A Message to All Those "Professionals" Out There!

Hi Out There!

 

My apologies for being so quiet around here during the past few weeks, so much happens and you sort of loose track of time and then realise "oh! I haven't updated my blog in a while". These things happens I suppose but hopefully I'll have plenty more posts in the near future to make up for the quiet period-I'll give it my best shot anyway!

Anyway, today's post is a little bit of rant which I apologise for in advance. However, it's good to vent your frustration somewhere and hopefully if I do it here on my blog, the right eyes will read it and somewhere down the line it'll contribute to making things easier for someone else in a similar situation to myself. One can only hope it will have a positive impact at some point but in the meantime I'll use this platform for my own benefit. So here it goes.......

Because of my health I have had ALOT of "professionals" involved in my life ever since I was little. If I'm being completely honest with you; I absolutely hate it! When I was younger it didn't bother me too much, I just got on with it, attended the medical appointments and I suppose didn't think too much more about it. Now is unfortunately, a different story. I suppose having attended so many meetings and medical appointments over the years eventually takes it's toll.

I'm a little sick and tired of listening to the bright ideas that "professionals" who barely know me think are the right way forward for me. Well, I'm sorry but they're not! Not everyone is the same and just because something works for one person doesn't mean it'll be the right thing for another! I'm sure these "professionals" are used to walking into a room and repeating the same old script that they say to everyone they meet each and every day. What they always fail to remember is that they're speaking to someone with feelings and hearing them talk about me and my life in a particular way is pretty painful sometimes. They make you look at yourself in a completely different light and make your life seem alien in many respects. Quite often after the many appointments I attend due to my health, I get home and end up in floods of tears after hearing what was said to me which in turn makes my pain levels worse as my nervous system doesn't react well to stress and upset.

When I was younger I'd walk into a room full of medical professionals who would talk in what often felt like a foreign language. Making decisions about my treatment wasn't as much of a concern to me back then however, as you grow older you're suddenly flung in the deep end and Doctors want you to make the decisions. I often scroll through Facebook and see other people of my age discussing their worries and talking about the decisions they have to make regarding school/college which of course are important and have a major impact in the life. However, if I'm being completely honest I often envy their stress and concerns and wish I was making their decisions instead of decisions regarding the likes of medications and what steps to take next in my treatment. In many respects I feel like an old soul stuck in a teen's body, I struggle to relate to people of my age which might sound a little odd. Growing up so quickly at such a young age and trying to explain the emotions and how it affects you as person to people is difficult. One minute you're wanted to sit in a meeting and discuss extremely personal subjects with a bunch of strangers and then the next minute another "professional" thinks you're just like any other teenager and treat you as if you're clueless which REALLY irritates me! Like I said, I have nothing against others of my age but I find it difficult to be someone I'm not. At this point in my life I've been through a lot, experienced a lot of things that very few of my age already have and yet some "professionals" just presume I'm like any other teenager and should be acting and participating in things that others of my age do. Perhaps had they suggested some of their ideas a few years earlier it would have been different. But it's too late now I'm afraid, I can't be an "adult" and have to make mature decisions one minute and then put my "teenage" brain on the second I step out of the hospital. It unfortunately doesn't work that way; I'm either one way or the other. I am who I am and everything that I've been through has shaped the person I've become, I've matured and learned a lot over the past few years. I'm extremely proud of how much I achieved in the past year in particular and want to focus on making life as good as it possibly can be and more importantly standing up and speaking out about the issues that I alongside many other people are facing on a daily basis!

To be honest, I am now at the stage that I'm about to snap at the next "professional" who thinks they can suggest their useless ideas when A) I have already empathised of numerous occasions that my answer is 'NO!' and B) they haven't taken the time to really get to know me and see that I'm not the "typical" teenager. I am seriously considering handing them a piece of paper with the link to this post and telling them to go read it. Perhaps it would make them stop and think? Perhaps they might realise that before making presumptions they need to instead, look at the situation and at each individual as a person. 

