My disability and me

I can't remember much before Leamington Spa. It was about an hours drive from Hinckley so i was lucky in that family could drop by when they wanted to. I spent nine months of my life there so i remember it pretty well. I kne i spent a lot of time in the same room as somebody who was comatose. If that wasn't bad enough, the next person i shared a room with was in a coma too. I might moan about the way i am, but those fellas and what they have to put up with is something else. The next nine months was uneventful as it turned out. You needed strength of character to get through it all though. There was no hiding from the boredom you had to face. Seeing my dad (a rock if ever there was one) and Mandy helped to make things a little more tolerable. I made friends with a few guys who were going through the same things as me. Staying away from Mandy was something i wasn't used to though. When i look back on it now i'm pretty amazed i went through it all.

Leamington was something i'll always remember even though it was somewhere i'd like to forget. I didn't ever think i'd ever see Hinckley again.
It was summertime because i got up ealy every morning and it was light. One of the cleaners slammed my food down so venomously i wondered what i had done wrong. It was my imagination working overtime. I was all wired up at that point and didn't have to eat because it was all done for me. Then Frances came along and gave me my first drink. It was Frances who took me to the opticians, so i could see properly for the first time in ages.
Fast forward it by four years and so much has happened that i wonder what will happen in the next four years. Whatever does happen, i'll be ready for it.

It's been an amazing adventure that has to end sometime. I'd like to turn it into a film, but nobody would ever believe it. I don't blame them either. I wouldn't.
I still think about Leamington. Like it or not it, was a big part of my life. I remember seeing Chris Farmer and thinking "my god, this is really happening." if it ever happens to you - don't fight it. Accept it. Only then will you see what i've gone through.

Other people have gone through worse things and survived. The thing i remember most about Leamington was staring out of the window from when it was light to when it was dark. And having a shower in the morning.. There was the weekend when i learnt how to use a wheelchair. That was a defining moment for me. I'll never forget it.