Song of the Month February 2016

Hello out there!

 

It's that time of the month where I pick out a song of the month to share with you all! Now, I must say it's been a difficult decision as there's quite a few contenders that I could of chosen but I'd eventually picked out 'the chosen one' and well perhaps I'll choose one of the others at a later date. Anyway, let's cut to the chase shall?

I am pleased to announce that February's Song of the Month is.....................

 

'Adventure of A Lifetime' by Coldplay! 

 

 

 

Now, I know this song was released at the end of 2015 but I've heard it ALOT of late whether that be in shops or on the radio. It's a brilliant song in my opinion and goes perfectly with that colourful theme that Coldplay have chosen for their latest album and live performances. The song is very vibrant and overall a great number which I'm totally lovin' right now!

So make sure to click on the link I've provided and have a listen to 'Adventure of A Lifetime' by Coldplay, February's Song of The Month here on The Hat Hippie! Also, go check out their latest album 'A Head Full of Dreams'  which features this song as it's filled to the brim with more great music! Have a listen and let me know in the comments if you enjoyed it and what your favourite song on the album is! I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 

Until next month,

The Hat Hippie xx

My Experiences of Frames & Leg Lengthening

I wanted to use my blog to write a lot about personal experiences and actually, when I think about it I haven't written very much about my time in London at Great Ormond Street Hospital. So today I thought I'd make a start and tell you a bit about the leg lengthening surgery I underwent and the frame that they put on my leg. This will be followed at a later date with posts on staying in hospital and my experiences of London as city during my frequent trips to hospital. I also want to create an open door policy for anyone who is undergoing leg lengthening, perhaps going to stay in hospital for treatment etc. to ask me questions which I'll try my best to answer. So if you'd like to ask me anything feel free; I want to help put as many people's minds at ease as I possibly can. No question is too ridiculous so please don't feel embarrassed either-trust me I've had to ask my consultants questions that I thought were silly in past, but knowing the answer helped me feel better about the situation!

Well I was born with my right leg shorter than the left and the long and the short of it was that I ended up under the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. I underwent treatment when I was just a year old and just a few years later at around four years old, I had my first leg lengthening operation. So I was pretty young but I believe I coped remarkably well.

Basically, what happened in the initial operation was (please excuse how gruesome this might sound; it makes me squirm too although, it didn't feel as bad as it sounds-I promise) that my consultant broke one of my bones either the tibia or fibula (can't remember what one) in half and put a metal cage called an Ilizarov frame around my leg with metal pins attached to it which went through my bone. After the initial operation we had to use a pair of spanners every day (yes, spanners that you'd find in a toolbox) to twist the rods on the Ilizarov frame which were connected to the pins in my leg. What this did was stretch my bone in order to achieve the required growth over a period of a few months. Although, taking a pair of spanners with us to the airport on our fortnightly trips to London was fun and games. Every time without fail we were stopped at the security check (whatever you call it!) and questioned about why we needed a pair of spanners. Try explaining the strange contraption on my leg and the spanners to go along with it was certainly interesting-it's a wonder how we managed to persuade them to be honest!

A few weeks after the initial operation I had to undergo a follow up operation in order to insert a thicker pin through my other bone and attach it to the frame. After a seven month period I underwent a third and final operation to have the Ilizarov frame removed from my leg and in comparison to the seven hour operation to put it on in the first place; it only took around twenty minutes to remove which is quite unbelievable!

Me and my physiotherapist at GOSH

Following the first lot of leg lengthening, the required amount of growth in my leg was successfully achieved and for a good five or six years afterwards I would visit GOSH every six months for check ups. However, as time went on I began to grow and the difference in my leg length became more problematic as expected. So at ten years old I had the leg lengthening treatment all over again; except this time they used a more modern and up to date contraction called a 'Taylor Spatial' frame. Again, it was the same surgical procedure however the difference was that I was quite a bit older, the orthopaedic ward was in the newer part of the hospital and I'd forgotten what exactly to expect as I was only just a little girl last time round; so it was all pretty scary for me I must admit.

Fortunately, there was so many people in the hospital that helped put my mind at ease such as the doctors who explained things in a matter of fact way so I always knew exactly what the procedure involved, the nurses who did their best to make the experience as easy as possible, the play leader who sat down and explained things to me and always found a fun art activity to keep my mind off of any procedures I had done. And of course the other patients that I came across were also a great support to me; there was always something fun going on to take part in and they overall, they made everything seem not so bad. But I'll tell you more about the actual hospital experience in another post in the not so distant future.