As you'll now probably have gathered I am sick and tired of people trying to class me as something I'm not and just presuming that because something suits one person it'll suit and appeal to everyone. Well hello!-It won't! We are all unique (in a good way of course!) and when someone says 'NO', it should taken as 'NO' providing that the outcome's not going to cause harm to anyone. I hope that one day the point I'm trying to make will be taken seriously and perhaps those who need to take notice will do just that. I'm just one person sitting here in my room, on my laptop writing about my frustrations here on this minute space on the internet, if I'm lucky a few people might even sit down and read it. Through just even one person stumbling across this, I sincerely hope I can change perceptions and perhaps even gain the support of others to spread this message further. I can only imagine that I'm not the only person out there who feels this way and hope that through what I write I can find those that feel the same way and together, I hope we can get the message out there!

 

On that thought, I shall leave you with that thought and bid you farewell for now!

 

Sending you lots of love, peace and best wishes,

 

Rob xx

Buying Accessible Tickets for Concerts & Events

Hello Folks!

As I'm sure many of you have already gathered, I love attending concerts as well as other lives events when they pop up. This morning my Mum and I were listening to the Radio just like we always do as we dropped my sister off at school. Today, one of my Mum's very favourite bands Wet Wet Wet were on air performing a bunch of live music and to also announce the exciting news that they were embarking on a UK tour early next year. Being such a big fan my Mum was desperate to see them live again and I must admit that I've wanted to see them live for quite a while so between us we decided that we'd try get hold of tickets.
Around less than half an hour after announcing the tour those who'd signed up to the band's mailing list were sent an email with links to purchase pre-sale tickets at 9am. Next to each link was a phone number where presumably gig-goers could also purchase tickets from. As always we were unable to buy disabled accessible tickets online, in most instances this ruling is put in place to prevent fraud and the misuse of disabled tickets which to be honest is fair enough. After all it gives people like myself a fairer chance.
My Mum dialled the provided number and waited in a queue for around half an hour-thankfully she didn't have to endure any of that highly annoying music they usually play in the background as you wait. Eventually, someone answered the phone and Mum explained our situation and asked if there were any disabled tickets left to purchase in the pre-sale. Mum was soon told that there was in fact no disabled tickets allocated whatsoever for the presale which in my opinion is completely shocking!
Recently, my sister and I also had difficulty when booking disabled access tickets for yet another event. The tickets for this particular event were extremely popular and went on sale as soon as the dates were announced. So as you can imagine there was mad dash to actually get tickets in the first place. There was no visible details on the ticket website regarding how to book disabled tickets. We decided to wing it in hope that if we secured tickets we'd be able to contact the venue afterwards and see if they could help us out. So we did just that.
I soon received an email to confirm the booking and on the email was a disabled assistance number. My Mum phoned the ticketing service up and explained the situation to the person on the other end of the phone line. He looked into transferring our tickets and soon discovered that there was no seats allocated for wheelchair users! Thankfully, within a fairly short period of time the situation was resolved and they were able to allocate my sister and I seats in the front row which would accommodate my wheelchair. As you can imagine, we are extremely grateful and satisfied that they were able to help us out and resolve the issue.
Having heard of other situations similar to the ones I've spoken of above, I thought I'd sit down and actually write about it. I more now than ever cannot just sit back and accept this because "it is the way it is"! Just because my legs don't work properly doesn't mean I should be treated  any differently from an able-bodied person. No one deserves to put up with second best and miss out on the privileges and treatment everyone should be entitled to.
How would you feel if it were you in this situation? Would you put up with it? I certainly hope not! Everyone should be treated fairly and should be given the same opportunities as everyone else!
Like I said before, I'm just one voice and will of course do my upmost to fight and speak up for what is right! But I could really do with everyone's help and support because the more people who speak up and get the message out there; the more likely change with happen!

Many Thanks,
Robyn x

Music Blog: www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehathippie

My Exciting News!

