Tag: Cerebral Palsy

Park life

On my recent  trip to London, I mentioned that my family, (especially my little sister), all helped me have a tonne of fun in the park and I have to say I think it was the highlight of my trip. I’ve been looking forward to writing this post for a long time, but because I’ve had so many appointments and other things going on to tell you all about, it’s had to wait a while.

Parks were a big part of my childhood for a long time. My mum abd dad would put up my walking frame and then we’d all walk to one of our local parks as a family. They’d help me play on things and make sure I didn’t hurt myself, (little did I know that I was also doing some form of physio in the process), and then we’d all walk home again. I’d often find this tiring, but it was so much fun that I didn’t care.

Fastforward quite a few years and playing in the park is something I don’t really do anymore, although I’m quite small and light so I can still do it if I want to, but I often worry about all the ways I can get hurt instead.

However, as soon as we got to this park in London my little sister wasted no time in pushing me really fast in my wheelchair up and down all the humps that I think are meant for people with bikes, scooters and other such things. Although I pretended I wasn’t too happy about this, I secretly had fun and some of the other people in the park were smiling and laughing along with us, which made it even nicer.

Then she asked me if I wanted to go on the swing with her. Of course, I said yes. The swing in question was a flying-saucer shaped one that you could sit in, so my mum’s new husband-to-be lifted me into it, and then my sister climbed in with me so she could make sure I didn’t fall out.

 

My sister and I on the swing
My sister and I on the swing

After that I climbed back into my wheelchair and she jokingly asked me if I wanted a go on the zipwire. I don’t think I’d be able to hold myself on a zipwire as it went flying through the air, but she said that if someone helped me get onto it she’d hold on to me while I sat on it while it wasn’t moving. I was having lots of fun and, not wanting to spoil it, I agreed.

On the zipwire
On the zipwire

I’d like to think that all of us were having fun by this point. Back into the wheelchair I went and my mum  started to push. She pointed to some bits of wood that were set out at different heights for people to walk on and she said she’d help me. I’ve written a post that introduced you all to my dad before, but now I’d also like to introduce you all to my mum too.

My mum and I
My mum and I

By this point I was feeling really adventurous so when mum’s husband-to-be pointed to some ropes that people could use to pull themselves up a grass hill with and asked me if I fancied a go there was no doubt that I did. He stood behind me every step of the way waiting to catch me if I fell. Mum stayed at the bottom with the camera, and my sister waited for me at the top and cheered me on. Sorry that my eyes are closed in the picture, but I think you get the point.

100_0110
Just getting started

It was hard. Really, really hard. My arms and legs ached all the way but I never once doubted that I’d make it to the top, no matter how long it took. Unfortunately, I didn’t time it, so I don’t know how long it did take me, but I did make it to the top. I made it! I was pretty proud of myself for it too.

Victory!
Victory!

And to think, my parents were told I might be able to manage to walk around a supermarket at the best…

Allow me to introduce…

Hi everyone, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I’ve chosen a name for my new wheelchair.

So, I would now like to introduce you all to…Agatha.

My new wheelchair Agatha

Don’t ask me why I’ve picked this name because I’m not entirely sure, but for some reason it just seemed to fit.

I’ve been out in the new chair a few times this weekend and I’m really happy with it. It’s comfy to sit in and easy enough for me to push myself. It’s going to take a while to get used to the fact that it’s slightly bigger than my old one though!

I’ve also found that when I sit in this one, I see the world from a slightly different angle than I did previously, and that feels a bit strange at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll get used to that in time.

My new wheelchair has arrived

I kind of already mentioned what today’s post would be about on View From a Walking Frame’s Facebook page and on my Twitter, but I am now pleased to tell you all that my new wheelchair has arrived.

It looks pretty much like my old one, which was silver and black, but I don’t mind that because I always liked the way that one looked anyway. Not that it really matters if I like the colour at the end of the day as long as the chair can do its job, but it’s always a nice little bonus.

I haven’t really had much of a chance to have a go a pushing myself around it in yet because it’s quite rainy and wet here, but I’ve had a quick try and wheeling myself around the kitchen and it seems like it’s going to be fairly easy for me to handle.

