All Rocked Out!

Wow, I honestly don't think that I could have asked for a better Summer than this one! During the last week of the holidays we made our annual pilgrimage to South Wales to visit my Mum's family and it's lovely to go and catch-up on all the news, as well as just being able to chill out before the hectic school year begins. Normally we'd spend most of the days down at the beach on Barry Island (locally known as Barrybados) but as the weather was against us on that one this time, we decided to spend our time either shopping in Cardiff; back at my auntie's house playing Scrabble with our Nana; or strolling along the promenade with our Fish and Chips and an ice-cream! It's a hard life, it really is! If the sun was to kindly grace us with it's presence and we were to go down onto the actual beach, I would use either my 'all-terrainer' or a manual wheelchair, as asking my fantastic chair to negotiate the sand - as well as all the other functions it has! - might just be one step too far for now, but trust me, it won't be long.

 Riding on the crest of a wave!

 

 Happy as a sand girl!

 



 The sky's the limit!

 

All of my pieces of equipment are all fantastic at what they do, but it also take the enthusiasm and good-will of the people around me to make things like this possible. For instance, on our recent holiday to the Dominican Republic (it was a-ma-zing!), I took along my manual wheelchair as well as my electric chair, just for simple things really like getting around the airport and, of course, accessing the beach, and it was absolutely perfect. It has a very supportive seating system to help with head control etc. and meant that I could even do things like go on a boat trip which would have been practically impossible without it.

 



 

 Health and Safety who?!

 

Having said this, being in a manual chair does mean that all of my independence is completely gone, and I'm no longer free to choose where I go, what I do, or even when I can scratch my nose! My arms aren't strong enough for me to self-propel even a little way, and so I'm just stranded until someone is free to push me around. There's also the smaller things that you perhaps wouldn't think of, for instance, being able to feed myself. My arm-supports are powered through my electric chair, and so when I'm out of it, I pretty much lose the use of my arms too. Despite these things, I would definitely say that some sort of a manual/all-terrain chair is a must, simply because it opens up so many doors that might otherwise be locked.

 

After packing up the car on Saturday morning (even if we're only staying for two nights we look like we're moving in), we set off from Wales and headed for Fusion Festival in Birmingham! We'd been to this one in 2013, and so we kind of knew what to do, where to go etc, but with everyone being so kind and helpful, there really would have been no issue either way. We once again managed to claim a spot on the front barrier, but this time there was a 'Golden Circle' (an area around the front of the stage that's sectioned off for people with wristbands), meaning that we were competing with a slightly smaller number of people. Our friend Angelique was travelling over from Holland that day for the concert, and so we were praying that there would be just enough space for her to join us as she's currently reliant on her wheelchair.

 



#FestivalSelfie! 

 

We met Angelique back in December last year whilst queuing for the Union J concert, and since then we've spoken in some way or another practically every day! I'm not exactly bombarded by friendships at school to say the least, and so I think I can safely say that Angelique has become one of my very closest friends (despite the however many hundreds of miles between us!). We've now met up twice since the Union J concert, and then it turns out we both - by chance! - booked tickets for The Vamps for the same day, and so it'll only be a few weeks until the next time!

 

The concert was amazing, featuring huge acts like The Loveable Rogues, The Vamps, Rizzle Kicks, and Pitbull! The vibe down in the crowd is incredible, and I think that that's the stem of my problem with the accessible platform - the view's great (well, of the screens anyway) but there is absolutely no atmosphere at all! Most people struggle to see at a festival simply down to the sheer amount of heads, and of course, with my chair I'm at no disadvantage as I can go up to practically their height, but I'd much rather have to slightly compromise on the view any day! Having said that though, I'll still be fighting to get on that front row just as hard as anyone else will be!

 

 Up close and personal!

 

Angelique also happens to be rather fond of a certain Mr Ollie Marland, consequently travelling halfway across Europe to see him, and it turned out that he was in actual fact there on the Saturday, just not performing until the Sunday. I know I've said it before, but this was just even more proof of what a genuinely nice person he is. We bumped into him with his friends and family on the way out of the arena, and he instantly stopped to have a huge chat and lots of photos. He was so sweet, and took the time to talk to us all, so comfortably and naturally, and he so clearly, honestly cared. We hadn't ever imagined that we'd get to see him that night, and that just made the whole thing extra, extra special.

 

 

We stayed at the Premier Inn just minutes from the venue to save travelling there and back, and so after quickly grabbing our compulsory McDonald's, we got straight into bed, preparing ourselves for day 2! Because of the vibrations from the concert, my chest can sometimes fill up with secretions, so we always take along my cough assist if we're doing a night-stop, just in case. Without this hefty machine, my coughs are quite weak meaning that if there's a bit of rubbish on my chest, I really struggle to get rid of it. The cough assist looks quite scary, but all it's really doing is pushing air in to inflate my lungs (via a mask), and then sucking it out, hauling all my problematic secretions with it. Although it's not exactly complicated, this machine can be the difference between staying at home or dialling 999. We took it along into the field on the Sunday as a precaution more than anything, but the problem is, using it does require a plug socket. Luckily we have just been told that I can have a new, portable version as, to be fair, I have had mine for well over 10 years now! It will be a complete game changer as I'll be able to take it into school, shopping, festivals, Downing Street etc. which is currently impossible, partly due to the enormous weight of the thing!

 

With a huge amount of teamwork (and my sister Candice's Usain Bolt impression), we managed to secure an amazing position on the front row in the centre for the last time this summer. It was an amazing way to end the holidays, with all of our favourite bands/artists performing just metres away - the magic of that never wears off! 

 

 

6 concerts, 6 weeks, 6 front rows!

 

Ollie Marland.xo

 

Pixie Lott.xo

 

 Jessie J-mazing!

 

We drove home that night, as being faced with the task of packing up all my machines the next morning as well as battling with the Monday morning traffic was just too much to bare. We stopped for our last McDonald's of the holidays, and had our final after-midnight-feast back at home. Lexi, our Golden Retriever, was so excited to see us after our week away, literally kart-wheeling around the living room with happiness!

 

I'd planned to spend what was left of Monday after I'd got up preparing for the first day back at school, but yeah, that didn't happen - sorting out concert photos takes up a lot of time! I woke up at 06:00am on Tuesday not even a little bit ready, but it had to come at some point I suppose. I've started my two year GCSE course now, meaning that the amount of homework and revision is now going to do nothing but get bigger. I'll do my best to blog whenever possible, but please forgive me I go a bit quiet from time to time. You can always also keep up to date via Twitter if you'd like: @TillyKG_xoxox

 

 

Write as soon as I can,

 

Tilly,xox