Did I tell you that I am going on a cruise? No? Well, earlier this year, I decided that life is racing past and time is running out for me to go on fairly "active" holidays. By active I mean holidays which require me to be as mobile as possible. I can still put weight on my feet which means that I can be transferred (reasonably easily) from wheelchair to toilet and/or bed. However, due to getting older with Cerebral Palsy, weight gain and various other issues, I know that within a couple of years, I will need to be hoisted from wheelchair to toilet and/or bed.
I will tell you more about my cruise later. In the meantime, please click on my link and see where it takes you!!!!
The Weekend
I have had a nice weekend, thank you! Have you? So far, I have not had any trick & treats kids knocking on my door and those fireworks have been kept to a minimum which is great. However, we have got the whole of next week to get through yet!!!
There's not much on television tonight, so I might start writing something. Has anyone got any ideas on what I could write about? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Funny story!
I use a POSSUM Companion Environmental Control which enables me to do various things, such as turn the television on/off, answer the phone and, of course, answer the intercom on the front door. When someone presses the intercom's buzzer, I select "intercom" on my Possum companion and a (male) voice asks who is at the door. If its someone I want to let in, I select door on the Possum at which point the voice tells them to come in and the door opens automatically. Now that you understand that, I can tell you my story!!!
I am a single disabled woman who lives in an adapted bungalow in a "normal" (whatever that is!!!) road. Until a few months ago, there was a family living two doors away and their two children were very friendly towards me. Amy was about 8yrs old and her brother, Lee, was about 6yrs old. They used to pop in to say hello, borrow things and to play with my cat.
One day they came in, said hello, had a chat, played with Faithie (the cat) and then stood around as if they wanted to say something.
"My brother wants to ask you something" said Amy.
So, I looked at Lee and asked him what did he want to say. He went shy on me and his sister continued: "Well, we was wondering if you have a husband?"
When I asked why, Lee pipped up and said: "A man's voice always answers the door".
Since I knew that they were moving away from the area, I answered: "Yes, I keep him in the cupboard"!!!
The look on their faces was a picture, they quickly said their farewells and went home! I wonder what they told their parents???
A picture!
Me and my Cat!!! 
Faithie
This is Faithie, my cat. She is five years old, but I have only had her for two years. Faithie is a resuced cat and was very badly injured. I am not sure what happened to her, but she had spent five weeks at the vets, before being transfered to the local cats home for another few weeks. Afterwards I spotted her advert in the local newspaper and, within a week, she had settled down in my home!! It was love at first sight!!
Fireworks!!!
Faithie, my cat, doesn't like fireworks. Coming to think about it, neither do I!!!
When I was a kid, Dad (God bless his soul!) decided on one fireworks night to have a bonfire, with fireworks etc. Nothing wrong with that you would have thought? Well, everything was going nicely, until Dad lighted a Rocket. I was watching it go up, then it started coming down!! Me, being about 6 years old, didn't think anything of it; after all, where is it supposed to go?!? A few minutes later, I could feel this funny sensation on my neck.
"Mum", I said casually, "What's on my neck"? All of a sudden, all hell had let loose!!! Unknown to me, that lovely rocket had landed on my neck!!!! Luckly, everything turned out ok. I ended up with a small scar on my neck, a burned jumper and Dad got another telling off from Mum!!
Hence, since then, I haven't been that keen on fireworks!
Sad People!!!
Today my carer and I realised what sad people we are!! While I was sitting up in bed, a truck came and parked round the corner. Then we saw a neighbour come along. He and his parents (plus dog!) have recently moved into my road. Anyway, we realised that the chap is now working for the local council!! How sad can we get?!?
Sometime later on, we noticed that there was a works van across the road - there are a couple of empty houses waiting for some work to be done on them. Miss FCUK (my carer) got all excited about that too! Shame!!
Carers - Can't live without them, but..!?!
Oh, what a wonderful few days I have had! You see, I employ three carers and two of them are off sick! This means that I might not be going to bed tomorrow and Thursday night, plus I could end up staying in bed on Saturday!!!!! This is one of the disadvantages of Independent Living.
While I wouldn't have it any other way, I could do with less stress in my life! It doesn't help that I am trying to become a writer - I can't write when I am under stress!!! I would like to write short stories and earn some pocket money. When you are disabled, you end up living on the breadline and you have to be a very good money manager. I enjoy good food & drink, holidays, plus nice things around the house. Hence why I am hoping to earn some pocket money.
Anyway, as I was saying, I employ three carers. I get money to employ them via Direct Payments and the Independent Living Fund which is funded from Central Government. Direct Payments come from the local Social Services. One gets assessed as to how much support one needs (a Community Care Assessment), if you require a high level of care (like myself), you are entitled to apply for more money from the Independent Living Fund. Once you know how much money you have got coming in, you calculate how many hours of care you can have. Now you are ready to employ your carers! Simple?!? Not!!! When it works, its great; when it fails (like now) its terrible!!
When you take this on, you also become an employer. More stress & paperwork!!! Finding good carers can be very difficult. One has a very close relationship with the carer and spends a lot of time in their company. In other words, you must like each other if the relationship is going to work!! How does one know if you and "whoever" are going to get on, on the basis of a thirty minute interview? Sometimes I have to interview about ten people before I find a suitable person. However, I have also been fortunate enough to be able to click with someone as soon as I meet them!
For those of you who would like more information about Independent Living, check out these links: http://www.scope.org.uk/index.shtml & http://www.therowan.org/ plus
http://www.ncil.org.uk/
First time!!!
This is my first blog! Now that I am up and running, I don't know what to write!!! Oh well, I will think of something in a minute.
Firstly, I would like to thank CP for inspiring me to become a blogger! While the Paralymics were on, I logged on every day to read her blog with avid interest. She brought back memories of hot summers in Ischia and of my days as a disabled athlete.
I will tell you some of those memories later. I will also tell you about Ischia and explain some things about disabled sports. But, right now, its dinner time!!! Bye for now...
