#SSS June 21st - @Action_Jack @raemorrismusic @BCNA2013 @LimbPower

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!

Just to start off, I'm sitting out in the garden at my nanny Js, getting a bit of sunshine on my pale white skin! While dad is away in Las Vegas sunshine! I'm not a bit jealous! Honest....

But Happy Fathers Day to all the lovely dads and granddads out there! I'm sure you've all received lots of love today!

Ok so where do I start. Well, back to Monday two weeks ago, I had my fitness head on! So I went and swam 50 lengths with Anna. I'm hopping to get it higher and keep it up weekly. She's been away over the last week or so with Dad and Mark in Vegas, but when she's back, I'll be going 2 or 3 times a week with her.  If I want to do this Triathlon, I better keep the fitness levels up!

I bought Rae Morris tickets!! I saw her with Roisin supporting Lianne La Havas in 2013 and she was so cool. Now she's got her own album out and is touring I just had to get tickets to see her! I love her album and would love to hear it live! She's back at the Birmingham Institute where I first saw her, on October 11th, so I asked my dear friend Josh if he wanted to come, as it's his birthday on the 20th, he said he would, so it will be fun, I'm really looking forward to it :) 

I also bought tickets to see Purity Ring at The Roundhouse, London on Thursday 29th October, I would love to see them after listening to their new album, Eternity. My friend Ross said he'd like to see them too, so he'll come with me. I'll look forward to that too.

On Tuesday I went for a lovely little meal with  Dad, Anna, Dan, Grace, James & Isabelle. As dad and Anna were heading to Vegas for a couple of weeks, it was nice to all get together for a pre birthday meal for Izzy. It was lovely seeing them all and having a nice chat. After the meal we headed to Nanny Js for a cuppa and catch up, so dad could pick up his mail before leaving for Vegas the following day. 

They left for Vegas on the Thursday, to be there for a few weeks. Dad, doing his thing and Anna visiting her sister and family over in Buffalo. Anna's mom, Camilla was moving in with me, to keep both me and Sally (the dog) company! I also needed her help with transport to appointments etc. So it was very nice of her being around to help me out.

That weekend I headed back down to Birmingham to stay with the family down there. I also had a date on Saturday, so it was nice to be down there, up and ready for it Saturday morning. That was a lovely little meet up, my favourite part being the delicious elderflower mojito we had at Bank restaurant!

Then Sunday, my dear friend Roisin came round to visit me at my nanny Js. It was so nice to catch up with her while she's back in Birmingham. She's living and working in London, so her time back home here in Birmingham is very precious! Especially for the people who miss her and don't get to go down and visit her! That night my nanny J and her lovely friend Mairead brought me back home to Tettenhall. 

Then on Monday afternoon I had an appointment to see my prosthetist Tim Howard, he was taking my leg in to sort the socket out! So I brought my old trusty Leonard with me to wear home. The lovely phsyio lady, Louise, told me to practise running with this leg, so I tried it in the garden a couple of times! I'm not confident enough to do it in a park where people can see and laugh! Maybe not visible laughter but it would be hard not to laugh a little bit inside when you saw how ridiculous my movement is when I run! I need to keep working on it really. So I'm going to practice my ass off this summer! Hopefully I'll get a blade to run with by autumn. 

Then Tuesday 16th was my darling niece Isabelle's 2nd birthday! I didn't get a chance to see her but I heard she had a lovely day!
I went to see my Neurologist at West Park hospital, and he basically signed me off! He said if I ever felt the need to, I was always welcome back. I'm basically as good as it's going to get though, in his eyes. There's always room for improvement though, so I'll keep at it anyway.
 I may find things a bit over whelming when the work load and life in general gets a bit more hectic. But it wont come to me as an unknown shock. I know I have to be extra careful about overloading my brain and tiring it out. I will always have to be more diligent with my notes and detailing things in my dairy. It's nothing too difficult anyway.
I think when I get back into work, the added stress of that on a day to day basis might make me a little more worn out by Friday, but I'll just have to rest well over the weekend, instead of going out and partying! But that was all over ratted anyway!

