Miracles…

When Newcastle recovered from 4-0 down at half time to earn a 4-4 draw with Arsenal back in 2011, the media and fans alike described the result as miraculous. However, I strongly disagree with that labelling. The Oxford English Dictionary definition of a miracle is: ‘An extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore attributed to a divine agency’. My problem is that something as simple as a football match can easily be explained. Without going into too much detail, we lost that match because our players lost their heads (one got sent off, one gave away a free kick and two conceded penalties). The second half implosion was as a result of the team being stupid, not because of some Godly intervention.

The reason I have decided to write about miracles is because of a recent documentary fronted by the legendary presenter Louis Theroux. As most people know, I’m a staunch atheist and do not believe in a God (for obvious reasons) so for a T.V. documentary to make me question these beliefs shows how powerful the show was. Like I said, the concept of miracles has always been absurd to me as everything that has ever happened in my life can be explained using logic and reason. Since watching episode 2 of Louis Theroux’s LA Stories titled ‘Edge of Life’, my opinion on whether miracles exist has become somewhat hazy.

SPOILER ALERT! DON’T READ ON IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE EPISODE YET AND ARE PLANNING ON WATCHING IT.

At the beginning of the documentary, Louis is in hospital with a 22 year old college athlete who is in a full coma following a drug overdose. Langston suffered severe brain injuries and doctors feared the worst. His unresponsive state and lack of brain activity meant that recovery seemed impossible. However, his family remained positive throughout even though in the unlikely event that Langston did wake up, he would face the rest of life as a vegetable. Their unwavering faith that he would wake up appeared crazy and illogical but I suppose if you’re in that desperate situation, you cling on to any lingering hope.

Viewers, like myself, get the biggest shock at the end when Louis revealed that an incredible 37 days after first falling into a coma, Langston woke up and began breathing on his own. Furthermore, he wasn’t a vegetable as the doctor’s had predicted. In fact, the athlete made a full recovery and was soon discharged from hospital. The next scene shows him returning to Cedars-Sinal Medical Center in L.A. to thank the doctors and nurses who helped him. It is so strange to see him go from being asleep in bed to being up walking and talking.

I still don’t believe in the traditional concept of God as there is too much evidence going against it (my disability being one) but miracles is a subject that I am truly on the fence with. Maybe I need to actually witness one in order to start believing.

Bye for now!

Guestbook- Entry 3…

Hey there everyone! My name is Jake.

I met Glen at his secondary school a few of years ago. As well as being such a brilliant individual his blog is informative, funny, entertaining and utterly inspiring. It is remarkable that he is raising awareness for Friedreich Ataxia. Let his amazing work continue.

From the year 2012 until 2016 I am studying English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Hertfordshire. Being an avid fan of literature and also being an aspiring writer and novelist I have set up ‘Jake Borrett’s Writing Blog’. This can be found at:

http://jakeborrett.blogspot.co.uk/

The blog itself features two main parts. One is essentially creative writing work. This takes the form of prose, poetry and scripts. I have uploaded creative writing associated with horror, fantasy, mystery and a number of other genres and will continue to do so. The purpose of this is to entertain you and to showcase my ability as a writer.

The other side to my blog is the articles. These articles will inform readers on a range of issues associated with ambition, education and health. One essential part of this is my personal experiences living with two certain illnesses. I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease at the age of thirteen, as well as Dyspraxia, a neurological condition when I was eighteen. Some of the articles will attempt to raise awareness about these two conditions and about my personal experiences living with them.  

It would mean a huge deal if you could read and share my writing blog. Writing is my passion and allows me to turn my deepest desires and fears into work you can enjoy. It is my goal to share my work to the world, but I need your help to achieve it.

Thanks very much for reading and have a brilliant day.

As Jake said, we met at Secondary School where we both studied Philosophy & Ethics (my next post will be on Monday and the subject is loosely based on what we learnt) in Sixth Form. I only saw him during lessons but soon discovered that he puts maximum effort into everything that he does unlike lazy ‘Wheelchair Boy’! That’s why you should all read his blog so that all his hard work is rewarded.

