Physio
Physio was good, I done several stands with my frame which went really well. I think I did a few transfers from my powerchair to the plinth because I remember before sitting down in my powerchair, I managed to push it back… while it was off. Confused? Yeah, we were too!
Daisy (9 Months)
Powerchair Arrived!
The day I have been waiting for! My new powerchair arrived on the 10th, but somebody from the Wheelchair Services couldn’t come out until the next day (11th) so I just sat here ogling my new best friend for 24 hours… well that’s an exaggeration because obviously, I needed sleep.
But, oh my goodness, she is beautiful! You’d think I would name my new powerchair Loki, right? I wanted to but then Sylvie (from the Disney+ series, Loki) had a nice ring to it, so still Loki-themed! Sylvie is the best, she is comfortable, she is fast, and offers excellent support.
So, superheroes and villains, meet Sylvie!
Grammarly
After a friend mentioned using Grammarly, I asked if it was actually any good. She told me she uses the free version (which I thought there was only a paid option). So off I toddled to Chrome and downloaded Grammarly – I like the little emojis that pop up representing how my text sounds, that amuses me.
But after a couple of weeks using it, I want to apologise to you, my poor readers who have endured my poor grammar, the misplacing of punctuation, and if I sound boring. I thought I was quite good with grammar, but there is definitely room for improvement! Does anyone use the paid version? Is it worth it?
Magazine Reveal
Do you remember me mentioning I had a photoshoot back in June? Or did you see my recent post, A Bit of News…? Don’t worry if you didn’t, I will talk about it here.
Sophia, the founder, and editor behind a fantastic new magazine, Paranting, a lifestyle magazine for parents, was looking for a diverse range of people to feature on the front cover of each issue. I replied to her tweet showing my interest, and Sophia got back to me a little while later with more details.
The photoshoot with Diana was great! She really made me feel at ease, and each photo she took felt very natural – which is surprising for me because I really don’t feel comfortable in front of the camera… says the person who is on the front cover of a magazine!
The photos mean everything to me as, due to the pandemic, we weren’t able to get professional photos of Daisy or us as a family, and that really did affect me for a while.
As the photos are for personal use only, I won’t be sharing them on my blog or social media, however here is a video of the issue that I was featured in and I will love you forever and ever if you go check out Sophia’s brilliant venture!
Volunteering with lABLEd podcast
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost been a month since I started volunteering with lABLEd podcast! I am really enjoying it so far, and I’m excited for the podcast to grow and grow!
Went Self-Hosted
After what feels like forever and a day, I finally stopped procrastinating and went self-hosted! The decision in going with Lyrical Host was a no-brainer as I had read nothing but raving reviews, and the team certainly live up to their exceptional customer service!
The migration took about 6 hours I think, probably a bit less, but my site didn’t go LIVE until the next morning because I kept getting stuck and asked a lot of questions (sounds about right!) I was taken aback by all the freedom, and the number of plugins (honestly, how do people decide on which ones to install?!)
I’m playing it safe at the moment, I’ve only installed and activated the ones that Lyrical Host recommends, and a couple that has the most reviews. I think, so far, it’s going better than I thought it would!
When I published My Plans For Undercover Superhero on Saturday, I was excited for you all to come and see my new site… but a few hours went by with nothing and I must admit, realising that none of you could see my latest post made me feel sad, and I very nearly emailed a lot of you saying “I am still here!” – 9 times out of 10, Ashley is the first to comment, then the regulars can vary from Caz, Kymber, Elizabeth, Katherine, Khushi, Rory, and a few others.
But then Katherine commented, followed by Khushi, then Caz, and a few new visitors. I was so relieved to see all of your names pop up – please let me know how you found my latest post because I want to get to the bottom of why they’re not showing up in the WP Reader!
But enough about that, but bloody hell I have missed you lot! Anyway, where was I? Yes, going self-hosted, I’m really excited to explore all the newfound freedom and see what I can do. This is why I’m behind on reading all of your posts, every spare minute I’ve had I find something new and am like “Ooh, what does this do?”
Here’s to a new chapter of Undercover Superhero!