Hello Everyone!

My apologies for being so quiet around here these past few weeks. I have been unwell with a throat/chest infection and after a course of antibiotics I have been left with a rather annoying cough. Hopefully, I will be back to old self again soon!
If you have been following my latest updates through my social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter you will already have heard my exciting news. But for those of you who haven't, I thought I'd share it here. After writing my last blog post on disability discrimination I have received such an overwhelming response from you my lovely readers, which I cannot begin to thank you enough for! I received so many sweet and encouraging comments which really meant a lot to me!
Out of what was a negative situation came a whole lot of positives! Thanks to two of our wonderful family friends and The Irvine Herald newspaper who contacted us almost immediately, I now have some amazing opportunities lined up. I'm unsure how much I am able to give away as of yet about one of the opportunities but I promise as soon as I know you'll all be the first to hear. What I can tell you is 3TFM have agreed to take me on and it looks like I might be getting my own radio show! How cool is that!? A dream come true!
I am going for my first visit to the station later this week to meet with the station manager. So keep an eye on both my Facebook account and here on this blog for details on how it went.
The past couple of years have been a bit of a rocky ride for me but at last things seem to be turning in the right direction and I am finally getting where I want to be. Everything seems to be falling into place and I'm beginning to achieve my goals and aspirations.
I have a long, list inside my head full of dreams and aspirations that I want to achieve so I thought I might actually write them down and share them here on my blog. It might be fun to tick them off as I go along and write a post on each one I complete. I thought it would be a great way to look back at everything I've done over the coming months and relive each memory whilst sharing it with each of you.
Anyway, I shall leave you with this short post for now and I will do my upmost not to leave as long a gap between now and the next post I write.

Until then, I send you all my best wishes!

Lots of Love,
Robyn x


Music Blog: www.jukeboxrhapsody.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/thehathippie

Disability Discrimination

As I said in my previous posts one of my aspirations is to work in the journalism/media field. Just like any normal teenager I'm doing my upmost to get experience and learn the skills I need to get my dream job. Unfortunately, due to my disability I've been unable to attend school for the past few years and haven't been given the same opportunities that my peers have been offered such as work experience. With that in mind, I've had to go out and get the work experience myself. Yesterday, I contacted one of my local radio stations after reading on Facebook that they were looking for a number of people to train in radio presenting. "Perfect!" or at least I thought so.
I sent an email to the provided contact with the relevant information that they required. I also explained that I was a wheelchair user, briefly explained my story and told them about the handful of media/journalism experience I had previously gained. Hoping that I would be one of the lucky applicants I then sent off my email.
Today, I logged onto my email account to find an email from the station stating that "unfortunately at the moment we are in temporary accommodation and our disabled access is very limited for wheelchairs". Yet again, another organisation that doesn't cater for wheelchair users!
As you can imagine I feel extremely upset and angry that yet again the world only see the disability that I have and not me; a person with real thoughts, feelings and emotions. Throughout my entire life I've constantly had doors slammed shut in my face and have been told that I can't do something because I am disabled! Not acceptable!
My school has treated me in a similar manner, well known businesses/organisations have discriminated against my disability and now one of my local radio station has followed suit. What does this say about society?
My aim through this blog is to make a difference for young people like me who live with disabilities and all of the challenges that the world around throw at us! I will not sit back and let this go, if I don't do something about it who will!?
I beg of each and everyone of you out there who read this post to share it in every way possible whether that is through Facebook, Twitter or any other form that you can think of. We need to educate people on disabled rights and more importantly actually getting things put into fruition, I need people standing by me helping me to get the appropriate bodies to stand up and take notice!
None of us know what might happen to us or a member of our family tomorrow, that is why I ask you to stop and think "how would I feel if this happened to me or a loved one?". If we're being completely honest with ourselves we'd all feel rejected, disappointed, hurt and angry.
That is why discrimination needs to stop NOW!!! Changes need to be made and these changes need to be put into action immediately!
 
