Latest / Unbalanced with Cerys Davage / 57. Things I'm loving right now (and you will too!)

Transcript

57. Things I'm loving right now (and you will too!) · Unbalanced with Cerys Davage

0:10
Good morning everyone, welcome back to another episode of
0:13
Unbalanced with me, Kara Savage. I hope you're all doing well
0:18
guys. I kept my promise.
0:20
Well, I'm not quite sure if I promised it, but last solo
0:23
episode I was struggling to have a setup for this mic.
0:28
But if you're watching guys, I finally set it up.
0:32
It's all done, it's already and I'm absolutely loving it.
0:36
It means that my hands are free to hold my coffee or to just
0:41
relax because I do find that holding the mic for as long as I
0:45
do for the podcast is getting quite tough.
0:48
So I got this lovely little mic stand and I'm absolutely
0:52
obsessed. I honestly couldn't be happier.
0:54
I have to give Tristan a shout out as well for helping me with
0:59
setting this up just because, you know, sometimes you need a
1:03
boyfriend's touch just to make sure that everything's going OK.
1:07
But yeah, I'm, I'm very excited to record today's episode
1:10
because I know the past few episodes have been a little bit
1:14
deep and they've covered a lot of topics that we all think
1:18
about that we're all kind of going through.
1:21
But I thought that I would make this one a little bit light
1:25
hearted and share some of my favourite things, things that
1:29
I'm absolutely loving right now and stuff that has really just
1:32
helped me in life. And they're not only
1:35
recommendations, but they're things that I genuinely think
1:37
that you guys would love. And they are things that have
1:41
helped me as a disabled person, things I've really enjoyed,
1:44
things that have made my life easier.
1:47
And I thought I would share my favourite things that I'm loving
1:51
right now with you guys today. But first of all, let's catch
1:54
up. I am pre recording this because
1:57
by the time this episode comes out, I will be in London and
2:02
going to see Dua Lipa. So I'm very excited about that.
2:05
I'll be going with three of my best friends.
2:08
We're going to be making the weekend of it and hopefully the
2:11
weather will be nice because it's been kind of up and down
2:14
recently. I mean, I know we had that stint
2:16
of really, really nice weather, but hopefully it stays.
2:19
You know, we've had a few rainy days, a few cloudy, cold days,
2:23
so hopefully the summer won't be dreadful.
2:26
You know, like when you have those really, really nice
2:29
springs and then summer comes around and it's just awful.
2:32
So let's just hope for the best there.
2:34
Recently my cousin got married, which is really nice.
2:38
It was nice to catch up with the family.
2:40
We went to their wedding couple weeks ago and I also went to the
2:45
Estadvod, which I did mention in my last episode and I did an
2:49
episode on it last year. So for those non Welsh people,
2:53
there's two Estadvods a year. So this Estadvod is kind of for
2:58
the younger generations. It's run by the Welsh youth
3:02
organisation IRTH. And this was the last year that
3:06
I was able to compete because by next year I'll be too old to
3:09
compete, which is really sad because I've been competing in
3:13
this Earth a Seth VOD for, Oh my goodness, years and years and
3:17
years since I was really, really young.
3:19
So it is kind of an end of an era, but it went really, really
3:23
well. Obviously I went with my choir
3:25
and we were very successful and the main competition was the one
3:30
that we won, which is really exciting.
3:32
We also had a couple of seconds and thirds as well.
3:35
So I'm just really, really happy and so proud of all the work,
3:39
all the hard work that we've been doing, but no rest for the
3:43
Wicked. We will be continuing with our
3:45
rehearsals and we'll be rehearsing for the estethod in
3:50
August, which is different from this estethod that we just did.
3:54
It's one kind of when you're a bit older, so it goes up to kind
3:59
of as old as you want really. So I won't be getting too old
4:02
for that anytime soon. So we're very excited to be
4:05
competing in that one that's kind of on a bigger scale.
4:08
There's a lot more choirs, a lot more competition going on.
4:12
So and yeah, I guess we'll just keep rehearsing for that one.
4:15
But the Istanbul that we just did was the first time that I
4:19
took my wheelchair there because I've never had to take my
4:22
wheelchair. Last year I really, really
4:25
struggled. I think last year I was working
4:28
there all week, so it was a lot of walking around.
4:30
I had kept having to come back to our office space to have sit
4:35
downs because it was, it was just a lot.
4:38
And then on top of rehearsals and standing around waiting
4:41
backstage to go on stage and then stand for ages performing
4:45
on stage. So it's a lot physically, just
4:48
all day. So I knew what was coming this
4:51
year. And because I'd taken my
4:54
wheelchair to Ireland recently with my choir, I knew that
4:58
everyone would be willing to help and they absolutely did.