Apart from having the actual surgery itself, there was a lot of work on my part to help make the treatment a success. Like I said earlier, we had to use the spanners every single day for a period of a couple of months to tweak the rods and in turn stretch the bone. I also, had to have my wounds cleaned on a regular basis which was an experience that I wasn't so keen on. Basically, my Mum had to remove the old dressings and clean round each pin site on my leg with antiseptic wipes which stung like mad and often made my cry. The new dressings were soaked in some sort of antibacterial solution which were put around the pin sites and secured with either a plastic clip or a rubber tube type thing. My Mum would clean my wounds for me as well as the district nurses who'd visit at least once a week to clean them, check for infection as well as providing us with more wound cleaning supplies. The nurses I had were great and I got on very well with them! I'd often put on a DVD usually something like Camp Rock or High School Musical as I was a part of the generation that were obsessed with those movies. Sometimes, I'd even get out my joke book and tell everyone a joke or two-bless them having to put up with those awful jokes! 

On a couple occasions my pin sites got infected and up until then I'd been too afraid to look at my wounds. I accidentally caught sight of one of the infected wounds one day and although, it wasn't particularly gory I got quite a fright. Following that incident, I put a towel above my leg in order to hide the frame when my wounds were being cleaned so I wouldn't catch another glimpse as it really freaked me out!

I also had regular sessions with my physiotherapist which started off in hospital to get me up and moving although, I wanted out of bed the day following surgery. There was no physiotherapists as it was a Saturday so with the help of my parents and the nurses we had to use a banana board to transfer me to my wheelchair without bending my leg. For the two weeks I spent in hospital, I attended regular gym sessions with my physio to get me moving which were actually quite fun-more on that in a future post though! I then carried out the exercise by myself at home and in regular sessions with my physiotherapist here in Scotland.

Riding my tyre swing with a frame on my leg

You'd think from the appearance of the frames that it would restrict what I was able to do however, I soon realised that this was not the case. The possibilities were endless! I was able to ride my bike and was even able to play on the tyre swing in our old garden! So it certainly didn't restrict me; in fact it probably made me all the more determined. 

Was it painful? Well, there was times when it would cause me pain and discomfort particularly just after surgery. I suppose my bone had been broken after all. However, the doctors kept me well stocked up on pain relief and as time went on I required less and less of it. I'd probably say the worst part for me was having my wounds cleaned but even that I managed to get through by distracting myself with other things.

Of course no one wants to have surgery but I choose to look at what I've been through as a positive thing and although it didn't quite go to plan and I was unable to have a third leg lengthening due to problems with my knee resulting in me having quite a difference in length between both legs; I had some pretty great experiences in the process! I've visited some pretty cool places and met some wonderful people so really, it could have been a lot worse!

I've tried to keep this post to a minimum as there's so much I could write about. However, if you are about to go through this sort of surgery, are going through it or have went through it and would like to ask a question or chat about it, then please feel free to get in touch with me via the contact page above! I'd love to hear from you and would be delighted if I can help in anyway. I'm thinking I might also make a YouTube video on this subject as it'll reach another audience and might help at least one person out there! Thank-you so much for reading, I'll be back again very soon with another new post so make sure to pop back and see what's happening!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

My 7 Dream Dinner Party Guests

I thought since this was one of my first posts since I returned to my blog after the break I took over Christmas and as well as the lack of Wi-Fi due to moving house, I thought I'd write something for a bit of fun. I don't know about you but do you ever have those conversations about who your dream dinner party guests are? My Mum and I quite often bring up this subject and turns out ours are quite similar.

Then there's that thing that appears every so often on social media where it asks you to pick your 7 dream dinner party guests and it always gets me thinking. So today, I thought I'd finally put it in down on paper and tell you my "7 dream dinner party guests" this also includes people who are unfortunately no longer with us.

Anyway, here it goes:

 

1. Sir Paul McCartney- Might as well get over with the usual suspects ha ha! But I mean seriously, wouldn't it be awesome to invite a member of The Beatles to your dinner party? If you let me away with it, I'd have all 4 members but considering it's a strict number of guests I'm going to pick Paul. Perhaps he'd give me a few bass playing tips whilst we're at it-one can only dream right?

 

2. Stevie Nicks- Yep, big surprise there! I find Stevie so intriguing, interesting and very inspiring as both a person and an artist. I could easily talk with her for hours hence, she'd have to be on the all important guest list!

