What disabled people want on International Women's Day

Today is International Women’s Day. A day when we consider the inequalities in society, including wage gaps, social standing, opportunities, domestic abuse. The often invisible and overlooked females in our communities and workplaces.

Now stick that person in a wheelchair, or a walker, and isolate them with inadequate public transport, tell your children to stop looking at them or that they can't ask questions, take away representation in films and tv and books, create buildings as tall as the skies and pile obstacles all along the sidewalks and pathways. Don't call out when people take our parking spaces, or skip us in queues, or make assumptions based on our young age... refuse to listen to those affected by all of the above.

Don't get me wrong -all my aids are works of beautiful engineering that gift me freedom. They're not the villain in my story. But there is only so much they can do in a society not built for them.

#LWIBloggies2016: The eve of the awards

Tomorrow is the big awards day! For previous posts about it, see here and here. This is the second time I have ever been nominated for a blog award, and the first time that I have ever been shortlisted and then placed into the finalist list (the previous awards didn't have any shortening on the nominations prior to the awards night).

I've been so unwell lately, that I'm quite nervous about attending. I've had two social occasions recently/ the last couple months that really took it out of me -even though walking was limited on each occasion as much as possible. Where once an event (sitting down, relaxing, not really doing anything) would have had me in bed for the next day or two afterwards, events (of any kind) now have me in bed and in pain for days So while I have to choose wisely and have a massive sense of guilt about attending, I'm still determined to go.

Guilt might like seem like an odd term there... I suppose I should explain.

As you may have read in previous postings, or even rants on my Facebook page, every activity takes so much more energy to accomplish when you are unwell. Hence where the spoon theory comes into play (although it isn't always as straight forward). I have to pick and choose small activities as well as the bigger ones -which is important to do now, which can wait. This ranges from getting dressed to walking the dogs briefly, to doing the dishes or to bigger events like socialising.

If I choose something on the top scale today, going to socialise with a friend for a couple of hours, then I can't do anything else that day or the next day. If I do the laundry and wash the dishes then I will have to nap and can't play with the dogs. If I wash my hair then I can't make dinner and Bicky has to make it (which he does loads, I'm not at all being sexist and saying women should make it, LOL! Just of course I also enjoy doing it and want to help out more often). It's give and take and many times I feel like I'm letting others down, in never ending and forever loosing battle to accomplish as much as possible.

I desperately want to work full time and miss my job, even part-time, but I get up and use my energy to get dressed (yes, that's how ridiculous it is) so then I need to nap or at least rest for a while. I need to get up extra early to prep myself -take my pills, sit up and try get my BP higher/ normal before standing, pop my joints into place, move my hands and feet to try get some feeling back into them (peripheral neuropathy issues). Of course sleep is something not really in my control, and either is waking up. From "painsomnia" to phases of sleeping 20 plus hours, completely knocked out and non responsive to anyone trying to wake me. It's an endless rotation.

Popping wheelies in NY

As promised, some photos of my recent trip to New York, featuring Saoirse. I won't make this into a review about being on holidays with a chair/ how accessible or inaccessible a city is, only to say that it was hit and miss... But as it's my first holiday using a wheelchair, it wouldn't be fair. I have nothing to compare it to, and I would assume New York is a lot better than most cities. Although I will say two things -taking the subway is a big no no obviously (but I had two days in which I simply didn't bring the chair -and paid for it) and secondly, JFK airport workers are kinda assholes to wheelchair users. Seriously, some training may be required there... So they can maybe perhaps not make their customers feel like they think they are retarded. That'd be swell... I'll write a future blog post on that issue after I send my complaint in. Dublin airport were amazing, on the other hand. Among everything else, they simply made me feel less of a knob -It was very embarrassing having to use a chair, as you can imagine, so simply being treated human goes a long way. Anyway, more of that another day!

Thanks to my lovely family and friends who made us feel very welcome, and sorry to friends we didn't get a chance to visit. A week really isn't enough time in New York, but it was a long week for me and unfortunately all I'm currently fit for. Hopefully we will get to go again in the future.

These photos include some sites and museums, such as the 9/11 memorial, Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum (including a Star Trek exhibition!!! I shit you not, me and Bicky transformed into the biggest dorks when we got to it), the Body Worlds exhibition and just general messing around. Trying to pretend being in a wheelchair is fun and I'm totally fine with it and still a cool, independent woman, purposely banging into Bicky and friends, very much so enjoying a ride on a refurbished carousel even though it bloody hurts, drinking loads of Gatorade (which is the American equivalent to Powerade, except it tastes nicer... Both drinks being the elixir of my people)... Enjoy!

[Unfortunately not feeling the best since the trip, and have done my 

back in/ pulled something, but totally worth it]

Introducing Saoirse

Finally I would like to introduce you all to my new wheeled, part-time pal, Saoirse -A name suggested to me on a Facebook post and also in real life (seems the most popular one)... I was aiming for a girls name (as all vehicles are female, obviously) and was leaning towards something Irish. Saoirse seemed perfect as it means freedom (ha, hopefully)...

These photos were taken in Drogheda a while ago, where we first took her for her first spin -just before a storm hit! Hence why I'm holiday my hat down, ha.

I'm still very much mortified about needing to use a chair, even part-time, but I want to get out of the house more. I'm not ready to use it around the ol' hometown as of yet, but she came in handy on my latest holiday to New York -photos of that lovely trip to follow tomorrow. There's no way I could go on a holiday like that (visiting museums, sites, and all the walking these things entail -hell, even all the walking in the airport would be tough) without a wheelchair.

My elephant in the room -The wheelchair conundrum

I've mentioned several times before in past posts how embarrassing it can be, stuck in between the two worlds of the enabled people and the disabled people. Sure, not everyone ya meet out there is dumb-as-fuck/ is aware that disabilities differ -Some extremely visible, some hidden. But I can't stress enough, this world view is not as common knowledge as you may think.

For some it's either able bodied/ 100% fit and healthy Vs. little Sally has no limbs and is blind and deaf, lets stick her on a Facebook post with some inspirational words and say Oprah said it (Oprah didn't say it? That's ok, it's the internet, no one will check) so we can all feel better about the situation. Maybe even type AMEN, then we're all defo going to heaven. For some, it is indeed that black and white.

Example -the recent news stories of people getting shit for either stepping out of their wheelchair for a minute, ('cause ya know, never ever in the history of people has anyone eeeeever had to only use the chair on a part-time basis) or not owning a chair to begin with, and notes left on their cars calling them fakers -even though they have disability badges (because things like Crohn's disease or other internal diseases do not exist either). See some examples here:


EastEnders star Lisa Hammond abused in the street

Coronation street star Cherylee Houstan falsely accused of being a benefits cheat

Mum of disabled toddler returns to car to find threatening note

Woman suffering from fibro finds cruel note branding her "fat and ugly" after she parks in the disabled bay (although this one should really get a badge if she guna be at that!)


For people like this, it's a simple case of if you weren't in a wheelchair at birth, why would you be now? They don't view conditions as progressive. If yo momma didn't pump out the wheelchair from her vajayjay straight after you plopped out, then you're a faker. Because wheelchairs are super fucking kewl and everyone wants them. For others, it's the very common, over-stated "you're too young to be sick" mantra.

These prejudices and extreme/ bizarre/ old fashioned misconceptions exist even without the visible elephant in the room that is the wheelchair. A cane doesn't really