Physio
While I was on my way to physio, I was trying to come up with a parody version of ‘Is this the way to Amarillo’? and I got as far as “Am I on my way to physio? Every night I’ve been hugging my dildo”… where the bleep did that come from? I don’t even have a dildo! Why would somebody hug a dildo anyway, I imagine they’re not cuddly… but anyway enough about dildos.
I felt this physio session was the best I’ve had for a long time. I lost count of how many stands I did with my frame, but I did 4 transfers too which went really well! I didn’t notice Sophie for long enough because she dyed her hair blonde, and I mean like Elsa blonde! Still didn’t click when she stood right in front of me but then the penny dropped – I’m so used to her with dark hair so seeing her with blonde hair threw me!
Addenbrooke’s
So, the early appointment I kept putting off finally happened. We were told that I would need the blood test which checks for tumours (due to the faulty SDHB gene I have) and then a chat with my genetics consultant.
Also, this was my first long journey in my WAV, and my new powerchair so I was apprehensive to know if I could manage the 132-mile round-trip, but I was really comfortable and there weren’t any problems so all good!
Anyway, we got there OK, I had my blood pressure taken and was then weighed – all good I assume. Then we waited outside in the lobby area waiting to be called for my blood test. We barely got through the double doors before my consultant caught up with us and called us in for my appointment.
She asked how I was doing and wanted to see photos of Daisy, she asked about the pregnancy and wondered if we are planning to have another (Ha… I’m not putting my body through the recovery after a c-section again!) Anyway, she started talking about this faulty gene and Mitochondrial Disease.
I knew mum would recap everything and there was no way I can try and focus on understanding what was being said because well… fatigue. From what mum told me, the faulty SDHB gene is very unlikely to have caused all my conditions – so no further forward with finding out what caused everything.
Secondly, apparently, I look too well to have Mitochondrial Disease… and it’s still up in the air as to whether I have it or not. I’d like to get off this merry-go-round now, it’s driving me insane…
… and instead of having the blood test, like we were told, I would have it the same day as I will have my MRI (which checks for tumours also). So, basically, we travelled 132 miles for a 20-minute chat… and that’s not the best of it! The blood test that I’ll be having, tests for Mitochondrial Disease!
Why the bleep was this not done 3 years ago?! I could go off on a tangent here and not stop, but it’s safe to say that this really irked me. 3 bleeping years of worrying every single day. Anyway, sorry for my little outrage but as ever, I will keep you all updated.
Mega MEGA news!
I CANNOT wait to share with you which brand would like to build a relationship with me – oh my goodness, it is my favourite brand ever and I cried so much when I read the email! Keep an eye out for the end of September!
Daisy’s Crawling!
I can’t believe that I’m typing this… but our Little Avenger is crawling! She’s all limbs at the moment but she’ll be like a rocket when she’s mastered it. Daisy is growing way too fast!
The Reality of… Series Announcement
Serious talk now folks!
After months of working out how much money I have at the end of the month, I want to start paying people who feature in the series, and this includes the 65 people that have already featured. I wish I could pay more, but I can afford to pay £30 for each guest post.
I understand not everyone uses PayPal, therefore I have decided on 3 options:
- £30 via PayPal
- £30 donation to a charity of your choice
- £30 gift card of your choice
The series won’t resume until I’ve made some progress with repaying people. I really want to do this because I have seen far too many times that disabled writers don’t get paid for sharing their experiences, especially by big brands and I know my blog is nothing big but I want everyone to know how much I appreciate them and sharing their story on my blog.
To everyone who has featured so far, please expect an email from me at some point soon discussing this. I look forward to catching up with you all! For anyone that would like to feature in the series, then please get in contact and I’ll be happy to answer any questions that you have.
What’s Happening in September?
As I mentioned above, because I’ve not long transitioned to a self-hosted blog I want to take my time with learning the ropes and making all the tweaks I need to, hence I won’t be posting throughout September (however, there might be a Christmas-related post towards the end of the month).
I need to catch up with reading blogs, I have over 150 in my inbox and I really want to take my time with them. I’ll have more physio, and hopefully will be starting Christmas shopping as I’m so behind with being prepared this year! Not only have we got 9 nieces and nephews to buy for, and 4 of them have birthdays in December. Plus, we have Daisy’s 1st birthday and Christmas to plan for too… so yeah, I’ll be busy!
How was your August?