 

3. Audrey Hepburn- My all-time favourite actress; I'd loved to have met her but sadly, I won't have the opportunity. However, she would be one of my dream guests. She seemed like such a beautiful person both inside and out and I think would be so sweet to talk to.

 

4. Ellen DeGeneres- Who doesn't love Ellen?! She is definitely one my favourite TV hosts; she's absolutely hilarious, extremely charismatic and everybody seems to get on like a house on fire with her! I think Ellen would be the 'perfect' dinner party guest who'd keep a constant flow of chat and laughter!

 

5. Orianthi Panagaris- Another of my very favourite singers/musicians as well as a style inspiration to me-particularly when it comes to hats! And again, she is so easy to chat too and has had such an exciting life, I'd really love to learn more about her!

 

6. Brian May- I've just realised that more than half of my list are musicians/singers but that's typical for me after all! You all know I'm a huge fan of Queen and I think Brian May is one of the most amazing guitar players out there. Again, to have him as a dinner party guest would be a dream come true; there's so much I'd love to ask him about his life and music so for me, Brian is a must!

 

7. Chris Evans- Chris Evans is my favourite radio DJ and has been part of the inspiration for me wanting to become a radio presenter. Again, just like Ellen DeGeneres he is very charismatic and I think would be an amazing dinner party guest. Perhaps I could get a few tips for radio presenting whilst I'm at it?

 

 

So there you have it; my 7 dream dinner party guests! I could easily add a bunch of other people to the list but all the things I've seen on social media usually specifies just 7 guests (or least that's what I think it said!) so I thought I'd stick to that to keep this post to a minimum, otherwise you'd be here all day-you poor souls! As you can see there's quite a few singers/musicians in there perhaps there'd be a wee impromptu jam session!? Keep dreaming Robyn!

Make sure to leave a comment on this post and tell me your 7 dream dinner party guests and why! Or if like me, you're a blogger and decide to create your own version of this post, make sure to send me a link as I'd really love to read it!

Song of the Month January 2016

I know it's a little late but I wanted to post a song of the month for January but could only do it now that I have internet on my phone-thank goodness! As we all know, January was a sad month for the entertainment industry as the world lost alot of big names. I want to pay tribute to one of those legends so with that in mind and I am delighted to announce that January's song of the month is........

"Starman" by David Bowie
 

 

 

A huge loss to the music industry, loved by so many! It was touching to turn on the radio that day and hear every single station playing his songs and remnising about their memories of David. Needless to say, I played my part as soon as I was back on the radio at 3TFM and played a few of his wonderful songs.

Starman is one of my very favourite David Bowie songs and as soon as I hear his name mentioned that is the first song that comes to minds. I personally, think it's one of his finest pieces! There is something really special about it hence why I've decided to pick it as my song of the month. So pop on over to the YouTube video I've linked to this post and enjoy listening to this wonderful song!

Make sure to leave a comment below and tell me what your favourite David Bowie song is! I'd really love to know!

 

R.I.P David Bowie

Long Time No See!

Hello Out There!

 

How are you all?

It feels like a lifetime ago since I last posted here on my blog; the reason why? Well, we moved house at the beginning of December and haven't had any internet access whatsoever ever since. I've never been more excited in my life to visit the supermarket to take advantage of their free Wi-Fi so I could keep up to date with social media and see if there were any exciting concert announcements (priorities right?). Hopefully, our internet will be finally be up and running next week so that we can get back into the swing of things! 

Currently, I'm sitting in my Grandparent's living room setting up my new laptop which I received for Christmas, uploading a new YouTube video and writing this post for you guys to read! I've really missed being able to write here on my blog but during that time I've created a list of video and blog post ideas which hopefully I'll be able to create for you to enjoy very soon-so make sure to keep an eye out for that!

I hope you all had a very lovely Christmas and a happy New Year! It was so lovely to be in our new house during the festive season! I have a lovely new bedroom which I've had a great time decorating and no doubt will continue to enjoy decorating it over the coming years! I've decided to decorate my bedroom inspired by my love for bohemian/hippie things. Perhaps I might create a "room tour" video to post on my YouTube channel to show you guys around!

I just wanted to pop on to say a quick hello and let you all know that I'm still alive and well (he he!). I promise I'll be back very soon with lots more to share with you all! I think 2016 is set to be a good year with plenty of more exciting adventures which I can't wait to share with you all! There is already plenty of things in the pipeline so stay tuned!

 

Until next time; love & peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

Goals & Ambitions for 2016

Hello Out There!

