Content Warning: This post will contain details of having and recovering from open heart surgery, including details of chest tubes, catheters and more. There are also photos of cannulas, central lines and post-surgery wounds, there will be a further content warning before each of these photos. Throughout the 10 years I’ve been blogging I’ve used my platform to honestly share my experience of my disability and the surgeries I’ve had. In the lead up to my spinal fusion surgery in 2013, I couldn’t find the answers to many of the questions I had about the operation, so I felt that sharing my exper ..read more

An open letter to the commercial theatre industry about accessibility and disability representationTheatre is for everyone – that’s what they tell us anyway. However, for Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent audience members and those working in the industry, quite often that simply isn’t true. Every year disabled people tell themselves that things will get better. But, as every year passes by, there is little change. It is frustrating that in 2021 we are still having the same conversations about accessibility and disability rights in the theatre industry. Disabled people are the largest minority ..read more

As a disabled theatre fan and photographer I love nothing more than when an email lands in my inbox telling me about an inclusive performance, or a show featuring disabled actors. Representation is so important, and each time we cast a disabled performer, hire disabled creatives and generally give disabled people a seat at the table, we move one step closer to equality. This week I got the chance to speak to Gillian Dean and Robin Paley Yorke, who are performing in the premiere of States of Mind, a compelling play based on Shakespeare’s poem Venus and Adonis. The play is being produced by ..read more

THEATRE IS BACK!Okay, so theatre has actually been back for a while, but after having heart surgery in June I’ve only been back at the theatre regularly for the past couple of months. There has truly never been a better time to support theatre, whether that’s locally or further afield, if you feel safe of course. We’re all at different points of what we feel comfortable with and that’s okay! I wanted to start sharing what shows I’m seeing more on here again now theatre feels a little more stable. We really are spoilt for choice at the moment with what to see so hopefully these round ups w ..read more

This piece is part of a series of paid commissioned opinion and personal essay pieces by Disabled writers. Disabled people are constantly asked to work for free, to give their opinion for free and to educate people for free, and so I have created this space to not only give Disabled writers the opportunity to write and speak, but to gain income as well. You can expect to hear from a variety of Disabled, Deaf and hard of hearing people, Neurodivergent people and those living with chronic and mental illness. This is entirely fundraised for. Pacing & Chronic Illness | What I’ve Learntby ..read more

Well, this is a little odd. The last theatre review I posted was February 2020, just one month before we entered our first lockdown and our theatres shut. It’s taken me a little while to feel ready to return to my passion, but last weekend I finally stepped foot in a West End theatre again. Like many disabled people I was nervous, not only about the Covid side of things, but also I’m out of practice when it comes to navigating the West End’s inaccessibility, how would I cope with it? It turns out I picked the perfect show as my first one back though, as you’ll see from my accessibility review ..read more

This piece is part of a series of paid commissioned opinion and personal essay pieces by Disabled writers. Disabled people are constantly asked to work for free, to give their opinion for free and to educate people for free, and so I have created this space to not only give Disabled people writers the opportunity to write and speak, but to gain income as well. You can expect to hear from a variety of Disabled, Deaf and hard of hearing people, Neurodivergent people and those living with chronic and mental illness. This is entirely fundraised for, so if you can spare anything at all to help fund ..read more

It’s now been over 7 months since I first wrote my ‘5 Books To Read By Disabled Authors’ post in attempt to not only diversify my bookshelf, but yours too. I realised last year that despite being disabled myself, my book collection was severely lacking in representation of disabled people, including Deaf and neurodivergent authors, and ever since then I’ve been working to search out the best fiction and non-fiction books out there written by disabled people. My last post was a little heavy on the non-fiction side of things but I’m so happy to share more fiction reads with you this time around ..read more

 AD | I was recently commissioned by Mobility Plus to give my thoughts on accessible bathroom design. They specialise in the installation of bathrooms that combine practicality and style for customers with mobility needs. If I could only renovate one room of my home to make it more accessible, without a doubt it would be the bathroom. Accessible bathroom design might not sound like the most exciting topic to most, but like many disabled people, I dream of what my ideal accessible bathroom might look like. Currently, I use daily living aids and tools like a bath board to aid wit ..read more

Over the past 9 years I’ve spoken a lot about my personal experience of having Marfan Syndrome, a rare genetic connective tissue disorder, both on my blog and in the media. Raising awareness of the condition has always been a long term goal of mine, and whilst sharing my journey is definitely doing that, at the end of the day I am just one person with one experience. As I so often say, Marfan is a spectrum condition and even within families the manifestation of it can differ. So today, to mark Marfan awareness month I’m teaming up with Sarah, who also has Marfan, to show how differently the co ..read more