Just in case you’re wondering, I haven’t picked out a name for my new wheelchair yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll let you all know. Feel free to leave your suggestions.

In other news, I’ve also got my night splints back with my walking grip now re-glued back on too which I’m also really pleased about because I enjoy wearing those.

That’s it for today, just short and sweet. Have a good day guys,

Nic

Another small victory

There’s been another small, small victory in Nicland this week. It’s nothing that will have a huge impact on my life, but one that made me smile and gave me a boost when I needed it.

I’ve blogged before about the difficulties I sometimes have with getting dressed into certain clothes. Buttons can be a bit of an issue sometimes. I can do them for myself, but sometimes it can take me several minutes to button up a shirt. But the items of clothing that tend to cause me the biggest problems are dresses and skirts. Ones that I can just pull over my head or step into tend to be fine, but ones that have a zip up the side are a bit of a pain for me. The zip is usually always on the left side, which is my weaker side. I have trouble getting my left hand and arm to do the things I want to do sometimes, especially if it’s something ‘fiddly’, like doing a zip or button for instance. This usually means that I can’t do these zips for myself, and need help putting on that particular outfit.

Needless to say, I try and avoid buying that type of clothing, but sometimes the dress just looks so perfect for whatever I want to wear it for (I usually only buy dresses with fiddly zips if I have a special occasion in mind that I want it for) and I’ll buy it anyway because I know my mum or my boyfriend will be around to help out.

However yesterday, I was feeling in the kind of mood where I felt like pushing myself to try and achieve something that I usually find hard. It looked really nice and sunny outside so I thought I’d try and put on one of the few dresses I own that I normally need help with. The dress I chose was the one that I’d bought to wear to my boyfriend’s graduation a few years ago. The only other time I’ve really warn it since have been for birthday meals out, and in my opinion it’s far too nice to just sit idly in my wardrobe.

Even though I thought I wouldn’t be able to manage it I actually did! I was really pleased because I could just step into it without even having to undo the zip. Yay!

It was a very small victory but it still meant a lot to me.

Feeling Pressure

When I started View From a Walking Frame it very quickly became a place for me to be positive about all the improvements that I make and all the achievements that I have in life that relate to my Cerebral Palsy. Don’t get me wrong, I know that I’ve done my fair share of ranting and complaining, but on the whole I like to be as upbeat about my CP as I can.

However, there are times when it gets harder to keep looking on the bright side. As much as I hate having to think of those times, and write about them for you all to see, I feel like I should. As much as I want this blog to be about celebrating all that I can do and less about dwelling on the tough stuff, I also want it to be honest.

The thing is that sometimes I personally feel a lot of pressure when it comes to my disability. Before I go any further with this post, let me state that I am the only person who puts this pressure on myself. It is mine and mine alone. It doesn’t come from my parents or anyone else.

All throughout my life, people have put in so much work to help me become the person that I am today, and without even one of those people, I don’t think I’d be able to do all the things I can. I am grateful to every last one of them, but I’m sure you knew that already.

As I’ve grown older, I’ve started to realise just how much they’ve done, especially my parents. I don’t think I’ll ever understand all of it, no matter how hard I try. Now I do a lot of the stuff for myself, or I have a greater understanding of why these people keep doing these things that help, I sometimes feel, (well okay I always feel), like I have to keep pushing so that their hard work doesn’t end up being wasted, and so that I can make them proud. I feel like it’s my way of showing them how much I value their hard work and support.

Sometimes, I try an old exercise that I used to be able to do with relative ease, or think back to something I used to be able to do as a kid, and I find that it’s really, really hard. This can make me feel crushed. No matter how many times I feel like that, it doesn’t get easier.

Yes, you could say that they only person I should want to impress is myself, and believe me, I do. I really, really do. I want to do all of this stuff for myself more than for anybody else, and sometimes that’s the hardest part. I want to be able to keep walking and living my life the way I do for as long as possible. That makes me feel pressured sometimes. That’s the thing that I want most of all, but I know I can’t ever take it for granted and I’ll always have to work at it for the rest of my life.

Don’t get me wrong, most of the time I don’t feel pressure at all and just focus on working hard and enjoying life, but some days, it’s there, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing. It helps me to keep going after all.