5:00
It was amazing. Not once did I feel anxious
5:04
about taking my wheelchair. Not once did I regret taking it.
5:07
Everyone was so, so lovely. They were willing to push me,
5:11
they offered to push me. Some after a few drinks, was
5:14
absolutely dying to have a go at pushing me.
5:18
Some wanted to push the wheelchair when I wasn't even in
5:20
there. So, you know, that's the
5:22
enthusiasm we had. But no, it was honestly amazing.
5:25
And I just know that I would not have survived if I hadn't taken
5:30
my wheelchair. You know, I saved so much
5:31
energy. It was such a long day anyway.
5:34
I was still tired by the end of the night because, you know, we
5:38
were there all day. We were horsing, we were
5:40
singing, We were having lots of fun.
5:42
And yeah, it was a long, long day.
5:45
And I was tired with my wheelchair.
5:47
So I dread to think what I would have been like without it.
5:49
So, yeah, I'm very, very glad I took it.
5:52
And I think this is your sign, you know, if you are anxious
5:56
about taking your wheelchair out somewhere, you know, with
6:00
friends or with people that have never seen you in a wheelchair
6:02
before, it can be a really scary concept.
6:05
And what kind of helped me was that I kind of hard launched my
6:10
wheelchair on my social media and I posted a couple of videos
6:13
of me in a wheelchair just to kind of normalise seeing young
6:18
people in wheelchairs on social media.
6:20
And that's the goal I'm trying to do.
6:23
And so I posted it on my Instagram and shared it on my
6:27
personal Instagram way. Obviously everyone I know
6:30
follows me on there. So yeah, that was kind of a nice
6:35
little way of easing people into the idea of me in a wheelchair.
6:39
But everyone was so lovely. Not once did I feel judged.
6:42
Not once did I feel awkward. You know, I had a couple of
6:47
people in the Estad vault that I haven't seen for years and
6:50
years, you know, ask me what's wrong or what happened.
6:53
But that's completely normal, especially if you don't really
6:55
know me and know that I have a disability.
6:58
But, you know, as always, I'm used to just explaining that I
7:00
do have a disability and, you know, they're very
7:03
understanding. But yeah, I think this is
7:05
definitely your sign to just embrace using a wheelchair and
7:08
the right people in your life will be willing to help you and
7:11
won't make you feel uncomfortable for using it.
7:14
And I know it's a really big step to begin with.
7:16
Like when I first use a wheelchair, it was really scary.
7:20
I cried and I didn't want to be associated with it.
7:22
But now I because I know the effect that not having a
7:29
wheelchair would have on me, you know, I would be so tired.
7:32
I'd be in so much pain. I wouldn't be much fun to be
7:34
around. I was just a better personal
7:36
round with a wheelchair on me. So yeah, it was definitely,
7:40
definitely worth it. It's kind of weird because I
7:42
never thought I'd hear myself say that.
7:45
I never thought I'd be at a place where I would encourage
7:48
myself and other people to be using a wheelchair.
7:50
But I get it now. That's it.
7:53
I get it. Speaking of posting Tik toks and
7:56
videos, I've only posted 2 videos of me in a wheelchair. 1
8:00
was just, you know, normalising disabled people on your feed.
8:04
And then another one was this trend where I posted a video of
8:08
me in a wheelchair and then me stood up to show that I could do
8:11
both and that was taken off. You know, both of those tik toks
8:15
has caused my following to go up like 3 times what it was.
8:21
I think at the moment the one with me in my wheelchair and
8:24
then stood up, that's got like over 500,000 views now, which is
8:28
crazy. Like is that viral?
8:30
Maybe not, maybe one day. But yeah, I just think it's
8:34
absolutely insane. And I when I first posted it, it
8:37
didn't do amazing. You know, like a few people
8:39
liked it, a few people saw it and commented on it, but yeah.
8:43
And after a couple weeks, it's just suddenly skyrocketed.
8:46
So it's interesting for me to see from a creative perspective,
8:51
from a social media perspective, because obviously I do work in
8:54
social media. It's interesting to see that,
8:57
you know, a video that may not have done amazing just randomly
9:01
taking off. Yeah, that's very interesting.
9:03
But I'm very, very grateful because I've obviously my
9:06
following has grown a lot and I've been able to meet a lot of
9:09
other disabled people that have come across my page and has said
9:12
that, you know, it's nice for them to finally see some
9:15
representation that looks like them.
