Pizza Express

I know I grumble about large companies that get disabled facilities oh so wrong, but some do manage to get it very right. Take Pizza Express for instance. Despite the fact that a very large number of their premises are in old buildings somehow they still manage to provide full disabled access. Ive never been to one I couldn't get into, they may exist but I haven't found one yet anyway. What I particularly like is a lot of these access solutions don't come cheaply, so most companies ring their hands and say how prohibitive the cost is and why they cant get round providing suitable access. Banks are one of the worst culprits at this. So Its really pleasing to see that Pizza Express take their duties seriously and value their disabled customers as its obvious they have spent money on getting it just right. Inside the restaurant is always spacious enough to get a wheelchair round without having to apologise to other customers every 2 seconds without I hope compromising their profit margins. Finally they always have nice spacious disabled loos which are spotlessly clean and not used as store cupboards!

So I'm giving Pizza Express 5 Gold Stars and a big Hoorah! for their efforts and long may they continue to get it right.

Im Zooming!

Today we went off to Carlisle to do a few errands and catch a bit of lunch together and my husband also took charge of me and pushed me round all afternoon. Oh now, how much do I enjoy this? Not a lot. He's very funny while doing it actually and makes me laugh constantly as I'm being zoomed around the centre of the city, I must look rather scary to be honest, giving me a wide berth is probably best at the moment! There is more than a touch of Little Britain about the 2 of us it has to be said..........! The main thing I've noticed is when you get yourself around you read the pavement just like you do when driving a car. So I'm always scanning the pavement for holes, manhole covers, steep bits of camber, cobbles, chewing gum, spit, high bits of dropped kerb and so on. All the lovely things you find on the floor of a city. Theres nothing worse than getting the chair in the car and finding gum stuck to your tyres..... or something more disgusting!!

But with out this experience though my husband is pretty oblivious, me I'm shouting orders in my head while trying not to look terrified. Watch that kerb, that person is about to step backwards, don't hit the bollard, go round (BUMP) that hole, lean to the left (WHEEEEEEE) and so on. Its bit like being on a roller coaster, and I have no control. All in all it wasn't as bad as it could have been. His good humour made me laugh and we managed to avoid hitting anyone- just! I wish I could have seen the expression on my face though, I'm sure it was priceless!

The Financial Implications of Disability

There is a huge misconception that everyone receiving DLA or Incapacity Benefit is a malingerer who is just taking money off the state because they don't want to work. This is down to the likes of the Daily Mail and other scare stories which perpetuate what I can only describe as discrimination against people with disabilities. Now believe it or not being disabled can be bloody expensive and the government isnt just giving out cash all over the place. Oh no, most disabled people live at the lower end of the economy for various reasons, but mostly because they just don't get the chance they deserve.

Anyway here are a few instances from my own pocket over the last few months....

• New mattress £400
• New Wheelchair £600
• Push handles and upholstery £110

These are cheap prices as well because I shop around very carefully. I'm damned if someone is going to make money from my misfortune. Another example of this huge cost is the cost of travel. Despite there being wheelchair accessible buses these are not widely available still, unless you live in a large conurbation. Here in rural England wheelchair users get truly stuffed every time they want to go somewhere. If you don't have access to your own transport, and don't want to rely on a friend or family member all the time then the only option is a taxi. I know someone who paid £80 return to go to Carlisle to get their shopping done at Christmas. If this was any other section of society it wouldn't be deemed acceptable, but if you are disabled then of course you are rolling in money.... I wish. I could go on with endless examples, but the next time you read about someone cheating the benefits system remember 90% of disabled people didn't make disability a lifestyle choice and I'm sure 100% of disabled people hate that sick feeling you get all the time when you know you've just been ripped off but you cant do anything about it.

Googling Me

It has come to my attention that I have been 'Googled' recently a few times. Now I know we have all done it, who hasnt tried to track down an old friend this way, but it makes me a bit uncomfortable. So if you have googled me, at least drop me a line to say hello thats all. It gets very spooky otherwise!!!

Being Pushed Around.....

So at last after weeks of trying to get them delivered, the push handles arrived for my chair and now Ive screwed them in, suddenly the chair looks very cripply! I don't like them much to be truthful, but needs must and all that, and at the moment I cant get anywhere much on my own. Of course my husband just rubs his hands with glee, "A-Ha I have you now in my power, if you don't stop moaning Ill push you off a cliff", he says grinning from ear to ear, "its my chance at last!!!!!" Its a good job I can laugh, you have to or Id go completely bonkers otherwise. Anyway now I shall just have to sit and be pushed around like royalty for a few weeks I suppose, better make the most of it in that case and practice giving orders. I have to say I get extremely nervous when most people push me, and usually sit laughing with slight hysteria in the anticipation that I'm going to end up splattered on the floor.. Still I have 6 weeks to get used to it.