Don’t worry; you are not suffering from DE JA VU! Jake has written a guestbook entry promoting his blog before but had to stop writing shortly after. He has recently decided to start the page up again and I thought my readers might be interested as, like me, he discusses his conditions and is ultimately trying to raise awareness for Crohn’s/Dyspraxia. Also, anyone who enjoys reading will love his pieces of poetry, scripts and short stories, which show off his immense talent as a writer.

As always, goonerglen1@gmail.com is the e-mail if you’re interested in writing a future guest post. Being in a wheelchair isn’t a stipulation so don’t be put off. You could write about things you’ve learnt from this blog or maybe someone you know is disabled. Perhaps, you have a rather different perspective on life and want a platform to air your musings. As long as it’s thought provoking (even though not all of mine are), I’ll publish it.

Bye for now! 

Bad weekend…

The past weekend wasn’t good at all. A trip up to Merseyside was a waste of time for all us travelling away fans as Arsenal suffered yet another pasting, losing 3-0 to Everton (for anyone who’s interested, I’ll share my thoughts on the defeat on ATeamEffort over the next few days). Not only was the match terrible but we also got a parking ticket when we visited Blackpool on the Saturday. My mum wanted to cry but I was not surprised and found it weirdly quite fitting as the Penalty Charge Notice perfectly illustrated my recent post regarding street parking (http://theadventuresofwheelchairboy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/universal-rules.html).

The match kicked off at 13.30 on Sunday so instead of getting up early in the morning, we decided to book into a hotel. Experience has taught us that Holiday Inn Express’ provide the most suitable facilities for disabled people at a reasonable price. However, it was Grand National in Aintree on Saturday so either there was no room at any inn in the Liverpool area or the prices had rocketed. So we booked into the HIExpress in Preston, which is not far from Blackpool and was only half an hour away from Goodison Park.

We didn’t arrive at the hotel until about 2pm on Saturday, just in time to check in. After unloading our luggage, ‘Vegas of the North’ was our next destination. It might sound soppy but I have many fond memories of Blackpool from visiting throughout my childhood. My last visit came back in 2011 and that was also special as Emmanuel Eboue gave me his scoring boots after Arsenal won 3-1. However, I shall now associate the place with giving disabled people parking tickets although that may be harsh as it more the actual system’s fault.

As I said in a post last month, the rules regarding Blue Badge parking are not clear at all because they change according to geographical location. In Islington (where the Emirates stadium is), disabled car owners can park for an unlimited time in Resident Permit bays. The same rule applied in Blackpool the last time we were up there. Apparently, it no longer does as we soon discovered. Some readers might be thinking that is down to the North/South divide but it is simply not as badge holders can use permit bays only 59 miles down the road in Liverpool.

The St. Albans District Access Group met on Monday and I mentioned the ticket I got. A visually impaired lady told me that she was also caught out in Blackpool the other week as she also believed Blue Badge holders could park on Permit Bays. This again highlights the need for universal rules as it not only me who’s being tripped up (excuse the awful joke). I do have a book with all the rules in but it says that it may vary depending on the local authority. Not helpful.

Bye for now!

Saturday Night Football (SNF)…

What with the ‘Tomas Rosicky gave Wheelchair Boy his shirt’ hype that engulfed me for a few days after the Tottenham match on Sunday 16^th March (time flies), I forgot to post about what a brilliant day I had at Sky the previous day. I received a generic e-mail from Applause Store asking me if I would like to apply for Saturday Night Football tickets. After checking the fixtures, I realised Arsenal weren’t playing until the Sunday so I thought I might as well go. Being the loser that I am, I had nothing better to do on a Saturday (although the glorious sunshine on the day made me question why I was going to spend the afternoon in a dark T.V. studio).

For any non-football fans, SNF is a show on Sky Sports nearly every Saturday night during the season that centres around the game that kicks off at 17.30 (the title is pretty self explanatory). A small studio audience is assembled to watch presenter David Jones and former player Jamie Redknapp plus a special guest give an analytical commentary throughout the day. The audience watch the 3pm kick offs simultaneously on large screens, which is unique because legal reasons mean that the matches cannot be broadcast live on the television. However, this is just a starter before the main event.