9:18
So yeah, it's been really nice. And I'm trying to embrace my
9:22
TikTok a bit more. So I'm going to try and do a bit
9:24
more of that as well as my YouTube.
9:26
I know I've only done 1 vlog so far, but I have a lot of ideas
9:30
up my sleeve for some more videos.
9:32
Hopefully there'll be more soon, but I've got something exciting
9:36
coming up. I may have mentioned before, but
9:38
I'm going to Florida in July to the LG and Orlando conference
9:43
and I'm very very excited. I've been waiting for this for
9:48
so long. It still feels so far away even
9:50
though now it's only a couple weeks away.
9:52
It's crazy. So I am very excited to be
9:56
meeting everyone without Jindy, as many people as I can to be Co
10:01
leading the youth session and also talking on a panel about
10:05
adapted driving in the UK. I'm going with Tristan and I am
10:09
hoping to vlog some of it or just, you know, create a lot of
10:14
content out of that trip. So stay tuned for that.
10:17
Hopefully there will be a special LGMD conference episode
10:21
after I've been, hopefully I'll be able to meet some people and
10:25
maybe have a little chat with them for the podcast.
10:28
We'll see what comes out of it, guys.
10:29
You know, this is all about adapting and going with the flow
10:33
and seeing what happens. So I'm very excited to see what
10:36
comes out of that. But because I'll be quite busy
10:39
over the summer, you won't get another solo podcast episode in
10:44
the usual slot in four weeks. I have been very busy recording
10:48
with some guests, as you guys know, as I bang on about all the
10:51
time. But I'm very excited for them to
10:53
come out, take a shot every time I say excited, honestly, I'm
10:56
just so excited about everything apparently.
10:59
But yes, so I am pre recording this a little bit and then I
11:04
will hopefully come back after the LGMD conference to just give
11:07
a little debrief and that will be my next solo episode.
11:12
So it's going to be a while. It's going to be a month or two,
11:15
but I'm very much looking forward.
11:18
I didn't say excited that time. I'm looking forward to seeing
11:21
what happens and for you guys to see all the amazing interviews
11:25
that I've been very busy recording.
11:27
Also, by the time you're listening to this my Instagram
11:31
account, my unbalanced podcast Instagram will have turned 1
11:35
years old, which maybe it doesn't really mean that much to
11:38
a lot of people, but I wish I started it sooner because
11:42
obviously my podcast is almost two years old now, which is
11:45
crazy. But it was only a year ago that
11:48
I started an Instagram account alongside it.
11:51
And honestly, the response from that has just been absolutely
11:55
amazing. Like I actually can't believe
11:57
how much my podcast page has grown, how much the Instagram
12:01
has grown, how much that has influenced my podcast, and just
12:05
how many connections I've made. I recently made a group chat
12:10
with everyone with LGMD. If you're not on the group chat,
12:13
please, please give me a message on unbalanced podcast on
12:17
Instagram or just if you've got me on other social media, just
12:20
give me a message and I will absolutely add you.
12:23
But it's yeah, just amazing to see that you're not alone, that
12:27
there's so many other people with LGMD of all different
12:30
subtypes coming together, sharing experiences.
12:34
It's not a negative place. It's honestly so positive.
12:37
You know, there's no, it's not full of complaints as I know a
12:40
lot of Medical Group chats can be, you know, people just
12:43
complaining about their lives, but it's so positive.
12:46
Like everyone's just so uplifting and supportive and
12:50
it's just amazing. It's such a nice thing and I'm
12:53
and again, taking myself that I haven't done this earlier.
12:56
Like I've known all these LG and D people, why haven't I
12:59
introduced them to each other earlier?
13:00
But yeah, that's something I'm very much looking forward to
13:04
keep going with and hopefully host some Zooms or something.
13:07
That'll be really nice to meet people.
13:09
The only other thing I have to update you guys is recently I
13:15
went to Manchester just for the day, but we were staying up in
13:18
North Wales with Tristan's family and I went to a Crystal
13:22
Maze for the first time. I don't know if you guys have
13:24
been, I don't know if you've heard of it.
13:26
It's kind of like the old TV show, if anyone remembers that.
13:29
But it's basically you go around several rooms with your group
13:33
and then one person is selected to do a different challenge,
13:38
Which obviously I was a bit nervous about because I know a
13:42
lot of the challenges can be physical and you're under time
13:45
pressure, which doesn't bode well with me and my disability.
13:48
But luckily our team captain Tristan's dad had chosen me for
13:53
the less physical games. One was a musical one where I
13:57
had to play out and guess the tunes for different lullabies.