The Queen of Healthy Eating

Oh yes thats me, healthy eating all the way. Whoops did someone once say there were lies and damned lies.... ( Mark Twain I think)? If only I was, for the truth of the matter is Im far from eating healthily at all. The simple reason being practically everything I eat gives me heartburn and I have no capacity for any amount of food anymore. Im pretty sure this is a result of being sat d0wn as opposed to standing up. Hersh minumus is pushing hard on my stomach at the moment, meaning theres no space for food and Im getting acid reflux despite having shares with Gaviscon. So Im pick, pick, picking at my food. A bite of this, a little of that. Ive eaten more chocolate over the last 2 months than I normally would in a year as Im not that keen on it usually. Still, I think my stomach is about the size a a cream egg right now as thats about all I can eat without feeling full. I can manage a sandwich, a bit of fruit, a biscuit, but a meal? Forget it there just isnt room. Only about 6 weeks to go!

Vindolanda

Today being a nice sunny spring afternoon, we went over to Vindoland for tea and a look round. Now Vindoland is a very large Roman museum and archaeological site close to Hadrian's Wall. It has 1000s of artifacts on display, and every year the ground yields hundreds more. Most of it is accessible although actual access to the dig is difficult. Given that the whole site is on hillside they have tried hard to put ramps in and make it easy for wheelchairs but in honesty you probably wouldn't want to negotiate some of it on your own. But that's not a complaint just a quirk of geography.

Anyway my husband went off to the loo and when he came back he said, "You know they don't have a disabled loo.... ?" "I know" I replied as Id been looking. "No I mean they have a big loo designated for the 'use of differently abled people', isn't that a good idea? After all the word DIS-ABLED has negative connotations doesn't it?" he said.

See, hes getting the message, slowly but surely my moaning and groaning is paying off as here's another convert to the cause!!!!!

Inspirational

Seems to me there are a lot of disabled people who are out and about being inspirational. I mean how inspiring is it for people to drag themselves up mountains and across continents, swim seas, and jump out of planes? OK, my personal opinion is that it may be fun while you are doing it but I'm not sure that anyone really gets inspired because of these sorts of things? I was reading an article about a woman with MS who is climbing Snowdon. Actually shes not, shes sitting-in-her-chair up Snowdon while her friends drag her up, the idea behind this is to inspire others. Lets hope her friends have good backs and knees because they will need them. I don't know what inspires you, and while there is certainly a WOW factor to all this sort of thing, I'm not ultimately inspired to go and do it myself or even try to do it. Maybe I don't care, perhaps I don't have the energy, did my get up and go, get up and go?! Actually no, I don't think so, I have things Id like to do , but maybe its more to do with the fact that I'm basically happy in my own shoes, I'm an OK sort of person I suppose and I don't feel I have to prove myself to the whole wide world, because I think I know who I am. The people I have always taken inspiration from are those around us in our daily lives. People who have made the very best from the worst, people who have given to the world, and people who really lead ordinary lives under extraordinary circumstances. So while climbing a mountain may be a personal achievement I don't see it as inspiring others, so no you wont be seeing me doing handstands and walking the length of South America anytime soon, that's far too inspirational for me!

Dont mind me.

Yesterday we decided to do our weekly shop at Waitrose. You know how it is when you get sick of the sight of food, only somewhere like Waitrose can really help. However the car park is a bit odd in that although there is plenty of disabled parking, its surrounded by kerbs, so there is really only one place to get into the shop. They have put in a sort of ramp/dropped kerb which does the job nicely for pushchairs, trolleys and wheelchairs. Anyway Id just got out the car and was slowly getting myself together when I spied a car pull up out the corner of my eye, and out jumped a youngish mother who was in the process of greeting and hugging a friend and doing the usual 'Mwa, Mwa' in the Hexham style. She'd parked right in front of the ramp blocking everyone from using it. So I pottered carefully over to where she was parked in anticipation of her moving, but no such luck, so I went round her car and positioned myself as if to go up the dropped kerb. Now if I hadnt been pregnant Id probably been able to sqeak through or bounce up the kerb, but right now nothing is possible. So I sat there, and sat there, and sat there...................... Eventually after a couple of minutes of being ignored I asked her to move the car forward in my nicest casual style. "Oh do you want to get in the shop?" was the reply..... "No Im sitting here in the middle of the car park in the hope of getting run over and thus claiming a huge about of compensation" was what I thought. Yes if you dont mind, could you just move the car forward a little (and stop gassing)" I replied, smiling that smile that say, Oh Please.....................!

