Back in September, I saw a post on a cerebral palsy FaceBook page about a young lady, Bethany Cockburn, who had become a pilot following completion of a Flying Scholarship. I was amazed and pleased that someone with CP had achieved this. I started to research the charity who had awarded the scholarship, Flying Scholarships for Disabled People, and looked at the entry criteria. To be eligible you must have a UK driving licence and it is fine for the licence to be restricted to automatic.

I then shared the idea with friends and family and they thought it was a brilliant idea and encouraged me to apply. The scholarships aim to build confidence and since losing my mum in the previous year and having a number of falls my confidence had taken a dip. It looked like this could be a way to get back on the right road.

I completed my application in November 2017 and was advised that we would be notified by the end of February if we were successful in moving to the next stage. On 1 March I got the email I was waiting on with an invite to the three-day selection process at the end of March at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire. We were advised that 18 candidates were being invited to Cranwell with 12 places being offered.

The experience at Cranwell was amazing. Staying at an RAF base was exciting. I met lots of fantastic people including fellow candidates, flying instructors, doctors, physios, mentors, air cadets and trustees. It was a busy few days that involved interviews, medicals, accessing the plane and written tests. There was also lots of social activities which were really enjoyable. I was concerned about being able to operate the controls on the plane but it turned out that they were easier to operate than a car!

Two days after returning home I got the news that I was being awarded a scholarship and it was being funded by the Worldwings Trust. I couldn’t believe it, it is so exciting.

I am heading to RAF Fairford at the end of April to meet other scholars, flying instructors and Trustees. We will be given our flight kit then too. I will be flying for 21 hours during June and July. I will also have ground school during this time and will be sitting a number of exams. I will be training at Shadow Flight Centre in Salisbury.

In July I will also be heading to the Royal International Air Tattoo and will be formally presented with my scholarship by Prince Faisal of Jordan. If I pass I go back to the Tattoo next year to get my wings.

I am very excited about reaching for the sky with cerebral palsy and will keep you posted on my journey.

Chocks away!

I wanted to let you know I rely on an electric wheelchair to get about. Many years ago I was very lucky to get an old Permobil wheelchair for free from a friend of a friend, and it was the best chair which I ever had! I loved the comfort, being able to move position while in my wheelchair and get out walking in “off terrain” roads. It was great to drive and it made me feel more independent. Unfortunately the chair was very old and parts of the chair were broken and extremely hard to source parts to fix it. So I set my sights on a new one… 

As I loved my chair so much I contacted the supplier, which was Permobil, and last April a representative came to my house with the newest model of the chair to try out.  The minute I started to drive it, it was like dream to drive and the seating was pretty good for me. I had made my mind up this was the chair for me. 

After receiving the quote for the chair, which was over £12,000, I decided to start the big challenge of raising the funds to get myself this chair. The first thing I did was set up a JustGiving page to see if I could get off to a start. I wrote a good story about myself, stating how important the new chair would make to my life. I shared this page with my friends on Facebook and asked them to share to as many places as they could. I was thrilled with how generous people were. I then started thinking about doing events and decided to hold a race night, which was a great night and a big success with a lot money raised. Very generously my sister did a sponsored bike ride in January 2018 and an old school friend of hers ran The Great Scottish Run in October 2017. They both did very well and raised a great amount for the pot.  

My mum and I then wrote to many trust organizations. Because I am an adult it was for very difficult to find trusts that could donate to an individual plus an adult. Some of the trusts which gave me grants were The Bruce Wake Foundation, The Act Foundation and The Elifar Foundation. Some of these trusts had application forms to fill in which was time consuming because they were very detailed and some just needed a letter. I got supportive letters from my therapist from Bobath and my GP which was very important as it showed the trusts how beneficial it would be to me. I also wrote a very detailed story about myself to put into the application. Some trusts I found on the internet and others were recommended to me.

Early in 2018 we got told the price of the chair have been dropped by £1,000 which was very good news meaning we were on track to get the money sooner. In total it took me roughly 9 months to get the grand total. I ordered the chair and within 4 weeks it arrived all the way from Sweeden! The service Permobil offer is great. The representative comes out to fit the chair to you and then is coming to visit me in a few weeks’ time to make any adjustments that need done. This has given me a chance to find out what needs to be altered. Apart from a few teething issues this chair is amazing!

My top tip: Fundraising for a wheelchair or any other piece of equipment can be a long process and it sometimes can be frustrating! So my advice is if you would like a new wheelchair or equipment make sure that you have plenty of time and you have patience. 

