Hello Dear Readers!
You may notice an extra little doo-dah at the top of this
week’s post. The reason for this little addition is that this week I have
joined Bloglovin, a website that collects, collates, and shares blogs.
Recently.
You see, I have been getting much more involved in the whole blogging community.
It started as an attempt to up my somewhat sparse readership and get my complete
lack of any kind of unified message out there.
If you follow me on Twitter (and if not, why not, may I
ask?), then you may have noticed that I have subscribed to a number of sharing
services. Unfortunately these are yet to give my numbers the boost I was hoping
for. What they have done however is to open my eyes to just how big and varied
the blogging universe is.
Name a subject and there’s probably a blog that covers it; from
travel to cookery, dieting to book reviews, sports to fashion. Now admittedly
some of these subjects are more to my taste than others and there is a whole
range that just flies right over my head. For instance, as a 41 year old bloke
I have rarely if ever found myself wondering just how to pull off that smoky,
autumnal eyes look, and comparing ranges of clutch-bags is just not my, well… bag.
The Different Differences
What I have found however, is a whole range of blogs covering
disability in one form or another. There are blogs covering depression, anxiety
and a whole range of illnesses and conditions. I’ve encountered Hypothyroidism,
Adrenal Insufficiency and Human Growth Hormone Deficiency to name but a few…
And all of this got me to thinking.
You see, in the nine months or so since I started this blog
I have tried to be as informative, open an honest as I can about my disability.
Trouble is, I don’t think I’ve actually told you, dear readers, just what that
disability is.
Once Upon A Time
So here goes. I was born, a long, long time ago, with a condition
called Spina Bifida. What is that you ask? Well allow me to lazily copy and
paste from the NHS website.
"Spina bifida is a condition where the spine does not develop properly, leaving a gap in the spine.
During the first month of life, an embryo (developing baby) grows a structure called the neural tube that will eventually form the spine and nervous system. When something goes wrong with this process, the result is called a "neural tube defect". Spina bifida is one type of neural tube defect.
The spine consists of the spinal column, which is a solid structure made up of bones (called vertebral bodies) separated by discs of fibrous tissue. Behind this is an enclosed space called the spinal canal, which contains the spinal cord. The spinal cord connects all the nerves in the body to the brain. The canal is surrounded by arches of bone attached to the backs of the vertebral bodies.
In cases of spina bifida, something goes wrong and the arches of bone do not fully close. Sometimes there is only a gap in the bony arch, but at other times the spinal cord is also involved and does not form properly either. The skin over the arch can also either be intact or have a gap as well.
The exact cause is unknown, but several things can increase your risk of having a baby with the condition, the most significant being a lack of folic acid before and in the early stages of pregnancy."
Oui C'est Moi
So there you are, a slightly long winded, slightly icky, and extremely dry explanation
of why this particular perspective is seated. I think it is important to make
the distinction as disability is a much bigger subject than my own situation. I may well touch on this again in
future but for now I think the blog will remain as personal and slightly random
as I’m sure you are becoming used to.
(Oh, by the way, the wobbly front wheel I mentioned last week
has worsened. It’s still with me but I fear we will be parting ways sooner
rather than later. Hopefully not whilst I’m crossing a road.)
Until next time…
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