S*X!!!

You don't, I mean you couldn't possibly... really? well who'd have thought it?

Etc etc, etc, etc.

I don't go a bundle on discussing sex in great detail, after all I think its private between you and your partner. However there is the misconception that anyone with a disability is somehow robbed of something which is a very ordinary but also a necessary part of life. I think a lot of people were surprised that I was pregnant, as if this part of our life was never going to happen again and certainly I wouldn't be able would I? Anyway I was sent a very interesting link to a journal published by an American University. Normally I don't even look at things like this as you can guarantee that 99.999% of the time it is some spam trying to sell me Viagra, but on this occasion I was very surprised.

http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/SexLiteracy.cfm?

This is actually a serious journal of the National Sexual Research Center which is part of San Francisco University. It contains all kinds of interesting and thought provoking articles that I would recommend reading whatever your thoughts on this. Normally I just say No I'm not interested, but on this occasion I have to say have a look because you might be surprised. And don't worry its not a sex site!!! LOL!!!!

Drive Thru

Last week my husband went to an event at the Theatre by the Lake in Keswick. It was at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon and so I had to kill just over an hour to wait for him. Now I ask you what do you do on a grey afternoon in Keswick at this time of day with a 3 year old for company? As I'm even more physically challenged than usual at the moment the options were few, just don't even suggest I try to get out the car ok? Its not worth it! Suddenly that light bulb came on in my brain, PING!, Lets go to Macdonalds in Penrith I thought. Now my son has no concept of MacDonalds, doesn't know what they sell, who they are or even recognise Ronald MacDonald, how lucky am I eh? This is because we live at least 20 miles from one and they are not high on my list of places to go anyway. The other thing is that my son is vegetarian, so that doesn't bode well either. But I admit I had an ulterior motive.......they have a drive-thru!!! To those of us who find walking just a bit of an eensy weensy problemo, drive thrus are a godsend. A great idea. I don't have to even attempt to get out of the car, what a relief! 20 minutes later we were getting 2 ice creams and a happy meal. He eats some of the chips, and has the drink and toy, I eat the burger and some of the chips, and we both have ice cream. We sit in the car park of Penrith rail station watching the Virgin Intercity trains fly by and all is well in the world.

Missing You......

I was chatting to a blind friend last week, and was telling her about this weeks Hexham Book festival. "Ah you know I really miss that" she said, once an avid reader. She went on to explain how she really misses just browsing round bookshops looking for something that takes your fancy, something new, something you haven't read before. She pointed out that the vast majority of new books never get put onto CD so she cant hear most of them. Id never thought of it, of course you don't, its hard to empathise with people sometimes, especially when you have no point of reference. So I told her the one thing I really miss is cycling. I have LOVED cycling since I was a child and its one of those activities whereby if you do it regularly, you really see the seasons changing before your eyes. We live in a great part of the world, and the council has put a lot of investment into pretty accessible cycle tracks, so I have been half thinking of getting a hand cycle. But I'm not sure, they are you know a bit Cripply... and I don't know if I would get on with it. But my son will soon want to go out on his bike and my husband doesn't do cycling, anyway why should he have all the fun?

So to get to the end of a long rambling around the houses kind of story, my friend is on the board of Leisure Tynedale, who currently have a huge new project being built in Hexham. I mentioned to her some schemes Ive come across whereby you can hire a bike at a leisure centre. I'm not just talking about any old bike though, I mean any kind of bike you can think of.

Wheels for All!

Working to provide cycling opportunities for everyone to enjoy.
For anyone who isn't able to manage a two-wheeled bike, for whatever reason, this Cycling Project has a variety of equipment in different sizes for you to try.

Bicycles with Stabilisers: A boost to confidence, whatever your age.

Tricycles: All the fun of cycling on three wheels, with the option of a supported or recumbent seat.

Handcycles: More cycling fun. The rider powers the front wheel by hand, great for a wide range of abilities.

Quadcycles and Go Karts: Cycling fun on four wheels.

Bicycles Made for Two: Fun with a friend on the Wheeleasy side by side hand-cycle or regular Side by Side cycle or a Harmony Tandem with hand-cycle or wheelchair at the front and bicycle at the back or perhaps the Kettwiesel recumbent tandem.

