When I was very kindly asked to write this piece, I did think – ‘Am I the right person?’ I’ve really never thought of myself as ‘chronic’ before. To the point where I actually looked it up, just to make sure I was.

“A chronic condition is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in it’s effects”

Ah, o.k.

I live with a few conditions, but I’ve never thought of myself as suffering with them to be honest. I was born with Cerebral Palsy on the left hand side of my body. I know no different. This in itself makes it easier to deal with. To me it is ‘normal’ Ask me if I could change it tomorrow, I would honestly say no. In my mind, there is nothing wrong with me. My balance and motor skills can be a bit dodgy sometimes. The more stressed , tired or agitated I am, the worse they get, but generally living with it is easy. Explaining it to people sometimes is the hard bit. “ I would not have guessed, really, you have cerebral palsy, but you are SO capable!” is the response I get from a lot of people. They mean well, but I often wonder where they got their slightly misguided vision of Cerebral Palsy from. Bits of my body may not work 100%, but my brain works perfectly thank you. As do many people’s with CP. The fantastic comedian Laurence Clark has a PHD in Computer Science and his wife Adele who also has CP is studying for a Masters degree. You get my point. There is still a long way to go in changing people’s perception of disability sadly. The more people in the public eye with disabilities, the better I believe. You have to start with yourself if you want to change attitudes though. Read More >