BEFORE MY STROKE

Before I had my stroke I was very fit person I was a black belt in karate and in 1987 I won a version of the English kickboxing title.

I was probably the sort of person that I campaign against now.

You see I didn’t give disabled people a second thought, after all disability was something that couldn’t happen to me.
I used to do things like park in disabled bays without a disabled badge, use a lift in public places when I could use the stairs or escalator, I even parked my car across dropped kerbs, and yes I probably made jokes at other peoples expense when I shouldn’t have done.

To an able bodied person these things may seem a bit trivial, but to some disabled people it can have a tremendous impact on their lives and prevent them from living a fuller life in society. I didn’t do these things because I didn’t care I did them simply because I didn’t fully understand the impact I could have on somebody else’s life.