This is taken from the website of Sefton Borough Council who run a really great scheme whereby you can hire any type of bike you can think of. Given the nature of Tynedale I think it would be a very worthwhile scheme to have here too. So its something we are trying to get support for from Leisure Tynedale, and who knows maybe it will happen!

Where Oh Where....

......have I been? I'm sure you have been wondering? Well last week I was having a few days R & R as my backside has been bloody killing me. There's no easy way to describe it, so I'll just say that sitting and working on the computer was not high on my list of things to do for a few days. Then suddenly, CALAMITY struck!!! We had very high winds on Friday night and our telephone cable snapped in half! So that has meant no Internet and no phone, WOE, WOE!!!!! So its been very quiet, especially as we have patchy mobile phone coverage around the house as well, but Ive survived just about, although I admit to having had Internet withdrawal symptoms for a day or so!. Anyway the whole thing was fixed today at last, so fingers crossed it will be OK for a year at least!

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

My son is 3 years old and at times terribly earnest. Its surprising what he must think or remember sometimes though. Today my husband was running up stairs, tripped and stubbed his toe! On shouting out a very large OUCH, our son asked him very carefully. "You hurt your back Da? Is it bruised?". It made me smile and at the same time wonder what his concept of me must be? Seems he knows more than we realise - which is usually the case, and small children are often very perceptive, but Id love to know what hes thinking!

Old Friends

My husband suddenly said today, "You know I haven't heard from X for ages, I must get in touch with him...." " Great idea" I said, and meant it, because X is a nice guy. Trouble is after Id said that I realised that X was not aware of my situation, and so I will have to go through the familiar routine of a question and answer session at some point and thats if I'm lucky.

Time flies by us all, and its easy to realise that we haven't been in touch with someone for a long time, suddenly their children are now starting school, we all have new jobs, different houses, new beginnings, and oh yes of course I'm the one in the wheelchair. I know Ive mentioned this before, but some old friends remain just that, OLD friends, not current or ongoing friends, but those stuck firmly in the past, because they seem to find me very difficult to talk to me all of a sudden. Everything is stilted, conversation doesn't flow, the only thing they can see is this giant Alice in Wonderland wheelchair filling up the room, its no wonder they cant look me in the eye!

So I had a nice surprise this week in that an old friend called me out of the blue. We were at Uni together and lived in the same house. I live in Northumberland and am disabled, he lives in the centre of Tel Aviv and has a busy life. In fact we couldn't have lives farther part from each other in every way. We have somehow managed to keep in touch all this time picking up every time from where we left off. So he took the news of my incapacity with a certain sanguiness which is the best sort of reaction for me. It didn't make me feel as if Id sprouted 2 heads, the conversation didn't just stop in mid flow, it was fun, it made me feel good, it was rather nostalgically like old times. I think the sign of a true friendship is that you can just pick up from where you left off, even if a lot of time has past between you both. Its rare and I think you only meet a couple of people in your life time you can do this with. For the most part I think our friends ships are very much ships that pass in the night.

Watch Out, Spasms!

I woke up sharply this morning, around 6am and immediately realised that my leg was having a really intense attack of spasms. Probably the worst I've ever experienced as I'm quite fortunate not to have them very often. Every muscle and sinew in my leg was as hard as a rock and the pain truly intense. I squealed, rolled over onto my leg and swore loudly over and over again in between shouting Ooh and Ahhhhh!!! To be honest I don't think there is anything you can do until it's past. Think of the worst attack of cramp you've ever had times 10. Honestly it felt like a razor sharp knife was slicing every muscle away, really awful. My leg has as a result felt painful to me all day as well, despite doing the rest and hot bath routine. Hope this is a one off and not a thing to come over the next couple of months.

Painting and Decorating

Ive been sitting and twiddling my thumbs a bit at home lately, so today I started painting the living room. Now whenever i mention that I do things like this people tend to look at me as if i have 2 heads or something "paint the living room?.... You cant do that!" they think, and why not indeed? Its not as if I'm trying to climb the dizzy heights of a ladder of anything, as if I could anyway, but my bottom is firmly planted on a chair or stool and I get to do UNDER the dado rail. I'm also nominated to do the woodwork as well, which is a pretty horrible job and not nearly as satisfying as running a roller up and down. So I spent quite a long time today doing one half of a wall, and getting a lot of job satisfaction as well. Disability and pregnancy combined means that to the world in general I'm unable to do anything. I must admit that my back is badly suffering now Ive stopped doing it for the day, but really and truly the satisfaction I have of seeing it get done is worth the discomfort.

