Tag Archives: health

Physical activities

What are your favorite physical activities or exercises?

Being a full-time wheelchair user my options of physical activities or exercise are somewhat limited, however, what I really do enjoy is spending time in the garden.

I enjoy starting off new seeds, and then planted them up in pots outside. All this requires some physical effort but it’s also great fun to watch as they grow and become flowers and or food to eat.

Flowers in a container.

Being outside doing this this is good physical activity, is good for mental health, and also helps me too top up with vitamin D. What more could I ask?!

Advertisement

Animal lover

What are your favorite animals?

I really am a huge animal lover, but dogs have to be my all time favourite animal.

They are so loyal, understanding, patient and caring. Given the time and care they truly deserve, they’ll pay that back 1000’s of times more over their lifetime.

I don’t believe there is such a thing as a bad dog. A traumatised one, a scared dog, an under exercised and under stimulated dog, and definitely confused ones. But not a dog that’s bad from birth.

It is our responsibility and commitment to care for and look after them, and we need to do the best we can by them. Ensuring they feel safe, loved, secure, comfortable, and healthy.

They really are the perfect companion/friend.

Need a wee?

This is something we all need to do, it is a basic human need. So you probably don’t think about you just had to the toilet and then go back to whatever you were doing.

If you use a wheelchair or have other access needs then this basic need becomes slightly trickier. Where is the nearest new you can use? Is it locked, and if so do you have a key? Is it being used as a storage cupboard? Is there an emergency pull cord for you if necessary? Maybe you need a hoist, or grab rails, or enough room to manoeuvre your chair to enable transferring, is the room big enough?

They are more and more changing places toilets been added to buildings nowadays which is fantastic, however, not all of them I registered on the changing places website which means that people looking for them are not aware of there existence.

If you know of one, or just added one to a building yourself, please please register it. This will go long way in making many people’s lives easier. Allowing them to enjoy time out doing different things with family, friends, go to work, or hospital appointments etc…

The other upside of this is that you will also bring more business to your company, and to the local area, as people who rely on these loos will be able to go out more. Travelling further, and have longer days out.

If you want to create one of these changing places loos, or you want to register one that already exist, or you just need to find one yourself. Then please go to this website it will have the information you need. https://www.changing-places.org/

A toilet.

Go the Way Your Blood Beats

What books do you want to read?

I am going to have to be patient as the book I want to read won’t be released until July this year.

This book is written by someone I knew, but haven’t seen for years. It will I think be very interesting.

Go the Way Your Blood Beats by Emmett de Monterey (Author) 

Summary
A BEAUTIFUL AND POWERFUL MEMOIR OF GROWING UP GAY AND DISABLED IN 1980S LONDON – AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW https://amzn.to/3YOTYna (Amazon Affiliate link, I may earn a little if you make a purchase)

Advertisements

INDOOR WORKOUT IDEAS FOR COLD DAYS…

It’s hard enough to keep fit or even do a workout when in chronic pain and during the winter months it can literally just go out the window. We all know that walking is one of the best things we can do even if it’s only a short walk but during the cold and wet […]

INDOOR WORKOUT IDEAS FOR COLD DAYS…

Powerchair Out of Action

On the Southport Pier before the control panel got locked! With the use of a powerchair, I can drive into a taxi, get on/off the bus and cover miles on footpaths to reach a chosen destination without depending on anyone else to drive me everywhere. My powerchair allows me to be independent and move about […]

Powerchair Out of Action

Important Day for inclusion.

Yesterday I went to Portcullis House in London to take part in the official launch of the Disabled Citizens’ Inquiry. This aims to make walking & wheeling more inclusive for us all, and to give disabled people a voice in the process.