Confession time - on Wednesday I took Sally to the park, on my own :)
She was good, didn't pull too much. Understandably the family are a little nervous about me doing that, as she's a strong dog and does get over excited when she sees other dogs. I think they have a sixth sense though! She must have picked up on the fact that I was a little nervous and so was very (out of character) calm and obedient with me. She didn't pull and go mental when she saw other dogs, she didn't go crazy at the park and run into the pool like she normally does with my dad. It was actually a lovely, calm walk around the park!  Just what I needed really for the night before my presentation!  

So on Thursday 18th, at the Wolverhampton football ground, the  Black Country Neurological Alliance had their roadshow. There roadshows are for people of the black country to get together and see what help and guidance there is for those living with a neurological condition - In my case a mild brain injury.
 So my presentation went well! It was only a short 10 minute talk about my injury, my blog and my support networks. It was really well received! Great roadshow all round in a nice venue. So I''m looking forward to the next one. The lovely people from West Part came too, which was nice to see them. There's a lovely lady there working on my CV for me, so I'll get that back from her this week and then start emailing it out to people! I'm hoping to be working by September. I'll be getting my car then so I'll no doubt need extra money for petrol and starburst. (Everyone needs a pack of starburst in their car!) 

Friday came and I thought I had a meeting at the Maltings, to collect my leg, but I had changed it to Monday! So I had to keep my old leg for this weekend. A bit annoying, but my fault for unnecessarily rescheduling!

  

On the 4th July at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, 26 amputees will be doing a 1 mile walk/hop/wheel/dance/run/slide/cartwheel/roly-poly around the stadium field. All dressed up in silly costumes! Anna and I are dressing up as the tortoise & the hare! 

LimbPower support many amputees in the UK, they hold event throughout the year for fun activities and get togethers with old friends!

 It's a great way to meet people going through similar struggles and just supporting one another. 

So I set up Just Giving pages for both Anna and I for our Manic Marafun event!

• To see Anna's page and donate click here 

• To see mine and donate please click here - As you can see, I'm currently 30% of the way to my target of £200.00 So if you are feeling generous, do pop a penny in for me please. 

The money will be going to this amazing charity,  who hold many events for people all over the UK, who are amputees or limb impaired. It's amazing what they do and I want to thank them for all of the opportunities they have given me, but raising a bit of awareness and funds through the Manic Marafun event. Keep your eyes peeled for the ridiculous photos that will be up on here soon after the event on 4th July!

More exciting news from last week, Alex passed her driving test & bought her car!!! 
She'll be out of the roads next week, spinning around in her new Peugeot 108! She will be my personal assistant until I get my own set of wheels in September. ;)

I've been a massive let down this weekend! I had a couple of dates lined up, but I had a stinking headache so had to reschedule them both! Instead of going to a Caribbean festival on Saturday, which would have made my headache even worse, I went out with nanny D and Alex for a nice relaxing pub lunch and then stayed at my nanny Js that night.
My head was still a bit sore this morning too, so I stayed in and relaxed at hers. Helen popped in for a cup of coffee and a chat and then later Martina came for dinner. It was lovely catching up with them both.

I'm having an early night tonight and hoping I wake up headache free! Being on this laptop probably isn't helping! I'll wrap it up now.

Until next time,
Peace xxx

#MondayMotivation - 8th June @BBCRadio4 @fifiglover @MaggsA @sianDgreen @KPFoundation @BCNA2013 @Altlimpro 🙌

So I spend a few hours typing up my blog post last night, I was being very thorough with it detailing how amazing my last two weeks have been! And especially talking about the KPFoundation weekend I had just got home from! It was a really good post and then as I tried to post it, it crashed! I lost the whole bloody thing! I was too exhausted to rewrite it so I decided to just go to bed and come back to it this morning!
So instead of my usual #SSS Sunday Smile Sermon, I'm writing my #MM Monday Motivation! I guess it's more apt for this post anyway, seeing as I left a venue with lots of lovely people with the KPFoundation feeling massively inspired!

So what's been going on since my last post. Well the mini me turned  21 Alex! I posted a little video I made for her last weekend. I was going to show the video at her surprise party, but I'm glad I didn't now, as it made a lot of people cry! So it could have been even worse at her party with a few drinks down you! It was a great little party anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and Alex of course.
On her actual birthday, the Sunday after the party, we went to the cinema for a chilled out afternoon watching Pitch perfect 2.