Good luck if you are planning on fundraising.

Calvert Trust Kielder

In this week’s blog, Bernie finds out about adventures and accommodation at Calvert Trust Kielder

Calvert Trust Kielder is a charity that provides outdoor adventure, to people with all abilities. There are accessible chalets that have suitable equipment for people who have additional needs, to ensure an enjoyable stay with friends and family. Kielder encourages young people and adults to achieve their full potential by getting involved in all outdoor adventure activities.

Their outdoor adventures include a wide range of activities including zip wire, high ropes course, climbing wall, archery, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and much more. All of the activities are accessible to people who have support needs, each of the activities is adapted with harnesses and specialised seating aids with straps, which helps people feel secure when taking part in the activity. There is something for everyone at Kielder and it is a great experience too.

There are different sizes of chalets available for people to stay in all with accessible equipment. Calvert Trust Kielder has an adult respite care service, allowing guests to go and have a break on their own. The charity has a team of carers who have over 25 years of experience and are fully trained, meaning that they can provide daily care to people who require assistance.  People who are interested in using the respite service would need to discuss their personal care plan with the care team at Kielder, before their stay.

In the main building and in addition to the respite wing, there are 12 bedrooms, a dining room, bar, lounge and a range of indoor activities. Self-catering is available in the chalets or guests are welcome to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, in the dining room. The site is fully accessible with respite and chalets adapted with equipment such as hoists, ceiling hoists, electric beds and much more.

Within Kielder Water & Forest Park, there are other attractions including Kielder Castle, where you can watch live footage of the rare ospreys and the Kielder Birds of Prey Centre where you can find out about all kinds of birds. The forest is great for wildlife spotting, fishing and cycling.

Kielder is based in Northumberland, England. It is only 7 miles from the Scottish border. This is a great opportunity for people who like going on adventure holidays. For information and to book contact the sales team on 01434 250232 or e-mail enquiries@calvert-kielder.com, For further information on accessible holidays at Kielder, check out their website: http://www.calvert-trust.org.uk/kielder/kielder

 

 

Wheelchair Dancing – A trip to Blackpool

This week Marion tells us about her experinces of wheelchair dancing

Hi it is Marion again! Recently just back from Blackpool with my Wheelchair Dancing team and thought I would tell you a bit about it!

I have been dancing in different teams on and off since the age of 10 I have been travelling to Blackpool every 2 years.  The years we were not in Blackpool we spent in Glasgow for the Wheelchair dancing festivals.

Sadly over the years the teams of dancers have become less and less. Due to not as many teams the Wheelchair Dancing Association has made the deicision to stop competing in England.   However the Scottish Wheelchair dancing association hope to continue to get more people involved and run competitions under new rules.

So we meet every second week to practise our dance routines, there are 7 of us in my team and what a laugh we have! We are called the All Stars Dance Team and are a C team meaning we are less able to move our chairs due to our disability and use power chairs.  We have to learn 3 to 4 dances, these include formation, set,   novelty   and couples dances.  It can be hard work remembering the moves especially on the run up to the competition!

In the past we have won many medals for our dancing there were gold, silver and bronze medals and plenty trophies.  This is an activity that I love as my friends are there too.  I’ve met many people over all my years at dancing.  

As this was the last of the English Championships they changed the way they usually do things.  This year was to be more of a fun day rather than a competition.  It seemed so wrong to me not be buying and taking any lovely   costumes with me which I have done for years.  Also felt strange not being judged and there was no couples section which made me sad as me and my dance partner have won many medals together.

We all set off on Friday morning and when we all arrived at the Hilton Hotel we met up and joined the other 1  dance team from Scotland and 1 team from Cornwall.  We had some dinner and got into the hall for one last practice

The next day was very relaxed compared to previous years.  We did our own dances which we had practised although one was missed out due to the floor area being too small for us all.  We also went into new dances with all the other competitors meaning we had to learn quick,  thankfully we all managed and was really good fun.  Later that night we all met for dinner and as if we didn’t dance enough there was a disco in the evening for us all to enjoy and let our hair down! 

Over the weekend I had a great time laughing and spending time with friends and fellow dancers.  I will really miss out trips to Blackpool and hope we can get the new Scottish association up and running quickly and make it more of a competition. . . . . . . who doesn’t like some friendly competition? 

 

If you’d like to find out more about getting started have a look at http://www.swda.org.uk/