A very warm welcome to 2016! So for my very first blog post on the entire year, I thought I'd set myself a few goals for the year in hope that I'll actually be successful to make some of them, if not all of them happen! I'm sure we'll all find out just how many of them I actually manage as the year unfolds but until then I shall remain optomistic!

For me, 2016 will be a very big year! This year I'll begin my final year of school which is a very scary thought-it feels like not so long ago I was in Primary school and now I'm about to actually leave school forever! I'll also turn the grand old age of 18 in September of this year which I can't quite believe either! So already, that's two big milestones for me in 2016 and who knows what else might happen in the course of 12 months! I certainly never imagined half of what took place last year to have actually happened to me!

So keep reading to find out what happens in the next chapter of The Hat Hippie! I have good feelings about it and I can't wait to bring you along with me!

Love & Peace,

The Hat Hippie xx

Meet Someone Famous

So last year I met alot of influential people who have inspired me in one way or another and by doing so, it encouraged me to go out there, work hard and achieve my dreams. As you can see from my blog bucketlist, there is a lot of famous and influential people that I'd like to meet and hopefully if the opportunity arose chat to about their lives and their amazing jobs. So hopefully in 2016 I'll have the opportunity to meet someone else who I admire and feel inspired by them!

Interview Someone Famous

I suppose this one is similiar to the last but then again not quite. At some point in 2016 I'd like to have the opportunity to interview someone relatively famous for either my blog or on the radio. I think it would be something very exciting to do, great experience and perfect for the CV! So if any of you have any contacts or ideas let me know as I'd really love to put this one into action!

Post At Least 1 Blog Post & YouTube Video A Week

Now, this one could potentially be a little tricky with my health being so unpredictable at times however I think planning is the key and if I can prepare a few extra posts/videos in advance just in case my pain flares up I'll be half way there. It would be great if I actually managed to stick to it! I'm sure time will tell but I'll certainly give it my best shot!

Pick Up My Accoustic Guitar and Teach Myself to Play It Again

Before my knee surgery, prior to having problems with my nerves which also affects my hand I played Accoustic guitar and had lessons twice a week; in school and privately after school. I loved it so much and spent hours practicing every week. Unfortunately, I decided to give up when things began playing up with my hand and knee as I was suffering from a lot of pain/a hand tremor so playing guitar wasn't too easy because of that. As some of you know, I started learning bass guitar just over two years ago and it isn't paticularly easy with my hand at times but I do my best and fight through the pain as I enjoy it so much. One thing I really want to do is pick up my accoustic guitar again and learn to play again so that's another aim for 2016, to do just that!

Take Good Care Of My Skin

Now, this might sound a little strange to be setting as a goal for 2016 but I have become very perfected about my skin and want to take good care of it. For the past while or so, I've been paying paticular attention to taking care of my skin but in 2016 I want to maintain this and learn new techniques about how to take care of it. When I'm older I want to look back to today and feel proud of myself for actually making the effort to take care of my skin and of course pulling through the temptation of wanting to go to bed without removing my makeup.

Enter A Photography Competition

I always have big intentions to enter some of my photography work into photography contests but never quite get round to it. So this year, I want to sit down and make myself do enter at least one photography competition. So I'll be sure to keep you all updated on that one!

Memorable Moments of 2015!

Hello Hatters!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you out there! I really hope that 2016 will bring good things for and that overall, it'll be a great year for you!

2015 for me personally, was one incredible year and I think it'll be difficult to top it but I'll certainly give it a good shot! I started 2015 thinking it was going to be like any other year but little did I know what it held for me! In the space of 12 months so many amazing things have happened to me! The chances of a lot of what happened in 2015 actually happening were very slim; or so I thought anyway and having as many of them happen within such a small proximity of time was even more unexpected! It's been a very long time since I've had such an amazing year and thanks to it I've become so much more confident than I used to be and feel more positive about life in general! I am so excited to see what 2016 holds for me and hope that it also, will be full of amazing things for each and every one of you out there!

I thought that in today's post, I'd take the opportunity to look back on some of last year's best bits and celebrate them one more time before moving on to a new year and a new chapter! So here it goes:

1. Meeting Stevie Nicks & Mick Fleetwood from Fleetwood Mac

So this is by far the highlight of 2015 for me and I don't think I'll ever stop talking about that day back in June! Stevie Nicks as you'll already know, is one of my biggest inspirations/role models and I'd dreamt of meeting for a long time and thanks to the most amazing charity Ray's of Sunshine, my dream finally came true! 