I received a lovely card from Sian that week, when I got home from my weekend in Birmingham, I had a really sweet card, celebrating my 2 year "ampuversary". Very kind of thoughtful from Sian! Thank you sweetie!
 
It was lovely meeting up with Sian face to face at Bristol for a chat with Fi Golver, in her radio programme called 'Shared Experiences'. I was contacted by the lovely Maggie Ayre at the BBC, and when she invited me to join her and Fi Glover, she asked if I knew any other people who may be interested, I asked Sian and she was well up for it! So we did the recording together and had a really nice meeting, the two of us and a lovely man called David who was paralysed from the neck down from a diving accident in Australia!
It was aired last week on BBC Radio 4,  click here to listen.  I sound so Brummie!

Early last week I went to my mobility centre to speak to my prosthetist, I really really REALLY want a running blade!  I want to start running better and faster!! Then I would love to do fundraising runs to help raise valuable funds for the two charities that have really helped me on my journey of recovery! LimbPower and the KatiePiperFoundation.

If anyone is feeling charitable this summer and wants to do a bit of fundraising, please do consider supporting these two organisation. They help so many people in the UK  who may be feeling sad and alone in their situation, so to have the peer support of others who have gone through similar bad things to you, is truly invaluable! ... And as soon as I get myself a running blade, put your hands in pockets for that fundraising! Hopefully I have one to start practising in by Autumn.

LimbPower are doing an event called Manic Marafun, in July, so I have my costume ready for that! Anna and I are going as the tortoise & the hare, I'm the hare as I'm the manic fast person who has no patience what so ever. Anna's the tortoise as she is very slow paced and chilled! It will be a fun event, I'm really looking forward to it! I'll set up a fundraising page this week to help raise a bit of money for the mile each walk/run/cycle we do! So I'll be pestering you all for donations! :) 

On Tuesday last week, I went to view Wolverhampton football ground. The organisation I'm helping Black Country Neurological Alliance, are holding their next roadshow there, on the 18th June.
I will be doing a little presentation there so I wanted to get a feel for the room size. It's quite a big room so I'm a little bit nervous! Well I was REALLY nervous at first, as my public speaking skills have never been great. But doing a little talk at the weekend for the KPF was really good practise for me! I'm feeling good about doing my talk at the roadshow now :)  

I've been going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week, to help get fitter and stronger.  Go hard or go home! On Wednesday I tried some more gym machines, it was good, obviously I need to do things a little differently because of my leg, but it's not that much of a change.
 I really want to try rock climbing! I saw a little girl doing it with a prosthetic leg, on a post on Facebook, I was like wow! I need to try this! Click here to see where I am going to try this week! Eeeek! I'll let you know how I get on anyway, hopefully I won't have too many falls! 

I've decided I really need to go and see a Chiropractor too, so I'm going to see one this week and see if he can help me release some of the tension I have in my back! I'm always having to click my back to help it! Hopefully he/she can give it a good click which will sort me out for a few weeks!

So this weekend I went to Reading with my sister Alex, for a KPFoundation weekend away in Reading. It was a lovely little retreat for many burn survivors to get together and try new things and meet new people.

Burns can be an isolating thing to deal with, so for a good get together, sharing experiences and just relaxing together, really is like a lovely relaxing weekend holiday! It was great!!! I met some really cool people, who I'll hopefully stay in touch with and meet again at another event organised by the charity.

We got picked up from Reading train station by a lovely lady called Karen, who I met briefly at an event the foundation did at the Birmingham QE hospital. She took me, Alex and a lady from Bradford who was at the station too, to the venue. A gorgeous De Barns hotel.
It was a beautiful hotel, lots of gorgeous land, nice rooms and nice balcony next to the room where we all gathered for food.

