Crossing The Finish Line: Camp NaNoWriMo April 2015

12 days since Camp NaNoWriMo began, I have crossed the finish line! This month also marks a year of my participation in Camp NaNoWriMo (my first attempt at Camp NaNoWriMo was in April 2014 and my second was in July 2014). I'll spend the next few weeks editing and adding to my draft. 

Days 4 and 5 of Camp NaNoWriMo April 2015

With it being Easter weekend, I still managed to get a lot done for my novel. I also "fleshed out" some characters to make them more rounded and real, and added to my plan, as well as having an enjoyable Easter sending and receiving ecards. in between times, I'm doing a lot of reading. At the moment, I'm reading a lot of real life memoir stories by Cathy Glass. 

Here's my progress chart for the weekend: 

I'm hoping to get a lot more done this week, but like my progress so far. 

My progress on days 2 and 3 of Camp NaNoWriMo April 2015

Between today and yesterday, I've done another 4,000 words, taking my total up to 9,000 words. i'm very pleased with my progress this time, and with my choice of story and genre. I'm hoping to Get well up past 10,000 words this weekend. I hope You have a great Easter weekend! I'll keep updating you on my progress theoughout  Camp NaNoWriMo. Yesterday, there was a virtual write in and it was published on YouTube.

There'll  be more, and I'll post them here as well as on my From First Draft to publication blog (my writing blog) which is also here on blogger.

It's Camp NaNoWriMo time again

It's Camp NaNoWriMo time again

Today is the start of April, and that means it's also the start of  Camp NaNoWriMo. I've participated  before, and won all thise times. Today was an amazing day, I got 5,000 words done! I'm looking forward to day 2. I've decided to change genre this time, and write women's fiction.I think this is a  good decision so far, as I can write about things that happen to people day in day out, and don't have to write for such a young audience as I did with my fantasy trilogy (which, by the way, I'm still working on. What's helping too is the fact I have a good novel plan to help keep me on track. I'm already noticing my writng is sounding better than when I wrote my first book during NaNoWriMo in November 2013. The book I'm working on now is my fifth book. 

Happy cerebral palsy awareness day

Today, 25 March 2015, in cerebral palsy on Wednesday. I have been spreading cerebral palsy awareness since 2012 through my Facebook page, Katherine Hayward my life with cerebral palsy. In that time, I have got 677 page funds. I'd like to thank each and everyone of you. In minor page and looking at what I post on there and also sharing my page around so that we can gain more awareness of cerebral palsy together. My awareness page is not just a page for cerebral palsy awareness, it's also a page where I spread awareness about hydrocephalus, my other disability , and also about eyesight difficulties related to the two (which I have as well ). In addition to this, I spread awareness about other illnesses and conditions as well at other disabilities , and love to be contacted by people with any kind of disability or illness so that I can spread the word about their experiences too. I will, of course, share your disability awareness pages and stories if you would like me to. All you need to do is just send me a private message to my page.

Here are some photos  and a video to show my highlights  from today:

My Legs

I'm writing this post for the Unconditional Body Beautiful page, but also to raise awareness in general, and so I'll also post it on my disability awareness page, Katherine Hayward my life with Cerebral Palsy on Facebook. 

Enjoy! 

I've always been self conscious in a lot of ways about my legs – I suppose its because the cerebral palsy I was born with affects  them as well as my arms. When I was 3 years old, I was assessed and was given some ankle foot orthoses , or AFOs. These are white plastic leg splints with a velcro fastening that keep your legs in a position so that your muscles are stretched. The ones I have were like these. 

 

 I can remember that every so often, an occupational therapist would come to my childhood home with a pair of gaitors which are a different type of splints, and have more velcro  straps then AFOs. They were very similar to these 

I really didn't like any of these, because they had to be on quite tight to give my legs a beneficial stretch, and it was uncomfortable for me . When I wore the splints, I also had to wear horrible heavy orthopaedic boots, like these (called Piedro boots) 

and which I didn't have the dexterity to lace up. They were the only type of shoes that my splints would fit into. I can remember wishing, even at a young age, that they were more fashionable!

I even wore them for horseriding for years  until I saw a pair of ankle-length riding boots that were a lot more fashionable and more supportive for me. 

Footwear has always been a passion of mine, but because of the posture of my feet and legs, it has always been really hard for me to find supportive shoes that are fashionable as well. I don't just want to wear trainers all the time, but with a lot of looking around I have unfortunately been able to find lots of nice shoes. Another thing that I have always been self-conscious about is the posture of my legs. I have a pelvis that isn't straight , and also hips that are partially dislocated, so that the end result is that my legs and feet turn in wherever I am, like this. 

