I was born with a form of Spina Bifida, which affects the nerves to my legs, bladder and bowel. For these symptoms I perform daily physio on my legs (up to 3hours each day), I also wear night splints to stabilise my legs and stop further deterioation in the muscle. I’ve self catheterised since being 3years old and have also undergone bowel irrigation since age 8, which takes 3-5hours each night. Alongside this, I am also tube fed due to help address gastro issues that restrict the amount of food I’m able to eat.

My mission is to raise awareness for invisible illnesses and especially help educate children in primary schools so that pupils with illnesses are included, understood and can thrive in the learning environment, without social barriers. Growing up, I struggled hugely being poorly, but also having the double whammy of no one understanding why I was so ill, because I looked completely ‘normal’. This created immense pressure to hide my conditions and be secretive, something that put greater stress on me when I was already at my most vulnerable. However I soon learnt that I wasn’t the only person going through this struggle, and decided that perhaps something could be done to prevent this and help people in a similar situations by raising awareness and addressing ‘taboo’ subjects.

…And so, I began the E.N.D campaign, that sets out to Educate. Not. Discriminate through raising awareness, because I don’t want any person (child or adult) to go through the same struggle if something can be done to help them on their way. My personal experiences fuel the  commitment and passion I have about educating as many people as possible about invisible illnesses

I write my blog to share my journey as a para show jumper and teenager with health conditions, and also the work I do and progress achieved within the foundation. After starting the blog aged 12, when I first became open about my conditions, it has grown into a place where I can share my journey with others, and speak about taboo subjects that are usually avoided.