February 2022

 Another month and more opportunities to stretch myself and keep edging outside of that comfort zone.

You may remember that in October I had the chance to present my story to a regional group of professionals involved in Disability and care provision. Well I was asked to repeat that but this time to a national audience. Given the warm welcome and interest they showed me last time, accepting the invitation was a pleasure.

Once again, the delegates listened patiently to my story and, more importantly, interacted with me throughout. Towards the end of the presentation I was asked what I thought was the biggest obstacle to me getting back into full time employment? I have to admit that it was a curve ball and all I could think of was my previous job and how the hell I would be able to cope with the pressures, both physical and mental, of that? Not to mention the logistical challenge of travel as a Quad amputee!

After a couple of moments I said that confidence was my biggest obstacle. My brain fog on some days leaves me totally bamboozled and that inability to trust my own thought process and memory is truly worrying. 

After the presentation I was talking this through with David and we explored this theme of confidence. My initial answer was centred around self-confidence but in reality it’s not only my lack of confidence in my abilities to cope with everyday challenges. It’s a lack of confidence in the everyday environment outside of my home, my safe space, to cope with me.

With that in mind, I decided it was time to get out and see. I’ve spoken previously about the general provision of Accessibility and that it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. That said, it’s only been a handful of experiences so I can’t really take those as being typical. Like any study, I need a larger data set to get a more accurate finding😂

I rely heavily on David accompanying me when I venture out, although recently, with the aid of Patient transport services I’ve been getting to and from Physio without him. Surely if I just replace Patient transport with an accessible taxi, I can sort other activities for myself. 

Well it turns out that while my local council offers a list of cab firms and vehicles licensed as Accessible, the list itself is woefully out of date. 3 of the 8 vehicles listed are no longer available, few of them are prebookable being on the day only and hardly any will accept evening bookings! So that’s social and leisure activities severely reduced. Looks like my first attempt was going to be limited to something more functional. 

Without telling David, I made a Dental appointment and booked my taxi. I was going to just do it and let him know afterwards but instead spilled the beans just before. I don’t know what I thought his reaction would be but he was over the moon and while he had his concerns he told me to go for it!…so I did!

I won’t pretend it was 100% straightforward but it went better than I could ever have imagined. My Taxi driver couldn’t do enough to help me. An everyday pick up for him was a massive deal for me and gave me the confidence to try more on my own.

And finally, based on a recommendation from friends we decided to take a break at Center Parcs Whinfell Forest. It was recommended as it has adapted lodges and accessible facilities. We checked out various reviews, looked at video blogs and even spoke directly to their customer service team before we went. It all seemed great so I felt reasonably comfortable as we set off.

So, did it live up to expectations?…..In the main, yes.🙂  The facilities are first class although in the Spa, there were no mixed sex or Family Disabled changing facilities. Instead, David was directed to the Male changing rooms and I was shown to the Female. When we explained that David need to help me get changed, it totally threw them. Don’t get me wrong, they hastily arranged for us to use one of the treatment rooms which wasn’t in use but this had none of the usual aids that would be in a disabled friendly changing room. I think this is something that they should really reconsider.

Once in the Spa, the facilities were once again, very good. However there was a moment of concern from staff when they offered the use of Wet chairs and hoists only to then wonder whether there was anyone on duty trained to use them? And this I think pretty much summed up my experience at Center Parcs. Facilities are very, very good. The staffs familiarity with those facilities could really be better. Guests using them shouldn’t feel it’s a big deal or an inconvenience.

I’ve never been the most confident swimmer nor felt fully comfortable in a pool but, busy as it was, I was able to find a quiet area and brave the waters ( and my shower legs) and try a dip. Happy to report that I was able to get in and out on my own and with a bit of steadying from David, even managed a short whirlpool experience!