The doors opened at 13.00 and after a brief wait, we were escorted into the huge studio in preparation for the start of the show at 14.30. There were only 150-200 in the audience but it was a bit like herding cattle, with the floor manager directing people where to stand. Don’t worry. Everyone, apart from those who can’t like me, only had to stand for about 30 minutes while David and Jamie discussed the team news for the first set of games in a segment called Team Talk.

After watching various matches at once (I didn’t know what one to watch), Gianfranco Zola came out to give his opinion ahead of the main match between Aston Villa and his former club Chelsea. Again, everyone had to stand to watch the pre-game show. This time it was 45 minutes but when the match began, they brought the benches back out for the audience to sit on. At full time, the floor manager asked for people to stand one more time for the final part of the show.

At the time, Arsenal were still in contention for the title so I desperately wanted the home side to beat one of our rivals but my head was saying a comfortable victory for the team I hate so much. I was so sure Chelsea would win that I bet my brother that if Aston Villa won, I would hump Jamie Redknapp’s leg on camera. Villa did surprise everyone and made me very happy but I wimped out of the bet. Partly because I am a good boy but also the stage had a step up to it so I couldn’t get to Jamie (plus, I don’t want to get barred from the Sky Studios for future recordings).

Food and drink was supplied free of charge so overall, it was a brilliant day and something I’d definitely be interested in doing again. When I was in the hub surrounded by screens and other likeminded people, it felt like I was in some sort of weird football heaven. You could see me clear in the front row so that was a bonus too being the media whore that I am. Who would have predicted that I’d be even more famous the next evening?

Bye for now!

And the winner is…

The competition that I ran on behalf of DisabledGo came to an end last month. There were only 59 unique entrants and I am pleased to announce that the winner of a £50 voucher for the new disability store is Clair Dutton. People could get their name in the draw in a manner of ways and here (for anyone interested in statistics) is how the 250 entries were made up:

39 followed @DisabledGo

36 followed @goonerglen1

59 join the DisabledGo mailing list

9 left a comment on the competition post

40 liked DisabledGo on Facebook

39 liked The Adventures of Wheelchair Boy on Facebook

4 made a purchase from the DisabledGo store

56 tweeted about the giveaway

Congratulations again go to Clair. If you are still reading, the prize should be with you soon. Also, thank you to everyone who entered but wasn’t successful. All I’ll say is don’t blame me for not being chosen, as the draw had nothing to do with ‘Wheelchair Boy’. I was merely hosting the competition on my page because DisabledGo asked me. If any other companies want me to do the same, I’ll jump at the opportunity. Any chance to get more readers is welcomed with open arms.

Just because the competition is over and the winner has been selected, please continue reading/commenting/tweeting about my blog. I have loved the influx of new readers over the past month or so and want this to continue as a bigger audience means less ignorance about disability.

Just a reminder that anyone who has recently discovered this blog can catch up by looking through the archive on the right hand side of this page.

Bye for now!

CAB…

Tonight’s post is not about how London black taxi drivers are extremely reluctant to pick ‘Wheelchair Boy’ up and even when one does, the driver cannot be bothered to strap me in properly. Instead, the subject is the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) where I spent most of yesterday afternoon discussing the financial contribution that I have to make towards my care package. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the situation was causing my parents and I untold stress. This is still the case so we arranged a meeting with the community charity in the hope that they may be able to help and provide more information.

I was a bit unsure of what good telling them my problems would be, as they don’t have any power to cut my contributions or anything like that. A meeting seemed a bit pointless but my view soon changed. The woman was very interested in what I had to tell her and wanted to assist with my case straight away. She rang up Hertfordshire County Council while we were there to get further information on my behalf before telling me what key points to make in a letter (I’ll post it recorded delivery this time so they cannot claim not receiving an appeal letter).

My mum has pointed out that some people may think I am a joke moaning about this financial contribution. I’m always on here talking about away trips to watch Arsenal yet can’t afford to pay towards my care. You probably think stop going to games and use the money to contribute. It’s no lie that I would have no life without football. I’ve mentioned before that I literally only have two friends so going to watch matches is my only real social interaction. Should I be stuck inside all day and do nothing that I enjoy just so I can afford this ‘disabled tax’?.

Anyway, I’m sure most of my readers do not feel disabled people’s quality of life doesn’t matter like the government so I’m probably preaching to the converted.

Bye for now!