If you wish to contact me on this subject or about anything else please do not hesitate to do so on the following links and I will do my upmost to respond as soon as I possibly can! 

Email- thequeenofhats14@gmail.com
Facebook- www.facebook.com/thehathippieblog
Twitter- www.twitter.com/thehathippie

Disabeld Access in the High Street & World Around Us

As a wheelchair user I face a range of obstacles on daily basis no matter where I go. In fact its rare to actually visit somewhere and not face a challenge in one way or another. It's highly frustrating when a large franchise advertise themselves as being completely accessible and yet you arrive and are unable to access a particular part of the building.
I don't want to come across as a complainer but at the same time I don't want to sit back and let these problems continue to arise. I am extremely fortunate to live in a day and age where I can access platforms such as this and my intentions are to make good use of them by using my writing skills to produce pieces on subjects that matter to me. There is no point in sitting around waiting for someone else to do something about it. If I want to see changes I need to use the skills and knowledge that I'm blessed with to contribute to raising awareness for issues I'm passionate about. Hence, one of the very reasons I started this blog.
I am unable to speak on behalf of everyone but I'm pretty sure that there are many people out there who share the same opinions as me and want to see the changes that will make life easier for them. I hope that through my writing I can find those people and inspire them to do the same.
In my local town we are very fortunate to have places of leisure such as a cinema and bowling alley. The downside for me and so many others out there is that due to our health/disabilities we are unable to access these places.
Our local cinema for example, has a small step up into the building.Yes, some people are able to access the cinema using a walking aid however, there are others who aren't as fortunate and need to use their wheelchair at all times.
Inside the building there are two levels; on the ground floor there are handful of small cinema screens and on the upper level there are as far as I know two main screens. Unfortunately, the second level cannot be accessed by those with mobility problems as it requires to climb a large flight of stairs. All of the new releases are shown upstairs which means that we A)wait for an airing of the movie downstairs to happen whenever that might happen or B)travel to the nearest cinema which is about a fifteen to twenty minutes drive away.
For younger people like myself it makes it difficult to be a part of cinema trips with our friends. Teenagers like the freedom of being able to meet up at the cinema; they can catch a bus or even walk there from where they live. No one wants to have to rely on somebody's parent to give everyone a lift to a cinema outwith town. All in all it makes everyone less independent and isn't part of being a teenager about becoming your own person and living more of an independent life?
Then there's the bowling alley which someone like myself who has a disability cannot access. Again, in order to enter the building climbing a large flight of stairs is required. There is no lift, nothing. Had I'd been able to access the bowling alley I know for sure that I would visit it as much as I possibly could. Just like the cinema situation, the nearest bowling alley is in another town around a fifteen to twenty minute drive away.
The local high-street has it's own set of problems for a wheelchair user to overcome. Fortunately, I always have someone with me to push my wheelchair and help me access where I need to go. However, there will be many wheelchair users who don't necessarily have someone accompanying them. Or just like any abled bodied person they want to be independent and go places by themselves.
What would make accessing the high-street independently possible for so many disabled would require just small changes implemented by the popular franchises that create our high-street.
It would seriously surprise you just how many times I've asked to use a variety of different store's wheelchair accessible changing rooms and they have been filled up with cardboard boxes and clothing rails. I must however, add that there has been one major high street store's changing room that I was extremely impressed with. Immediately, I was able to access it without having to ask a member of staff if they'd assist me in removing empty boxes and clothing rails. The changing room was extremely spacious meaning that I was able to manoeuvre my chair without any difficulty. Where as in many other shops I've visited over the years the disabled changing room was a small space that was practically impossible to turn around in. This meant I had to reverse my chair and rely on someone to help me with the door and warn me of any potential hazards that I may crash into behind me. The particular store that I was impressed with had evidently looked at the smaller details and designed the room to suit a wheelchair user's needs. For example; the mirrors had been designed to sit at specific angles to allow the person to see what their potential purchase looks like on themselves without having to twist their bodies in potentially straining positions whilst sitting in their wheelchair. This design really impressed me!
Inside shops I've noticed that it's increasingly becoming more and more difficult to actually manoeuvre myself around in my wheelchair. If you cannot get around a shop without some sort of walking aid; some shops become a big no no. In my local high street I can think of a few stores that are already a prime example to this. Of course I understand that the spaces inside a shop are small and limited to how products can be displayed but due to that very reason shops can also minimise their potential client base and loose out on business.
In comparison there are also stores much larger in size that literally cram displays into every single empty space within the building. Not only does this create challenges for people like myself, it also makes it difficult for those who are abled bodied. It's like going through a maze trying to avoid obstacles at ever corner you come to. When it comes to shops like the one I'm describing we usually avoid them at weekends whilst it is at it's busiest and instead we pop in on weekdays.
There are so many things I could list about the challenges that me alongside so many others face on daily basis as a wheelchair/mobility aid user. I completely understand that a lot of people won't realise that what seems like a little thing to them actually has such a big impact on so many lives. But that is why I'm here writing this today; if I don't who will? What a lot of people forget is that they don't know what tomorrow might bring and just how drastically what tomorrow brings could affect their lives.

