Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups...

Please don't tell me how sorry you are. I'm sure you must be but there's nothing you can do to put things right. Now, i don't write this blog to get attention for myself. That would be remiss of me. Oh no, I write it because i have a duty to do so, i think anyway, for all the victims of a stroke - some are dead and forgotten. Some are yet to suffer. In the end we all get to rest in peace. This is a blog dedicated to their memory, to the people whose lives they touch, and to the people they once were. They all thought that life would last forever when they were young, but it doesn't Whether you're disabled or not, everything must pass.

A hundred years ago Charlie Chaplin had everything going for him. He would have been amazed if he could read this. He could have checked Google to see what was in store for him. Does anyone want to know what's in store for them? Then Chaplin would have died after having his fill of google (but not straight away). The point is this: you won't take it all with you in the afterlife. There are days you remember. The sun was shining and you felt really good. Then you are struck down with a stroke. Without warning. Everything happens for a reason.

Remember the golden rule: not everything is about you. Do you remember the other golden rule (assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups). If only people would remember them. Don't ASSUME anything and you won't go wrong. It's when you DO assume something that fuck-ups will always happen.
It's the mainstay of humour. Just ask any top comedian. I'm pretty much an atheist or couldn't you tell? We all have to make way for the next generation. That much is obvious. We can't go on forever. Do we even want to when we see what's on offer?

They say that surviving a stroke is something out of the ordinary but i can't remember what happened when i had a stroke or what happened a few months ago never mind a year ago. I just know that i won't feel this pain forever. I must admit that that thought keeps me going.
I hate it that people feel sorry for me. It's not a natural feeling at all. If they just accepted me for who i am it would make it much better.

A few questions...

I've stolen this from Kylie. I used to ask Hinckley United footballers questions and stick them in the programme.

1.What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
Butterscotch-flavoured angel delight.

2. Where was your profile pic taken?
in Wales.

3. Worst pain you've ever experienced?
Having the stitches removed from my legs after an operation.

4. Favorite place you've traveled?
To north Wales.

5. How late did you stay up last night?
It was late but i'm not sure what time it was.

6. If you could move somewhere else, where would it be?
San Fransisco. I'm stuck here though.

8. Which of your Blogger friends lives closest to you.
Valerie lives 40 miles away, in Sutton Coldfield.

10. When was the last time you cried?
I'm disabled. I cry everyday.

11. Who took your profile photo?
My wife, Mandy.

12. Who was the last person you took a picture with?
My wife, Mandy.

13. What's your favorite season?
My wife, Mandy. Only joking. That would be summer.

14. If you could have any career, what would it be?
Are you serious.?

15. Do you think relationships are ever worth it?
I think so.

16. If you could talk to ANYONE right now who would it be?
Anyone who is Canadian. It's a great accent. Failing that, i'd talk to my wife.

17. Are you a good influence?
I like to think so.

18. Does pineapple belong on pizza?
Yes, it does.

19. You have the remote, what channel?
Itv. I'd watch Coronation Street.

20. Whom do you think will play along?
Erm...no-one, if they've any sense.

Moving the mountain to Mohammad....

Today i got official confirmation that my case would be heard in a court of law. I've been watching a lot of Muhammad Ali videos to see what he had to go through before he finally got some equality. It's quite a story and i'm not surprised that he had millions of fans worldwide. He stood for a lot of things during his lifetime. He was a great representative of the black race for a start off and always put across a good argument on their behalf. He won mass appeal and is probably one of the reasons why we had a black president when we did.There's very little he couldn't achieve. His appearances on the numerous chatshows he did throughout the years were well thought-out and endeared himself to people who enjoy boxing and those who do not.

i could do with someone like him in my corner as i go head-to-head with SALT to try and get my rights back. How and why they were ever taken away from me, in the first place, is a mystery to me. It shouldn't be, really. I'm surprised that i'm the only one who is taking them on though and that there aren't more people getting involved and fighting injustice. There must be something that i'm not seeing here. I feel like a sacrificial lamb being led to the slaughter. Why is that? My home are unashamed supporters of SALT and want things to stop as they are. There's no doubt they will be coming to the witness box to make sure my rights are NOT given back to me. Of that you can be sure.

