I’ve always thought about writing a blog, mainly for myself to look back on and also because I enjoy journaling and writing things down… but in the current times (Covid-19 crisis for anyone reading this in a few years time) I thought it would be a great way to connect to more people and hopefully get my message out and voice heard.
What’s my message then? Well I’m fine tuning it at the moment. But basically, I love sport, some of my earliest memories are playing out in the garden with my friends, playing netball, hockey and tennis at after school clubs and I truly believe it can change your life. I’m passionate about inclusion, whatever is the context, I believe people should have equal opportunities. Whether that’s women wanting to play football, disabled kids wanting to take part in PE at school or men wanting to try netball… and I also love to travel… it really bothers me when hotels, restaurants or even cities on a larger scale aren’t accessible, or they’ve tried to be but just done a really bad job! And that’s just a few of the things that really get me going, hopefully writing it all down will help me figure out my path in life!
It’s striking though, that in the current climate there are too many barriers in the way that currently put people off doing what they love. I can totally relate, i’m in that same boat… I care too much what people think about me and that’s probably one of the main reasons I haven’t started this yet. Well I’ve bitten the bullet and hopefully you will too!
So I guess if you’re on here, you want to know a bit more about me… as you’ll of noticed, I’m a wheelchair user. I was in a car accident when I was 16 that nearly cost me my life… thankfully I’m still here despite having life threatening injuries and it actually only cost me the use of my legs which isn’t too bad considering… I think I got off lightly (you should have seen the car!!). I start with this because it completely defines me, and I’m okay with that. It changed my life at such a young age, made me find strength that I didn’t even know I had and I wouldn’t be who I am now without having gone through that experience.
It has led to some amazing things that I’m so grateful for. Growing up I always wanted to compete at the Olympics, I always watched them and wondered what sport I could get really good at that would give me that chance. As an abled bodied athlete, I wasn’t going to be able to compete… but I guess the silver lining is that despite now having a disability, I have the opportunity to represent my country on an international stage. The Rio Paralympics in 2016 was one of the best experiences of my life, we came 4thso it was quite bitter sweet but it has just made me even more hungry for a Paralympic Medal.
We are currently World and European Silver Medalist… (still need to pinch myself because that’s just epic!) so despite not being able to train properly at the moment, I can’t wait to get back on court with the girls and make sure that I’m the best athlete I can possibly be to help my team bring back a medal next year in Tokyo!