A Helping Hand

One of the main problems that I encounter again and again is that of getting care. Actually I don't really mean care in the strict sense of the word, what I mean is that sometimes you need someone just to help you out for a couple of hours. Most counties will only fund care for people who fall into the critical care category, which means an awful lot of us are left without anything, or so it seems to me. So I'm currently involved in the setting up of a support worker scheme within Tynedale to start with, but if successful to broaden out to cover West Northumberland. The main object of this is to provide people with a service they can book in advance for a nominal fee which will provide them with broad support for some sort of activity. This may mean going on a shopping trip somewhere else other than Hexham, a morning outing, help to walk the dog, anything really that might just need an extra hand for a few hours. We also provide a wheelchair accessible people carrier as well if required. Its all about giving people the choice to do something because they feel like it and not have to rely on the good will of family and friends all the time. I would like to go to buy larger items at Ikea without my husband for instance, but Id really need a hand with getting stuff in the car. My main example is the help I could sometimes do with my son. This isnt a major activity , but Id like to take him to some new places from time to time. The thing is at the age of 3 he is still quite shy of new places which means we get somewhere, he gets halfway to the entrance and then freezes on the spot as he suddenly realises he doesnt know where he is. If I'm on my own, I have to either negotiate with him, coax him, or try to pick him up. Either way its not easy and usually takes about 3 visits before he feels happy enough to come with me. So with this service I could work on taking him to new places without alwasy having to ely on my husband to be there, which is a lot easier on him and allows me to have Mummy time!

The National Railway Museum

Last weekend we visited the National Railway Museum in York as my son is mad about trains and its something Ive been meaning to see for years! I was pleased to note they offer free parking for disabled visitors right at the front of the building, and not just a couple of spaces but loads of them which makes a nice change. The whole building is very accessible with plenty of loos and lots to see. Lifts easily take you up and down the mezzanine floors and overall its a good place to visit. Many of the carriages do have ramps up and you can go inside, but it would be nice to see a few more ramped platforms outside those exhibits that are not open. If you are 6 foot tall you can probably peep into the carriages, in particular that of Edward VII, but as only 5ft I had good views of the ceiling which was a pity. Overall pretty good though. The restaurant has bags of room, enough for a whole army of wheelchairs as its hard enough to find places that take more than one most times. Worth a visit even if you don't like trains.

Here's a picture of me and my son. Please note, I'm looking pretty fat with only 68 days to go, and uncomfortable, as for my son.... any caption ideas!!!!?????

Swimming at Center Parcs

I often get the feeling these days that I'm on the outside looking in all the time. tThis is nearly always true of anything I might do with my son, who now being 3 would like to do more exciting things. When planning anything, its very rare that any sort of establishment might even consider for a second that disabled people might have children or be part of a family and would want to or be able to take part in anything vaguely physical. So that's why once again and for the last time I want to pat Center parcs on the back.

For a start, it seems to me, that most activities are pretty accessible to anyone with a disability. Granted I cant see myself Nordic walking but I could take a horse ride for instance. This time round though my best efforts at being very active were scuppered by the fact that I'm now 7 months pregnant which is pretty much the case for most women by now. But the one thing I did do was go swimming, the first time in a few years and what fun we had!. My main concern was how to get into the pool. No worries there, I was allowed to change in the first aid room by the really excellent staff and then because of the ace design, I was just able to wheel myself right to the poolside and allow my husband to throw me in!!!!! The thing I was most impressed about was the overall design. At most local pools you get these shallow foot baths that you have to walk through to clean your feet, these always involve a step. But this pool was the first time Ive come across something that was done entirely using slopes. Not one step in sight, really I was amazed, I don't know why it cant be done elsewhere though, probably no one thinks about it.

So I did a bit of swimming, Actually I've never been a great swimmer at the best of times, and now I just sort of bob about with legs in the air. But its fun, and I'm able to experience my sons own joy at his own attempts at 'swimming' which is truly priceless.

Feeling like a Pile of Sh***!!!!

I'm starting to feel pretty crap. Funny thing is, I sort of potter along on a bit of a plateau and then have a sudden dip, but as I keep saying every day is one down and only 2 months to go. For some days now I've been feeling as if I've been bare back riding across the Rockies for a week, and am now being forced to sit on a large bag of stones!!! I'm very uncomfortable to put it mildly and my bottom is unrelentingly painful. My lower back is hurting me a lot in a different sort of way as are the tops of my legs. In fact its hard to sit up, but its not much better lying down either. Just no respite.