My Mum sent an application to Ray's of Sunshine back in December 2014 in hope that they'd be able to help make my dream come true and they said they'd do their upmost to make it happen. And true to their word; they did just that! Fleetwood Mac announced they were coming to the UK on tour in 2015 and after attending one of their gigs in Glasgow, I was taken to the side of the stage with my parents to watch the final few songs and was then escorted upstairs to the band's dressing rooms where I spent a hour with Stevie Nicks chatting quite literally about everything and anything! During the time I spent with Stevie, a very tall Mick Fleetwood appeared in the doorway of Stevie's dressing and after being introduced to us, pulled a chair up beside us and spent ages chatting with us. Both Stevie and Mick worked their way through my pile of CDs and merch, signing them all for me and admiring my metallic sharpies. Both Stevie and Mick couldn't have been any sweeter!

I owe Stevie a huge Thank-You for all of the encouragement and advice she gave me that night! It has helped and inspired me in so many different ways and has helped me grow as a person and achieve more of my dreams! I love you Stevie!

Like I said, none of what happened would have been possible without my Mum spending the time that she did filling in the application forms which I am so grateful to her for! And of course the fabulous team at Ray's of Sunshine who actually arranged for it to happen! I am currently brainstorming fundraising ideas as I want to say a thank you to them for what they did for me and of course, help in some shape or form give other young people a magical experience just like the one I had!

2. Becoming a Radio Presenter

If you've been following The Hat Hippie since early 2015, you'll have followed my story of becoming a radio presenter at 3TFM. I'll not go into too much details but for those of you who don't know, I applied to volunteer at a particular radio station and was declined due to the lack of disabled access which is absolutely shocking in today's society but you all know my thoughts on disability discrimination and my previous blog posts discuss it in more detail. Anyway, I wrote a post about what happened and a lot of family, friends and readers got behind me, shared my post and helped me find 3TFM. At the same time, the Irvine Herald newspaper got in touch with my Mum and they also got in contact with 3TFM on my behalf and wrote a very supportive article about what had happened. 

Just a short period of time later, I joined the team at 3TFM, started my radio training and just a short period of time later I hosted my first ever show live on air! I now have my very own radio show every Thursday and I love it so much! If any of you would like to tune, I usually post the tune in link on my social media accounts so pop on over to them for more information!

3. I Started A YouTube Channel

I'm always looking for new avenues to venture, new skills to learn and ways in which I can develop my blog. Starting a YouTube channel is something I've considered doing for quite a while and I finally decided to sit down and film my first ever video. I spent ages editing it and eventually posted it and have made a bunch of videos since. Hopefully, there'll be lots more videos to come in future and that you'll all enjoy watching them as much as I enjoy creating them! 

4. Visiting Liverpool and Seeing Paul McCartney in Concert

These were two other big dreams of mine which I hoped to tick off the bucket list at some point in my life but little did I ever imagine that I'd combine the two! Seeing Liverpool was amazing! It's such a great city and everyone is so friendly and would do anything they possibly could to help you! Paul McCartney was incredible and exceeded my expectations despite the fact that everyone thinks his best days are behind him-I beg to differ! I am sitting here in my room absolutely bursting with pure excitement as I relieve the memories of seeing Paul live! Although, I don't think words can describe just how excited I was whilst there in person and I'm sure my Mum could testify to that! I certainly kept the ladies sitting on our right well entertained throughout the show and they just so happened to be the first people I saw when we got back to the hotel after the show (red face moment!).

5. Moving House

I'm writing this post in advance as I might not have internet for a few weeks and don't want to neglect my blog so I thought I better prepare in advance! But basically, by the time you read this my family and I will have moved house! So I'll have a nice new bedroom to my YouTube videos which is very exciting! I might even do a room tour video on my YouTube channel so stayed tuned!

6. Opening My Local Pharmacy

Some of you may have read my post a few weeks ago but I was asked by the staff in my local pharmacy who I've known since I was little if I'd come along and officially open their newly refurbished store. So of course I said yes! I'd never been asked to do something like that before and felt very touched and honoured that they'd asked me! So that was another highlight of 2015 for me!

Anyway, that was just a few of my exciting moments from 2015! It has been great to write about them here on my blog throughout the year and of course share the excitement with you all! Hopefully, there will be many more memorable moments to share with you in 2016, perhaps I'll even vlog some of them on YouTube-you never know! Here's to a great 2016!

Love, Peace & Best Wishes,

The Hat Hippie xx