Ali has long gone but his spirit will still be around whenever it's needed. There may even be somebody else who comes along in the future and takes his place, someone who we come to admire even more than him. Somebody who wins against all the odds and inspires us with his/her actions. The future has a habit of throwing up some unlikely hero/heroine.
i'm so wrapped up with this case. So much so, that i couldn't bear to lose it. I can almost hear Ali, in that confident voice he had, telling me to give it everything i have.

There's no doubt that, in the 70s, he was an extremely useful motivator. Words just tripped off his tongue and he had many admirers because of it.

Court cases take a long while to happen so i've asked SALT to test me on some foods i want to eat now. They're all foods that i ate for months before they were banned. When i first heard they were to prevent me eating them, my first thoughts were "why the f---ing hell have they done that?" They were; cheesecake; apple pie and cake.

The legal process....

It's been a long time coming but my time in court is finally here. I've seen the paperwork to let me know that a decision will be made shortly. The highest judicial power in the land will make a binding judgement that all sides will have to accept as law and abide by it. For me to lose the case the other side will have to prove that i have zero mental capacity. I have to show that i don't. It should be a straightforward matter. Somehow, i don't think it will be. SALT have used dirty tactics for years to get their own way and i can't see them stopping now.

I just want the right to make decisions for myself and not have them made for me. My mind is working perfectly. The ability to speak and walk has been taken away from me and there's nothing i could've done about that. I had a fucking stroke for heaven's sake. What it hasn't done is taken away my ability to communicate. Or to read. If the court's decision is to agree that my rights were fairly taken away my faith in the judicial system will have taken a severe battering.

What more does a severely disabled person (or anybody else, for that matter) have to do to be recognised as a human being in a life that is filled with pain? It's okay to say "we know how you feel". That's one thing but to know that someone accepts for what you are is another matter altogether. It's the difference between a soup you buy from Lidl and one you get from Harrods. I want to know why i have to have brown bread instead of white bread? Nobody has ever told me and i don't suppose they ever will.
Is it a killer? I don't think it is, In fact i know it isn't. I doubt whether SALT know that. Even if they did it wouldn't make a difference.

SALT aren't my favourite people by any means and i know i'm not theirs. Everyday is a battle with them. They tell me what food i can't have - even though i've had it a hundred times before. They really are the most annoying people i've ever met in my life and you find yourself being tested for the same food twice.

Being disabled is so hard to take...

It's so important that you don't give your rights away. People will do anything they can to deny you having representation if you let them. You should have a bigger say in what happens to you
When you've been eating toast for three years and then you get banned from having it because it's a risk, you think to yourself who are these people making such crap decisions? You wonder if they can be trusted. Nothing has happened in three years for it to justify a ban. These are the kind of people i have to deal with everyday. It's no wonder i get pissed off with them.

If i get the chance to go to court and get rid of them, then i'm going to take it. It's something i have to do.
They have taken my rights away and i want them back. I have full mental capacity and know what i'm doing. They, on the other hand, do not. They are a joke.
The biggest insult you can face, as a disabled person, is to be treated like a 5-yearold kid.
It's the way they treat you and it has to be stopped.

SALT is their name. DOLS (deprivation of liberties) should also be investigated. They are supposed to help you but they do not. They should be accoutable for their actions but they never are. The disabled need better representation than they get. The system has a serious fault of which nobody seems to care about. If i was a black man being represented by SALT or DOLS i would have a noose placed around my neck right now to prevent me speaking out about them.

Who cares what i have to say? I'm disabled and no-one ever listens to me. People just laugh if i raise a concern They say SALT can't be that bad. Yes, they CAN! Their decisions don't even make sense. They never did. You hope somewhere that change is going to come but you doubt it ever will. Being black AND disabled has to be the worse combination ever.