Ive got to the point whereby I can hardly get in and out of the damn car, cant get in the bath, cant bend over and actually moving isn't very easy at all. Nothing is simple, pity me in a months time eh?

So the next time someone says 'You look well' I might have to scream or giggle hysterically. It's not my nature to sit and look miserable, haggard or drawn, I'm always Mrs Cheerful, but let me tell you its quite an effort and there is so much going on with me that people don't see. Still this isn't called KBO for nothing and I'm a great believer in that still upper lip ho-hum!

As for sleep, well who needs that anyway? I'm getting a couple of hours here and there, but I'm sure that it is natures evil way of preparing me for the arrival of Hersh minimus, so by the end of May I wont need any sleep at all!!!

More Center Parcs

It would be churlish to moan and find fault but here is a quick one.....! For some reason we got the only villa with a very steep ramp up to the door. To my mind it seemed an odd thing to do as the adjoining properties all had flat access. I can only thing that as the park was built in 1995, someone somewhere zealously thought it was a good idea to put in a ramp without actually checking to see if anyone would be able to use it. The other thought being that your 'carer' would push you up and down as you wouldn't have any independence. Fortunately times and opinions are changing, but its worth Center Parcs having a good look to see if they could modify it a bit.

Anyway that's my grumble over with. So how did we get around? Fortunately they have a special needs minibus that creeps around all day. I really hate the phrase but it will do I guess. Whatever you want to call it, this bus gave us brilliant service, and took us from A to B the whole week. Just phone up, request it and it arrived in 10 minutes. The staff were all brilliant and I cant speak highly enough of the service, which given the hilliness of the park was very necessary.

Medical Opinions

Like most people Ive had varied medical care, ranging from very good to downright negligent, however what always surprises me in this day and age is that you hardly ever get the same advice from 2 doctors. You'd think in 2007 there would be consistency in some medical treatment of opinion. Seems not. Anyway GPs are very exasperating, that's because they know a little bit about a lot, but not much about anything, and that's not meant as a criticism in any way its the nature of the job. They have to deal with babies colds, teenage boys acne, middle age diabetes and elderly dementia, so its not surprising that when it comes to SCI its not high on a GPs list of must know about conditions!

Today we were having lunch with an old GP friend who always likes to ask me about my medical things, and dispense free advice. I don't really need it but I'm polite. Anyway today he suggested that intense physio would get me back on my feet...... MMMM I DON'T THINK SO!!!! Ive had endless rounds of physio in the past and it doesnt help one bit, takes up half a day and I'm exhausted by the end of it, for what? Thing is, I think some doctors really find it hard to admit to themselves more than their patients that they may not have the cure they want to give you but actually I don't mind. I'm happy with my life most of the time, even though I rant and moan a lot!!! For me, I'm happy to let it go, and not to chase the elusive cure that isn't there. And as for any type of surgery, with (nearly) 2 children under 4, being out of action for months, just on the slight possibility of an improvement isn't enough for me, Id need a certainty and that doesn't exist.

How Good is Center Parcs?

Once you become disabled, you start to realise that the world treats you as a second class member of society at least, and to my shame I have come to expect second class service and second class facilities. Whenever I go anywhere I hope it will live up to the promises, but I fully expect that it won't.

So last week we spent the week at Center Parcs in Cumbria. I booked a wheelchair accessible villa and hoped it would be OK. I booked a few things to do and hoped they would be OK and I also hoped I'd be able to get round the village OK. So as you can see I didn't have very high expectations just OK would do.

You can imagine how thrilled we were to arrive at the villa then to find not only did it live up to my quite low expectations but exceeded it beyond anything Ive come across. We had our own parking space unlike all the other villas, and once inside I found it had been really well thought out. Most interestingly, the kitchen was at a lower level meaning that for once it was comfortable to use. I must think about this at home...The doors were all wider, nice and spacious generally and a really accessible bathroom. But most impressive was one of the rooms had a fully adjustable electric bed. This was just wonderful for me as I'm now at 7 months and have the speed and grace of geriatric seal on land, so it meant I could propel myself out of bed every morning! It allowed numerous positions; legs up. legs down, head up, down, both up , flat, and so on. You can be assured I tried every position possible before deciding the best one for me.

How good is Center Parcs......? Id give them a very good 9/10 and a gold star!