Meeting James Bowen & Bob the Cat!

A few days ago I was very fortunate to meet one of my favourite authors James Bowen and his gorgeous ginger tom cat Bob. I first heard about them whilst watching the British Animal Honours in early 2013, their story was incredible and I almost immediately purchased a copy of their book "A Street Cat Named Bob". From the very first page I was hooked - I couldn't put the book down! Before long a sequel "The World According to Bob" was released, which I enjoyed just as much as I had with the first. Recently, a new book in the series "A Gift from Bob" was released.
The series of books tells the story of James' life as a recovering drug addict, busker and big issue seller. One day James returns home to his flat in London and finds a little tom cat sitting outside a neighbour's door, the cat appeared to have an abscess on his leg. Realising that the cat had no home, James took the little cat in and nursed him back to health. Ever since Bob and James have been inseparable. Their bond is a special one; it is truly amazing to read their heart warming and inspiring story about their journey together over the years since they first met in 2007.
Having spent so much time in London over the years I could visage everywhere that James mentions in the book. My mum remembers walking through Covent Garden a few years ago and noticing James and Bob in the distance. Unfortunately, we didn't get the opportunity to speak to them as I had just had surgery and wasn't feeling so good- I think we were in a rush to get back to the hotel or hospital so that I could rest. But as you could probably imagine; it was so lovely to finally meet them both at their signing in Glasgow.
We arrived just over an hour before the signing was due to begin - we had previously heard that their signings are extremely busy and the Glasgow one was definitely no exception! Fortunately, we had arrived early enough to avoid queuing outside in cold winter's day that it had turned out to be. There apparently was a long line of people spanning right up the street all waiting to meet James and Bob. The queue inside was also quite long and had a few twist and turns throughout the store. Waiting in the queue was however, a pleasant experience, we met and chatted with some of the loveliest people. I always enjoy attending events such as signings and concerts as I've met some really nice people over the years.
The Waterstones' staff were extremely helpful and kept everyone up to date with everything that was happening. The staff even had a big box of Cadbury's heroes which was passed round the queue to keep everyone going as they waited. A big issue seller was also invited into the store to sell copies of the magazine to those who were waiting. It was lovely to see the such tremendous support towards the seller. The big issue vendor was such a nice man and it was wonderful to hear his enthusiasm and excitement towards how far James and Bob have come over the years.
An announcement was made by staff that people with mobility issues (such as wheelchair users like myself), children and elderly people would be able to stand at the side near the signing table so that we could be taken first to have our books signed. I am so grateful that this happened as it made things so much easier for me. Of course I would have been more than happy to wait in the queue however, this helped avoid extra pain/exhaustion that I could have potentially experienced due to waiting in a long queue. Sometimes the smallest of things can be a challenge but I must commend how well this was organised!
James arrived at half past 12 with Bob perched on his shoulders, just like I had seen in videos of them on both YouTube and television. They got setup at the table, had a few photographs taken and made sure Bob was comfortable sitting in his chair. Then I was called up to the table to have my books signed!
It was such an exciting moment for me-I'd been hoping that they would soon visit Scotland and at last they were here!
 Bob has to be one of the most gorgeous cats I've ever seen, he has big green eye that inquisitively watched as he took in his new surroundings. He was wearing one of his scarfs that people they'd met over years had kindly knitted for him. In this instance the scarf he was wearing had white and purple stripes and I'm pretty sure it had 'Bob' knitted on it too.
James kindly signed my copy of his new book "A Gift From Bob". He even printed Bob's paw print on the book (as you can see in the picture above) using a stamp-how cool was that?!
The queue being so busy meant that time was limited meeting each person, so it was a pretty quick in and back out again. However, it was definitely worth it and was so wonderful to see so many people turn up to the signing! I'm delighted I got to meet them both and hope that James and Bob come back up to Scotland for future signings!

