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Welcome to the very last post of the WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge – a time to reflect on the last thirty days, writing everyday based on prompts provided.

I personally would like to thank WEGO Health for the opportunity to take part in the ’30 Days, 30 Posts’ Challenge.  The prompts provided allowed me the opportunity to think about my condition and the challenges associated with it in more detail and also made me think about my health, and the difficulties I face in more detail, and how I may be able to overcome them.  The HAWMC also challenged me as a writer, writing in different styles that I may not have used otherwise, and the ‘fun’ prompts such as the Haiku poem or the madlib was completely different to anything I have tried before.

My favourite prompt?  My favourite prompt was those using images to convey my health condition and health focus.  It was difficult at first, as my particular condition is ‘invisible’ but I found clever ways to portray the neurological condition I live with.  The Word Cloud was really fun, just choosing particular words or phrases that I associate with my condition, and the word cloud itself looked amazing.

The most difficult prompt?  One of them which I found most challenging, emotionally and bringing up painful memories from the past was the ‘Dear 16-year-old-me‘, although I found the Health Mascot also challenging, particularly as I am unable to draw, which my efforts probably showed!

Which ideas will you reuse? I am not sure whether I will reuse any of them, as I like to write fresh ideas or themes, so am not sure whether I would be able to reuse any of the prompts giving them a fresh perspective but will give the bonus prompts a go.

Who was your favourite fellow blogger?  I have several one that I have followed and read all of their prompts that they have written, finding them interesting, informative and inspirational.  One of them is Theresa, a close friend of mine, and as we have similar problems such as living with chronic dizziness I was really able to relate to her posts.  Another favourite is Katina, at Butterfly Lessons, a blog about ‘living a fabulous life with lupus’, a really interesting and uplifting read and love the positivity the blog exudes.  And my third favourite is Kim over at Hope Whispers, about living with a rare liver disease called Budd-Chiari Syndrome – another really positive and uplifting blog, and really highlights the importance of organ donation and is also really interesting reading about other illnesses or conditions different from your own.

Thanks again WEGO Health for the opportunity to take part in the ’30 Days, 30 Posts’ Challenge – I have enjoyed every minute, enjoyed even the prompts that challenged me.  And thank you for the opportunity to not only write about different aspects of my health condition but also the opportunity to write about other aspects of my life – after all we are not defined by our health conditions, illnesses or disabilities.  And thank you for challenging  and pushing me as a writer, maybe I have even become a better writer because of it.  Even though I have found some aspects and prompts very difficult, I DID IT!!!

Hey Everyone,

I hope everyone is well today, I myself didn’t have a great night – legs were trembling really badly throughout the night which left me unable to sleep.  Anyway, today’s a brand new day – which means Day 4 of the WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge, and today’s prompt says the following:

I write about my health because… Reflect on why you write about you health for 15-20 minutes without stopping

Okay, so why do I write about my health condition?  Well, my blog only started in January so I am still pretty new in the blogging community.

One of the main reasons why I started my blog as I wanted to educate people on my particular condition – long-standing brain stem lesion and spastic paraparesis.  I thought it was important to write about the condition as it seems to be very rare, and thought it may be of use to educate people on the condition.

I also thought it would be a good way to reach out to the ‘health community’ in order to gain support, friendship and knowledge from others that may be going through similar experiences.  In my life, I often feel lonely – being stuck in the house, especially when I’m on my own and thought starting a blog would be something that could occupy my time, giving me a ‘little project’ to help with the boredom and monotony in my life.

The idea of starting a blog was first suggested by a counsellor, writing a journal as a way of expressing my emotions and feelings, and the idea grew from there.  I decided to make my  journey public.

  I suppose I also want to educate people on disabilities – and that not all disabilities are visible, I have heard  great many stories of people with ‘invisible’ conditions having abuse thrown at them when using disabled parking – even though they had the necessary permits and had a legitimate excuse for using the disabled parking spaces.

Another story I read, concerned a gentleman who suffered with Ménière’s Disease, a vestibular condition which produces similar symptoms which I suffer from – dizziness, poor balance and co-ordination, and who was arrested for driving under the influence for alcohol after he was unable to walk in a straight line when asked to perform a sobriety test.  Therefore, it is important for those, like me suffering from a  chronic and life-long condition to stand up and speak out and to make people understand that just because a person may look fine and ‘normal’ does not mean to say they are – their disability or illness may be hidden underneath what we may be able to see.  Reminds me of the times of when I have gone out or mean to the doctor’s for an appointment, and I have had my crutch with me and having a few people stare at me, as if they were judging me and wondering why on earth I was using such an aid as I didn’t have a broken leg and I looked perfectly healthy.

 So, that’s my post for today, I hope you enjoyed reading.  Please leave a comment or message and let me know your thoughts or experiences.

Do you have your own blog or website?  What are the reasons for why you write?

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