Introductions...

I thought i should use my first post to introduce myself and explain a bit of my motivation behind this blog.

I'm Laura. I live in Ipswich, UK with my husband (Dom), dog (Ted), cats (Minxy and Reefa), Lizards Beardie and Matilda and fish (Uno). Since i was 16 i've either volunteered or worked in the health and social care sector up until february this year (2016). I love any kind of Crafting, movies, music, VW campervans, the colour purple and i'm telling you these random and quite useless facts as i wanted you to know the person i am before the disability.

Me, Dom & Ted

Me on Aldeburgh beach

You see I have several chronic illness', my first diagnosis was in 2010 (fibromyalgia) and did little to slow me down i'm a spoonie but i'm a damn stubborn spoonie. My latest diagnosis of Ehler Danlos syndrome (a often misdiagnosed and rarely heard of genetic condition) came after i developed arrhythmia and began to faint without warning. This was swiftly followed by a diagnosis of Dysautonomia (dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system). This then led to a diagnosis of POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, an inability to maintain stable heart rate and blood pressure when upright amongst other things) it took all this on top of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome/M.E to slow me down and caused me to have to rethink things.

The upshot of this is that in April this year i started sending spoons. It's a crafting store aimed at making accessories and gifts for other spoonies. I also decided to start this Blog as i thought others might benefit from the experiences i've had and am currently going through, such as navigating social services, Carers allowance, Wheelchair services and the benefits system, i'm also still going through regular tests to find the extent of my heart issues and work out how best to treat them.

I plan on helping others learn through my experiences, raise awareness of chronic illness', review accessibility of places for disability friendly trips out and review treatments, books and anything else that i think may be useful to others. Finally i plan on showcasing some of my crafts and posting some tutorials. Having said all that, this is my very first blog and i'm new to it all so please be gentle with me lol!

If you don't know the meaning behind the term "spoonie" check this out for the full story:
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/

If you havent got time to read it all heres a quick visual guide from Mollys fund.org:

Since i started fainting without warning, having supraventricular tachycardia attacks and partially dislocating (subluxing) my joints i've needed to have someone with me, enter my amazing and glamorous assistant April. She comes with me most places sometimes out of necessity and sometimes just for fun. She's also my neighbour / friend/ sister from another mister and she will probably feature quite frequently in this blog too.

April and me at a Holi festival

Right i think that's enough about me. I hope that you will continue to read my posts and any topics you would like me to cover or any questions just comment below and i will try my best to answer them.

Laura

:)