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/research/all-themes/all/disabled-citizens-inquiry/?fbclid=IwAR1eWAS6BR4AD0nDmIMzMps7Ra0WqLFTXpmdx27PYJNOW1v8ps5Jggo1E-g

Disability Gym

The gym doesn’t always feel like somewhere a wheelchair user might feel they can go and enjoy comfortably for many reasons

1. You feel you stand out a mile and can’t help but imagine everyone thinks you should not be there and don’t belong. Well forget them if they can’t be friendly and welcoming

2. Is there actually any equipment here that I can use? Any good gym should have a personal trainer who is willing to work with you and discuss what you can physically do safely, and from that create your own personal routine using the range of equipment you are able to use safely.

3. Access issues. If you want to join a gym then send an email, Facebook messenger, or give them a call to see what there attitude and access is like. Take notice of how they respond and how welcoming they sound, that’s a first impression of what they might be like at the gym itself.

4. What’s is your goal, what benefit do you hope to gain from going to the gym, is it realistic? If you want to get generally fitted, lose a bit of weight, or just tone up a nit ho for it. If you have unrealistic ideas, you’ll be disappointed.

5. Is it safe for me to use a gym? If you’re unsure about your health/disability being a barrier to using the gym safely then have a word with your GP, Consultant or other medical expert who knows you and your condition about it first.

Pair of purple hand weights.

No Internet.

Well, the phone line has a fault so no Internet connection here at the moment.

I am writing this as a note on my mobile phone, then will be able to copy and paste it onto my blog once the WiFi is up and running again.

Its weird not having the instant access to the world that we have all become accustomed to. No up to the minute weather forecast, or news, no notifications that someone has added a new article to their blog, no funny photos via WhatsApp or social media, can’t send or receive emails either.

Most places I go to provide WiFi access, so my data allowance is kept small as it’s generally unnecessary most of the time, and saves money too.

This takes me back to those days in my far distant past where there was no home Internet, or the actually more frustrating era known as dial-up, where you got knocked offline everytime the house phone was used. Man that was so annoying!!

Children and teenagers of today would struggle to imagine life without Internet at all. It is used for almost every sector of our lives, from communication, education, health care, entertainment, banking etc…..

Would you be happy to live in a world where Internet didnt exist after having experienced it?

I’d be happy to live in a world which is far less instant, but feel that the possibilities provided by the Internet and modern technology outweigh the negatives.

Imagine having lived throughout lockdown without any Internet, we’d have been excluded from the world at large, and even from local friends and family. It would have caused so much more isolation, no video calling to catch up with and check in on people to see how they were getting on.

This ability was incredibly vital during lockdown, as you weren’t allowed to spend time with others, and couldn’t even visit dying loved ones in hospital. It allowed some families to say their last goodbyes, not in person, but the nearest that was possible.

Alexa enables people to live more independently, she can open and shut windows, turn lights on, set reminders for medication & appointments, read audio books online, find information for someone who can’t physically hold a book or use a computer.

Gosh, isn’t technology incredible when you actually sit down and think about all the things it helps us to do.

Jobs in care.

What do you imagine when you think of a job as a Carer/PA? I ask this because every one will be different.

Some people will need a carer to basically do everything for them, which is what I imagine most people assume they’d be doing if they worked in care, but this isn’t always the case. Some just need a bit of extra help to complete tasks they can’t do unaided.

Also, do you automatically picture the client as being elderly? If so, think again. There are many people who are working age (and children too) that need a PA to support them to live the fulfilling and independent life they deserve.

Imagine being 28 for example, and not being able to pop down to the local cafe to meet a friend for lunch, because you don’t have the support to get ready and get there and back.

Those who are lucky enough to find a PA have limited hours (unless they are well off enough to pay for the hours they need) which will cover the basic needs, which need to be prioritised, which can well mean little to no social time.

Being a PA can be a great experience if you work for someone you really get on with, and it can give you access to opportunities you might not otherwise have got. Such as being paid to travel abroad, weekends away, go to concerts that you couldn’t have afforded.

If you see a job advert for a Carer/PA opening, don’t dismiss it automatically, be curious if you think it might be interesting then enquire more about what the job entails and who knows you might end up applying for the job and loving it.