if they could release some of the pressure on it. I should point out that my pinky toe was absolutely fine apart from being sore, I just felt that it needed a little more wiggle room in there.

This no reflection on the people who put them on for me whatsoever. These things just happen sometimes and I’m sure the next one they give me will be just fine.

In turned out, that on Saturday morning, someone would be able to help us cut the cast where it needed to be cut, but there would be no one in who could put another one back on until Monday (today).  The nurse tried her best to be able to keep the pot on, but cutting it back just moved the pressure to different parts of my foot, so it was decided that it was for the best to take the whole thing off and start again. The right one is absolutely fine so that one has been left alone and I’m still wearing it.

So this afternoon I’m off back to the hospital to be recast. Even though that one was on for just over 24 hours there’s already a notable difference in my left ankle when you stretch it, so I’m looking forward to getting it back on again and seeing what the result is at the end of the process in a few weeks time.

I tried my water proof shower cover out last night with some help from my mum. We coated my leg in an extra bin bag too just to be safe, and propped my foot up on a stool to prevent it from being exposed to water as much as possible. It was a success.

My next serial casting adventure

Today is Friday and I’m excited because today I’m starting some treatment that it’s hoped will loosen up my ankles and make the new splints that I will be having made very soon rub my feet less.

It’s a process called Serial Casting. I had it done a few times when I was a child to relieve some of the tightness in my ankles and it worked really well. I haven’t had it done since I was about 12, but we’ve been debating doing another round for a while.

Basically, what happens is, my lower legs and feet get put into some light-weight pots. Because they’re so light, I can still do all the things I would normally, I just have to be careful not to get them wet. After a week, the casts come off, the effectiveness so far gets tested, and then another set of casts go on. This process gets repeated for around three or four weeks, depending on how well it goes.

The difference is that this time, I’ll be getting cast for those new ankle splints and spring splints in between the penultimate set coming off me and the final set going on, while we can get my foot into a  (hopefully) improved position when the splints get made.

In the past, it’s fair to say that I’ve had a few problems with splints rubbing me and causing me blisters, but the idea is that making my ankle muscles less tight will help to combat this problem.

I’ve had this done before, and even though I know it’s nothing to be afraid of I’m still a bit nervous. Things should be much easier for me this time around now that we have a walk in shower at home, and I’ve invested in some waterproof cast covers too, neither of which I had as a kid. I haven’t used the latter before so let’s hope they work! I’m told that they work fine in the shower (but maybe I’ll get mum the first time) so I’m hoping that they will also mean that I can go out in light rain too.

Obviously, I’ll keep you all updated throughout the process.

My inner child is still hoping that they’ll let me choose what colour I want. They’ll most probably be getting scribbled on regardless…

Have a good weekend folks.

Homemade clothes from a friend

The Skirt Lucy Made me
The Skirt Lucy Made me

With a little help from my friends

I’ve blogged a lot about the difficulties that I have in finding clothes because of my height and my Cerebral Palsy making it hard to get them on and off again in some cases.

However, I have an awesome friendship group around me who help me out wherever they can, and today’s post is a shout out to my amazing friend Lucy who has made me a skirt!

I’d been complaining to her for a while that I’d been on the hunt for a high wasted, preferably black one, so that I don’t feel like I have to wear trousers to a job interview/work placement/ (hopefully one day soon) work. She took to her sewing machine and whipped one up for me that fits me in the waist and still falls at a reasonable length that I could wear in the office.

Here it is for you all to see!

It’s really nice to know that I now own something that was handmade in the UK and made just for me, you know?

The Skirt Lucy Made me
The Skirt Lucy Made me

She also writes her own blog about her clothes making, baking, reading, and just generally tries to look on the bright side of life. Go check it out, you know you want to. I especially like this teapot dress that she made, and I love finding out what are the next books are next on her reading list because she’s always the first one I go to for recommendations. She usually picks up the things that I wouldn’t, and inspires me to give them a try.

Thanks Lucy!