14:00
And then another room that I did was throwing hoops onto like
14:04
different level poles. Luckily I'm quite good with hand
14:08
eye coordination and it didn't require any leg or hip movement
14:12
at all. And safe to say I absolutely
14:15
smashed it. I did amazing in that room.
14:18
So yeah, I had a lot of fun and there are a lot of stairs in
14:21
between some of the rooms. So the manager came with us and
14:25
took me kind of round different routes that was all flat and
14:29
took me like through lifts and things just to help me avoid the
14:32
stairs, which is really nice. A couple of the rooms didn't
14:35
have an accessible route and I was offered to just kind of
14:40
stand back and wait for them to finish it, but I didn't want to
14:42
miss out on it. So I just kind of climb the
14:45
stairs, you know, they had good railings.
14:47
So I very slowly made my way up the stairs in advance so that I
14:51
just didn't want to miss out on, you know, watching everyone do
14:54
the do the challenges and we could kind of spectate and give
14:58
advice and help the person out in the room.
15:00
So yeah, that was quite disappointed by that, but I
15:03
didn't want to miss out. So it was worth it.
15:05
Apparently is completely wheelchair accessible.
15:08
I did take my wheelchair with me just in case to Manchester, but
15:11
we ended up leaving it in the car because Manchester, like the
15:15
route that we did was not accessible.
15:17
Like the streets were all cobbled.
15:20
And the maze itself, the actual Crystal Maze can be made
15:24
wheelchair friendly because some of the terrain is quite unstable
15:28
like the sand and stuff. And they said that they could
15:31
put like ramps over it. So for anyone thinking of doing
15:34
it, there is an accessible way of doing it apparently.
15:36
Right, enough of the rambling shall we?
15:38
And let's get on with today's topic, which is things that I've
15:42
been loving recently. So as you may be able to tell if
15:45
you're watching, I have some books, No laptop today.
15:50
The laptop's on the floor, but I'm actually loving this setup.
15:53
I'm loving having like little books on the on the table.
15:56
It's very cute. But yeah, I just thought that I
15:58
would talk through some of the books I've read recently or that
16:01
it's been sent to me and that have disability representation
16:05
that I really, really recommend. The first one is Tomorrow,
16:08
Tomorrow, Sorry, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by
16:13
Gabrielle Zavin. I think I'm saying her name
16:15
correctly. It's a book about gaming in the
16:18
80s. I want to say I absolutely loved
16:21
it. And it's not really my kind of
16:22
topic, but you kind of follow these two people throughout
16:26
their lives, like through their childhood into adulthood
16:29
together. And it's just absolutely
16:31
amazing. And the one of the main
16:33
characters has a disability and ends up being an amputee.
16:39
And even though I'm obviously not an amputee, I could relate
16:42
to a lot of the struggles that he was going through.
16:44
And it was just really nice to see it kind of very subtly
16:48
integrated throughout the book. And so, yeah, I really recommend
16:52
this book, another book I really recommend that's all about
16:55
disabilities. Obviously, Tasha Gurry's hits
16:58
different, and we do talk about it in our episode with Tasha
17:02
herself. I think it's episode 31, if I
17:05
remember correctly. But obviously, loving that book.
17:09
Really recommend it. And the main character is Death
17:12
and has a cochlear implant, just like Tasha, and she navigates
17:16
the world of dance with a cochlear implant.
17:19
This next book was very kindly sent to me by a friend of mine
17:23
that I made on Instagram, Liam Robertson.
17:26
And the book is called More Than Meets the Eye, Living with
17:29
Ulcerative Colitis. And it's a very short book, very
17:33
easy read. And he basically just talks
17:36
about his experiences going through several misdiagnoses
17:40
before actually getting his ulcerative colitis diagnosis.
17:45
And he talks about the struggles that he goes through with this
17:48
condition. And honestly, it's such an eye
17:50
opener. Like I would not have an idea
17:53
about what someone with UC goes through if it wasn't for this
17:58
book. And honestly it I really, really
18:00
recommend. It's available on Amazon.
18:02
It's available if you just Google it.
18:05
I recommend following him on Instagram as well.
18:08
His Instagram is living with ulcerative colitis.
18:11
And yeah, it was a really, really good book.
18:13
So thank you, Liam, for sending that to me.
18:15
The next book that was also sent to me and I'm reading at the
18:19
moment, I'm only halfway through and I'm so sorry that I didn't
18:22
finish it before recording this, but this is Who Wants Normal,
18:26
The Disabled Girls Guide to Life by Francis Ryan.