When we all arrived we relaxed in the rooms where we were staying and  then headed to a room where we all sat to listen to an introduction talk from Katie, who then introduced me for my talk. I didn't wan't to go into detail of my injuries and my operations or anything like that, so I just talked about my blog and how I focus on the things that make me smile. How your inner happiness is paramount to your recovery. The fact that I couldn't smile the way I used to, because of my scars and nerve damage, is sad. It's what upset me the most with all of the injuries I had. Literally, even more than my leg!
I wanted to be happy inside and out so I focused on that and shared my journey with others in this blog. And to this day still do, because the support and encouragement I've had since sharing my life, has been amazing! A trouble shared is a trouble halved!

After my talk, we did some pilates, led by the lovely Tulsi at the Foundation. She did a great job! It was quite tiring in fact, so after this little work out, I went to a crafts room where Beth was leading a little crafts session, decorating things with Papier-mâché . I decorated a nice heart ornament to give to Anna when I got home.  :) 

After this, I had a 1 to 1 session with a gorgeous lady from Blackpool called Kerrie, a skin camouflage practitioner. She tried out various colours on me until we found a match! Then this cream was placed on my scars on my face and neck. The scar on my neck is still quite red and sore looking, but with this cream and then the powder to cover the shine was placed over it, it magically covered it all! It was like there was nothing there! AMAZING!!!!! I can also get these things on the NHS, so the products used with Kerrie have been written down on a piece of paper that I need to take to my doctor and get ordered! It's amazing that this can be ordered from the NHS too, it's such a nice idea to have something like this as a base, which I can then put normal make up over the top. Yay!!!! I'll have to order some in before going on any future dates ;)

We all then went back to our rooms and got ready for our meal together. I did bring a nice dress with me to wear on the evening, but I hadn't shaved my leg, so I just stayed in the trousers I was wearing that day. You'd think with the chore of leg shaving being halved for me, I'd actually be doing it regularly! Somethings never change aye!

 So we all then met up in the restaurant room are, where we chilled out on the balcony with a glass of champagne. Then we sat down for a lovely 3 course meal, a nice smoked salmon starter, delicious chicken main, and, my favourite, profiteroles for dessert! It was all so yummy! There was plenty of wine on the tables too, so it was  a lovely relaxing meal together with the cool cats we'd all met during the day events. After our meal, we all sang happy birthday to the lovely lady Zinny, who is the charity services manager. We had been signing a card for her throughout the day and gave this to her with a lovely bunch of flowers as a big happy birthday and thank you, for organising such an amazing event with the charity. I hope she had a lovely birthday! She is such an incredibly generous lady and definitely deserved to be spoilt rotten, so I hope her friends and family did so when she got home!
Then more cards and flowers were handed out to all the people who helped to run the event. They also gave one to me for my presentation, which was so sweet of them, I will definitely cherish it!

We all then went back to our rooms for well needed sleep! On Sunday, we all met up for breakfast together. It was a glorious sunny day and we started off with a relaxing mediation time, outside on the lawn, led by Tulsi. After this, Katie did a little talk with some strong affirmations, reflecting on what we all had done over the weekend! A lovely end to day!
We then got a taxi back to Reading train station with a group of people who were making a journey from there at the same time. We all said our goodbyes and I left feeling amazing! I hope the friends I made there are genuinely friends who I'll stay in touch with and meet again at another KPFoundation event!

I briefly spoke to a cool young lady who was helping the foundation, in the space of someone who was on maternity leave. My blog, stating how I wanted to get into Music Festival Management before my accident, interested her and she said we should chat about the idea of having an event like this for the foundation! It would be an amazing idea!!!! I hope to get in touch with her again soon and share our ideas/plans and then start organising it! Ive forgotten this lady's name, so if anyone is reading this who knows, please do remind me so I can get in touch with her.

Alternative limb project

 Kiera Roche had a beautiful leg made by them, which you can find if you click here. I'm seriously thinking about getting one. Maybe not a full leg cover like this, but I need a foot shell that will squeeze into a nice pair of shoes! I need a natural arch in the foot, so it sits well in nice shoes! I just  can't live a flat footed life! No way!
So I really need this foot shell from ALP - I'm def going to look into this now! I need a nice pair of high wedges for Alice's wedding!!! I'm happy to go flat footed for Dans', that's coming up soon and I don't want to put too much pressure on myself with that! So Alice's wedding next year! That's when I need my new foot shell for. 
I'll let you know how I get on anyway. Stay tuned ;) 

Until next time,
x