 

My six month bloggiversary

My new Nimbo Frame Martha
My new Nimbo Frame Martha

Over the weekend it was my six moth bloggiversary, but I thought I’d wait until today to write about it because I want to try and stick to posting on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from now on.

During the last few months I’ve really enjoyed writing these posts. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself and really taken stock of some of the things that I’ve managed to achieve during my 22 years on the planet. Before I would try and just shrug them off as me just living my life the best that I could. Now, I’d like to think I can see them as both of those things.

I’ve come into contact with some really funny and inspirational people, whose own blogs and comments on mine, I find myself looking forward to, so thank you all for sharing your stories and making me smile.

I’ve learned so much about other disabilities, and even more about Cerebral Palsy that I ever hoped I would. I’ve met people with great poems and funny stories to share who cheer me up on the days when I’m feeling a bit down, and my “books to read” list has grown bigger than ever, thanks to all the reviewers that I’ve discovered who pick up the things that I might not.

After I uploaded my first post, I knew that this was something that I’d been wanting to do for a long time, but I didn’t have the confidence to start. I didn’t think that anyone would be interested in the things that I had to say, and now I’m so very glad for all the friends who kept telling me to “just do it” because now I can’t imagine my life without blogging in it, as corny as this sounds.

Everyone who reads, hits the like button, or comments helps me more than I think some of you realise. You give me a great confidence boost and spur me on. I hope I’ll manage to do the same for some of you along the way too. If there’s anything you’d like me to try and post about over the next few months, please drop me a comment or a tweet and I’ll try my best to do it. Thank you all.

Of course, I feel like I can’t write this post without mentioning that my walking frame Martha and I have been a team for about the same amount of time. She was given to me a couple of weeks before I start this blog and we’ve already had so many adventures like leaving her in the car overnight, and getting lost together. With all the rain that we’ve been having, she’s developed her fist major squeak too. I think there’ll be many more to come.

This week is set to be another busy one in the world of Martha and Nic (I feel like we need one of those cheesy couple names or something). I have exciting news to share with you all about some more treatment that I’ll be trying, but that’s a story for later on this week.

In the meantime, thank you all so much for reading. It means a lot to me and I hope you’ll all stick around for a long time to come.

Love,

Nic and Martha (cheesy couple name suggestions are welcome)

 

Compliments in the street

Throughout my life I’ve always found it hard to take a compliment; be it about the way I deal with my Cerebral Palsy, something I’ve written, or whatever t-shirt I’ve decided to throw on that day. I always find it hard to listen to people talk about my strengths, and I am always very quick to point out my own flaws.

But, the other day, something happened that took me entirely y surprise.

I was fully absorbed in browsing at a local second hand bookstore, hoping to find something new to buy, when I heard a voice I didn’t recognise.

“I just wanted to tell you that I think you do really well.” I jumped out of my skin and looked up to find a lady I didn’t recognise gazing at me with a really kind smile on her face.

“Oh sorry love, did I make you jump? I just wanted to tell you that I think you do really well.”

I’m never sure how I should respond to this kind of thing smiled and said thank you and she started to wonder away, but then she turned back, “You know, when people stare or look at you, they’re only doing it because they think you’re nice. I see you on the bus sometimes and I think you’re nice.”

And just like that, something clicked in my brain. It can’t have been easy for this lady, a stranger, to have come up to me and told me that, but she did it anyway, because I looked relaxed and happy enough for her to feel comfortable enough to do it. Surely that is the biggest compliment of all?

That day, instead of getting all shy and wondering why someone would say something nice to me just because I do the best that I can do in life, I felt really humbled that she’d taken time out of whatever she was doing just to tell me that, and I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t do the same for everyone that she thought seemed like a good person.

I want to be the person who looks approachable, and happy and comfortable in the street, and I want people to feel that they can talk to me without worrying that they might upset me, and clearly, that day, I was doing something right. Suddenly I realised that I should stop feeling so awkward when someone says something kind, and just let them be kind. Surely, they wouldn’t say good things to me if I didn’t deserve it.

And there is nothing I hate doing more than throwing someone’s kindness back in their face, regardless of whether I know them or not.

Lesson learned. For now at least.