Welcome to My Blog "The Hat Hippie"!

Hi there!

 My name is Robyn, I am sixteen years old and I wish you all a warm welcome to my blog "The Hat Hippie". It has taken a lot of deliberation to decide on the perfect name for my blog and I think I eventually have decided upon one. I wanted the name of my blog to depict me as a person and I feel that "The Hat Hippie" is the perfect candidate.

 As a teenager who has a physical disability and suffers from a condition name Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, I depend on my wheelchair to help me get around. Being a wheelchair user, I have noticed that people who don't really know me tend to treat me differently. Often people would stop and speak to whoever was with me asking my companion how I am doing etc. However it has always been frustrating when they do this as they speak as if I am invisible and not right in front of them. As strange as it sound I have used clothes and accessories as a way to help overcome this.

 I absolutely love clothes that are vintage, inspired by retro clothing or are very unusual. I am also inspired by the bohemian/hippie style and often incorporate this within my outfits. The real talking point for people when I wear one of my growing hat collection and of course I can't forget a pair of my trusty Dr Martens. Ever since I started wearing these a few years ago I've lost count on how many times that I have been stopped by people to admire either my boots or my hats. It has been unbelievable!

 Dr Martens seem to bring a lot of happy memories to the people I've spoken with over the years. I recall being in an elevator and the lady across from me smiling as she began to recall how she wore her Dr Martens when she passed her driving test. My absolute favourite was when we were popping into our local Sainsbury's store and an older man approached me and began reminisce about his younger days as punk and wearing a pair of the original Dr Martens prior to the range of many colours that they sell now. It is so lovely to see how something like that can brighten someone's day and I really enjoy hearing people's memories!

 With this in mind I began to brainstorm a few ideas for my blog, wondering what firstly, I should name it and what exactly I should also write about. I had a couple of names to choose from which I researched as I didn't want to pick a name that someone has already chosen. Eventually, I decided upon The Hat Hippie and here I am today writing this post.

 I had a rough idea on a topic to cover on my blog and have concluded that within this blog I shall write about my life as a teenager with a physical disability and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The topic will help me keep my posts varied as there is so much to write about the experiences I've had over the years and of course the ones that are still to come.This will allow me to hopefully give a detailed insight into the positives and negatives of what I've been through, teach and give advice to others on how to help someone in a similar situation to myself and of course I would love to give others like me something to relate to.

 As someone who loves to write and dreams of have my writing published as a book one day, I feel that this will be a great way to learn and improve on my writing skills to enable myself to achieve my aspirations. My aim is to post something at least once a week. There might on some occasions be two depending on personal commitments.

 I must go for now however, I shall have new blog posts to share with you very soon! So please do pop back again in the near future!

Best Wishes to you all!

Robyn x