Over the years, it was seen that all the splints did nothing for my leg/hip/pelvis posture, and so I just was told not to wear them anymore. On one hand, I was happy about this, but on the other hand, it meant that because I didn't have the splints on anymore, the way that my legs turn inwards has been, and still is, a constant source of pain and discomfort for me because of the stiffness in them .

On my wheelchair, because of the posture of my legs and the fact that my legs are so stiff all the time, they won't stay where they're supposed to, I have wedges inside my wheelchair cushion to help my legs stay apart when I'm sitting, because they tend to stay together otherwise and also flop to the sides of my leg rest. 

My Wheelchair Cushion (Jay 3 by Sunrise Medical) 

When I get my new wheelchair , I'm hoping to get an electric leg rest which elevates so that I can change the posture of my legs. I can't at the moment, and this also seems to be causing more stiffness and pain. I have really bad circulation in my legs which is another effect of my disability, and they are always cold. In the summer, my legs swell a bit, which is also uncomfortable, but it's a different type of pain to my normal stiffness. When they swell , the skin on my legs feel tight and uncomfortable, but my normal stiffness affects  my muscles. When I choose trousers, I either choose jeans in a shade of blue that I like, or another colour I mostly wear trousers, although I like skirts, but so far I have not found very many skirts that I like or that are the right length for being sat in a wheelchair. I hope I do very soon, because just because I'm in a wheelchair doesn't mean that I don't have to be fashionable! Fashion is something that I love.

My Chest Issues Over The Years

As this blog post is the Unconditional Body Beautiful post about chest issues, it's another one that's going to have me writing a lot. Throughout much of my life, I was pretty flat-chested due to my shunt operations having been on some parts of my chest, and therefore the area not developing and growing for years. I was really self-conscious about this, and hoped that one day my chest would fill out. As luck would have it, it has done. I was very self-conscious wearing bikini tops or any kind of clothing that showed my scars.

  I always found nice bras, but because some of my scars are right in the parts of my chest where the underwires of a bra would go, I have never been able to wear underwired bras because they dig into my chest and are incredibly painful for me to wear. I know many women don't find underwired bras comfy. So, I wear nonwired bras which are harder to find but worth it because they are comfortable for me. Over the years, the only shops I have found which sell non-wired bras  are 1) Marks and Spencer. Even then they are fairly expensive, at £16 upwards for a single bra,  and £22 for a 2 pack of bras. However, they are worth every penny because they last me years. 

Here are some I like from their current collection:

Debenhams is a shop I like for some things, but I never would hq e thought of going there. Here are some of their non-wired bras: 

Last but not least, there are just a few in House of Fraser, and they are these: 

More details can be found on the website for each depertment store. I have left out TK Maxx, Topshop and La Senza. I love La Senza for PJs, but they don't stock any non-wired bras, although their bras are gorgeous. I found the same with TK Maxx and Topshop. I'm a total shopaholic, so I really don't mind shopping around for things! You can see my shopping blog at www.disabledshopaholic.blogspot.com.es. 

Now, back to  my chest issues story. 

I can still remember how shocked I was, when, when I was 11 years old, a doctor asked me if I wanted plastic surgery on my chest scars and other scars. I told him I didn't because the scars were a part of me.  I think he was surprised to hear that from me, but I think it's true.Each and every woman has a different chest size, and should be happy with what she has. I know I am! I turned the operation down because by then I had had lots of operations on my shunt which involved my skull, chest and abdomen being opened, and I wasn't in the mood for any more. 

For me, another side to the chest issues I have had in my life started when I was born 3 months prematurely. I had a build up of air between my chest and my lungs and my lungs kept collapsing. I have had tests and I have a lower lung capacity than other people because of the lack of oxygen I had at birth. I have always found it hard to keep colds away, and can have them for weeks (I am trying to get rid of one as we speak). 

Whether I have one or not, things like lying on my side in bed has always made me cough, and I have been told about the importance of posture, so I have a viscoelastic pillow which I love.  

I hope you enjoy this blog post, and find out more about me whilst reading it! I'd say to all those women and girls  out there who think they can't find nice bras to wear because of chest issues, there are lots, you just have to look aroud the high street! I have always been self-conscious about being measured up for bras, but it feels great when I have the right one. I have always been very trend and fashion-conscious, too, so , for me, how I look afterwards outweighs all the feelings of embarrasment I go through when a stranger sees my chest and scars. 

In writing this blog post, as with all the others on this, and my other blogs, I hope my readers will find something positive to take away with them. if you are a girl or woman who has had the same or similar issues that I describe in this blog post, just remember you are not alone. 

I am here for my readers, and just remember that, no matter what shape or size your chest is, we are all beautiful. Society seems to think that women with a large chest are beautiful, while women with a small one are not. I think we all are if we choose the right bra and clothes to suit our shape, and if we value ourselves as much as possible at all times, we can always be beautiful. It's not all about what's on the outside,  it's about the way we feel on the inside,too.