Hey Everyone,

I hope everyone is well today, I myself didn’t have a great night – legs were trembling really badly throughout the night which left me unable to sleep.  Anyway, today’s a brand new day – which means Day 4 of the WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge, and today’s prompt says the following:

I write about my health because… Reflect on why you write about you health for 15-20 minutes without stopping

Okay, so why do I write about my health condition?  Well, my blog only started in January so I am still pretty new in the blogging community.

One of the main reasons why I started my blog as I wanted to educate people on my particular condition – long-standing brain stem lesion and spastic paraparesis.  I thought it was important to write about the condition as it seems to be very rare, and thought it may be of use to educate people on the condition.

I also thought it would be a good way to reach out to the ‘health community’ in order to gain support, friendship and knowledge from others that may be going through similar experiences.  In my life, I often feel lonely – being stuck in the house, especially when I’m on my own and thought starting a blog would be something that could occupy my time, giving me a ‘little project’ to help with the boredom and monotony in my life.

The idea of starting a blog was first suggested by a counsellor, writing a journal as a way of expressing my emotions and feelings, and the idea grew from there.  I decided to make my  journey public.

  I suppose I also want to educate people on disabilities – and that not all disabilities are visible, I have heard  great many stories of people with ‘invisible’ conditions having abuse thrown at them when using disabled parking – even though they had the necessary permits and had a legitimate excuse for using the disabled parking spaces.

Another story I read, concerned a gentleman who suffered with Ménière’s Disease, a vestibular condition which produces similar symptoms which I suffer from – dizziness, poor balance and co-ordination, and who was arrested for driving under the influence for alcohol after he was unable to walk in a straight line when asked to perform a sobriety test.  Therefore, it is important for those, like me suffering from a  chronic and life-long condition to stand up and speak out and to make people understand that just because a person may look fine and ‘normal’ does not mean to say they are – their disability or illness may be hidden underneath what we may be able to see.  Reminds me of the times of when I have gone out or mean to the doctor’s for an appointment, and I have had my crutch with me and having a few people stare at me, as if they were judging me and wondering why on earth I was using such an aid as I didn’t have a broken leg and I looked perfectly healthy.

 So, that’s my post for today, I hope you enjoyed reading.  Please leave a comment or message and let me know your thoughts or experiences.

Do you have your own blog or website?  What are the reasons for why you write?