coronavirus shielding: advice for rejoining the world

Coronavirus Shielding: Advice for rejoining the world

2020 has definitely been a roller-coaster.. mostly made up of scary downhill parts and sudden drops. For many folks with pre-existing conditions (myself included) the last few months have been downright scary. The lack of information around what actually constituted a risk meant that many people were in a weird no man’s land where they…Continue reading Coronavirus Shielding: Advice for rejoining the world

long cane training

Balance & Perception – Long Cane Training.

Many regular visitors to this site (and most of my friends) will be aware that I live with Visual Stress. For the most part it just means I wear snazzy orange glasses and can’t drive. Other less obvious elements are my lack of depth perception, terrible night vision and sensitivity to blue light. I used…Continue reading Balance & Perception – Long Cane Training.

Misplaced Inspiration – Being Healthy is HARD

I often discuss the ‘disabled people are inspirational’ issue with friends and family. ‘Inspiration P0rn’. I am often told I’m inspirational, some times I smile and say thank you while rolling my eyes, sometimes I challenge the person in question and at other times I take it as a compliment. I could lecture about this…Continue reading Misplaced Inspiration – Being Healthy is HARD

The Problem with Pain Scales

Throughout my Occupational Therapy training and my short but already meaningful career I’ve heard two key phrases in relation to OT. ‘Holistic’ and ‘Client centred’ .. even as students who struggled to explain exactly what being an OT involved we all knew that we had to practice holistically and be client centred [1]. So, we…Continue reading The Problem with Pain Scales

Self-care isn't self-indulgent

Self-Care isn’t Self-Indulgent

In my work as an OT and in my life in general I often come across phrases that make me sad. I have lost count of the times I’ve heard ‘I don’t have time to pace’. This phrase is usually followed by a list of things the person does for others… I often have to…Continue reading Self-Care isn’t Self-Indulgent

don't confuse your google search with my medical degree

Dr Google & The e-Patient Experince

In this online age, access to medical information is faster and simpler than ever before. The ease with which patients can search for symptoms, diagnoses and treatments has plays a big role in the the e-patient 1 movement. About 5% of all internet searches are about medical information 2 . Support groups, patient advocacy groups…Continue reading Dr Google & The e-Patient Experince

Physiotherapy expectations with hypermobility syndromes

Physiotherapy Expectations With Hypermobility Syndromes

Physiotherapy is the treatment of disease, injury, or deformity by physical methods such as exercise, movement, manual therapies and education1. It can be used along side medication and traditional pain management strategies and is often used following surgery too. I often (and quite correctly) see people recommending physiotherapy to treat Hypermobility Syndromes like Ehlers Danlos and Marfan…Continue reading Physiotherapy Expectations With Hypermobility Syndromes

Flare Up Planning With Shona

Flare Up Planning with Shona

Something a little different for this blog post. I recently had the pleasure of working with Shona of My Marfan Life. Here, she share’s her experiences working with me and a bit about her life with Marfan Syndrome. “Recently I had the pleasure of having a 30 minute consultation with Jo to create a flare up…Continue reading Flare Up Planning with Shona