LIFE PLANS AND MONTHLY REMINDERS

Posted on February 3, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged baby, children, chronic illness, disabilities, disability, eds, ehlers danlos syndrome, featured, genetics, health, invisible disabilities, invisible illness, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, medical negligence, medicine, Migraines, parenthood, period, personal, Perspectives, relantionship, studies, treatment, university.

by Alice Thomson

Ten years ago, I was in my first year of University at Aberdeen, studying to be a Primary school teacher. It was a daunting, but exciting time. I had plans for my future and much to look forward to. I decided I wanted to be a teacher to help learners, like myself, that struggle in the education system. After achieving my degree, I planned to establish myself as a teacher before going back to University to gain the qualifications I needed to become a Special Educational Needs teacher.

I had always wanted a family and so my plan was to enjoy my early 20s, find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, get married and have two children. A teaching career seemed like a good match with the challenges of having a family. In my mind I had it all worked out. I’d decided that by around my 30th birthday I would probably have given birth to my last child. I’m going to have my 30th birthday this year, and my life didn’t go to plan.Continue Reading

YOU’RE HAVING A LAUGH

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged comedy, depression, eds, endorphin, featured, happy, joke, knowledge, laugh, laughter, medication, mental health, mental illness, news, parody, process, propaganda, satire, self care, spoof, wellbeing.

by Alice Thomson

Life is hard. For everyone. We’re all trying to find some meaning to our lives, trying to figure out where we belong and what our purpose is. Amongst that, we see what is going on the world, either connected to us or globally. Our environment can be tough to digest.

My last article was about the cuts the government is in the process of implementing to benefits for disabled people. I spent a lot of time researching the article and it really brought me down. I already knew it was a problem and needed to be spoken about, bknowledge,ut to learn the extent of the issue and read personal experiences, made me feel hopeless. The news can easily do that. Making it difficult, not only to take control and make positive changes to our environment, but to make those changes for ourselves. It’s a trick that’s as old as the book. Since the time people were able to establish a hierarchy, those on top kept everyone else in the dark to keep them in their place. Knowledge is power. Muddy the water of knowledge, and we disengage and disenfranchise the masses.Continue Reading

MY RELATIONSHIP

Posted on September 2, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged chronic illness, chronic pain, disability, eds, ehlers danlos syndrome, inflammatory pain, invisible disabilities, musculoskeletal pain, nerve pain, pain, Perspectives, therapy.

by Alice Thomson

CW: mentions of death

Pain. Nearly all of us experience it. We all have a relationship with pain, even if we’re not aware of it. Pain allows us to avoid or reduce injury – but sometimes these signals to the brain that are supposed to help can instead go very wrong.

A HIDDEN STRENGTH

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged disability, disabled, eds, ehlers danlos syndrome, invisible disabilities, invisible disability, Perspectives.

by Alice Thomson

The language we use can offer us a glimpse into our core values. Words can be loaded with deeper meaning that demonstrate the true beliefs of a society or individual. This is why, when we use the word “disabled”, it’s worth noting that we tend to veer towards negative language. When looking up synonyms of the word disabled, I was surprised by the loaded and emotive language I found – words like weakened, incapable, damaged and powerless.

THE LARGE MINORITY

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged access to work, austerity, chronic illness, disability, disabled, eds, ehlers danlos syndrome, invisible disability, invisible illness, minority groups, Perspectives, representation.

by Alice Thomson

The term “minority group” invokes the image of a very small percentage of people. When I was a teacher, I had a minority group in my classroom consisting of a small number of children who needed different support and teaching methods to the rest of the class. In an ideal world, every child’s individual needs would have been met, but this was not the case. Time, resources, space – these resources affect the treatment of minority groups on a much larger national scale as well. The ‘majority’ have their needs met, while smaller groups who don’t fit into the majority box are often left behind, mistreated, or ignored.

RUNNING AWAY

Posted on May 13, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged chronic illness, chronic pain, disability, dyslexia, eds, ehlers danlos syndrome, Liberal Democrats, mental illness, norfolk, norwich, Perspectives, primary school, recovery, teaching.

by Alice Thomson

I moved to Norwich five years ago. Well, actually, I didn’t move to Norwich at all. When I relay the story of how I came to live in Norwich I always jokingly say I came to visit and never left. For me Norwich was great – love at first sight. The reason why I came to stay in Norwich was a lot less great and a lot more painful. I came down for a week to visit my mother and celebrate our birthdays (they’re six days apart). I was living in Aberdeen at the time, so at the end of the week my mum drove me up to the Scottish border as planned. She was going to see friends, and I was going to carry on my journey from there. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. The prospect of continuing my journey filled me with crippling fear. It became obvious to my mum that I couldn’t go home. And so we turned around, and came back to Norwich. I ran away.

BODIES

Posted on April 15, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged ableism, body image, body shaming, chronic illness, disability, dyslexia, eds, ehlers danlos syndrome, invisible disability, invisible illness, march for europe, Perspectives.

by Alice Thomson

I’ve been thinking a lot about my body recently. In the last month I’ve been pushing it pretty hard, so I have a lot to reflect on. I talked about going to the March for Europe in my last article, and the preparation I put in beforehand to make sure my body would survive. Since the march, I have been doing a lot of walking and swimming. This brings feelings of terror and excitement. I fear I will dislocate and put myself back in my wheelchair. But I’m excited to feel the freedom my body hasn’t experienced in over five years. My current mission is to make myself stronger, stable, and resilient.

THE GIRL WHO CRIED ZEBRA

Posted on November 26, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Perspectives and tagged chronic illness, disabilities, disability, eczema, eds, ehlers danlos syndrome, hypermobility, invisible disabilities, invisible illness, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, medical negligence, medicine, Migraines, Perspectives, Postural Tachycardia Syndrome, Rodney Grahame, treatment.

by Alice Thomson

It’s a beautiful sunny day in August. A young woman named Jennifer and her mum go to the beach to soak up the rays. On her way into the water, Jennifer’s right wrist starts to hurt, and then her left wrist does the same. The pain is excruciating. She doesn’t know it, but they have dislocated. She and her mum can’t understand what has happened. It makes no sense. Distressed and confused the two women go home. Jennifer’s mum drives the car, and while sitting in the passenger’s seat, Jennifer dislocates her ankle. She doesn’t know that is the reason for the agonising pain. The two try to make sense of the situation.

eds

LIFE PLANS AND MONTHLY REMINDERS

YOU’RE HAVING A LAUGH

MY RELATIONSHIP

A HIDDEN STRENGTH

THE LARGE MINORITY

RUNNING AWAY

BODIES

THE GIRL WHO CRIED ZEBRA

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