Hope, love, defiance: the watchwords of a last stand
My relationship with my hands is generally a bit uneasy. I use them to eat, to dress myself, to catheterise, to cook and clean. I’m using them right now to type! I find that I use my hands for almost everything I do short of walking, and now I use a manual wheelchair, I use them for that, too.
Trans emancipation and hospital wards
In my gender transition I’ve been pretty extremely fortunate. When I first stepped outside wearing a skirt, it was a long flowing almost pleated black thing over long black patent boots (I know, I know..), I was pretty afraid of being shouted at or attacked. OK I was genuinely terrified.
Losing your voice
The Rogue and I regularly watch the Great British Bake Off. This year Nigella has joined the cast and it is awesome. Whenever we watch, we enact a little tradition where I sing the theme tune. It is a silly thing. But it’s ours. Today I forgot to sing the theme and the Rogue looked at me with pointed expectancy. So I rolled my eyes, smiled, and began.
Every relapse a lesson
This is my 102nd blog post on RollingForInitiative and to celebrate I thought we could take a look back at the road travelled together. I was diagnosed with MS 7 years ago. It has been quite the adventure.
Crashing out
I fell off the Rocinante… again. I was on my way out to the theatre to go see Michael Spicer again for a second time. I planned to wheel down to the theatre about a mile from my flat…
Wetting myself laughing
Generally my symptom profile has become fairly manageable. I catheterise to pee so I can empty fully regularly, and while I get bladder spasms I have the pelvic control of an olympic gymnast and I can fight…
‘You’re a gender reassignment patient’
I woke up in the middle of the night last night with all the urgency of a fire alarm. My personal sprinkler system was at considerable risk of going off under the bedcovers and I needed to…
Learning not to walk
We were staying in Devon in a little air BNB, The Rogue and I, just a few short years ago. We went to little pubs nearby, restaurants, sightseeing.