18:30
I can honestly say, hands down, this is probably one of my
18:33
favourite nonfiction books ever, just because it feels like it
18:38
feels like reading about myself. I know I'm only halfway through,
18:42
but honestly every sentence, every page, I'm like yes, this
18:47
is me. Like absolutely, I relate to
18:49
this. It's just amazing.
18:51
And I could not recommend this more.
18:54
Like if there's one book that you take away from today's, you
18:59
know, recommendations, it's this book.
19:01
It's quite sobering. You know, she has a lot of
19:03
statistics in there about the disability pay gap, about body
19:08
image. What are the categories She
19:10
talks about school, university, careers, body image, healthcare,
19:14
relationships, representation. And I cannot shout any louder
19:19
about this. It's such a good book.
19:21
Another book that I actually listen to as an audio book
19:24
because it was read by the author is Fern Brady's book
19:28
Strong Female Character. Fern Brady is a Scottish
19:32
comedian who has autism, and she just talks about her upbringing
19:37
and her very late diagnosis of autism and how she's seen the
19:43
world and experienced the world's differently.
19:46
And yeah, she's both funny and heartbreaking at the same time.
19:50
And I would recommend it as an audiobook and just because I had
19:54
a free trial and because she obviously read it herself.
19:58
But the book is absolutely fantastic.
20:00
I really recommend that. Another book that I read on my
20:03
Kindle was a fiction book called Going Out on a Limb by Hannah
20:10
Bonum Young. And this is such a cute book.
20:13
It's just a romance book where both people are disabled.
20:17
Very easy read, really, really nice, quite light hearted.
20:21
And they kind of navigate kind of the world together AS2
20:24
disabled people. And it goes right from when they
20:27
first meet. And then I'm not going to spoil
20:31
anything, but they go through a lot of things that, you know, we
20:35
as disabled people often think about.
20:37
The last book I want to recommend is if I Can reach it.
20:41
This is Body Grief by Jane Mattingly, making peace with the
20:46
loss that comes with living in a body.
20:49
And I have to admit, I haven't read this yet because it's only
20:53
just been sent to me. So thank you, Jane, for sending
20:56
me your book. Very very excited to read it.
20:59
I'm assuming it's quite similar to Francis Ryan's book just in
21:03
the way that it's talking about her own experiences of living in
21:07
a disabled body. But I will update you guys once
21:11
I do get round to finishing it. If you are on Goodreads, I am on
21:15
Goodreads if you want to follow me to keep up with what I'm
21:19
reading at the moment, but I am very much looking forward to
21:22
reading this. I'm also loving the cover as
21:24
well. It is gorgeous.
21:25
It's Blues and purples and pinks.
21:28
Very nice. Anyway, so that's it with books.
21:31
OK, I think I've put them back in the way that they were.
21:36
Let's move on to food. And I haven't got that much
21:39
recommendations, but the first one is so stupid.
21:43
But I actually love it as someone who doesn't always have
21:47
the energy to meal prep or to chop fruit and veg up.
21:51
And I just want something easy on the go.
21:54
And that's blueberries. I have blueberries and grapes
21:57
almost every day. They're so easy.
21:59
You literally just take them out of the thing, give them a rinse,
22:02
give them a wash and they're ready to eat.
22:04
They're ready to go. My favourite fruit is like
22:08
nectarines or like flat Peaches and stuff.
22:10
But obviously you know, you've, you've got to commit to chopping
22:12
those open. And I know that sounds like it's
22:14
such an easy task, but if you've got a disability or if you're
22:18
really fatigued, you're not going to want to do that.
22:20
And you're just going to want something really easy,
22:22
especially if it takes everything to even just drag
22:25
yourself out of bed to go and have food.
22:27
This is a very easy snack. And I'm, I'm just loving it.
22:32
I love eating blueberries and grapes.
22:34
Like the combination together is so good.
22:36
And yeah, I take them into work with me because I don't need to
22:40
prep them beforehand. I can literally just pour them
22:43
into a box or a bag and just take them with me.
22:46
Another thing I love that's a gluten free recommendation is
22:50
track bars, and I've got an example here.
22:52
I haven't actually got the one that I usually have, which shows
22:56
that I eat them a lot, but here it is.
23:00
Oh, I'll do a little ASMR. Sorry, that's probably really
23:04
annoying, but this one that I'm holding up is a Millionaire
23:07
shortbread one, which honestly feels like dessert, but they are
23:12
gluten free. They are vegan as well.
23:14
The one I usually have is the coca flapjack.
23:18
They have lots of different flavours.
23:19
They've got lemon, they've got salted caramel, they've just got
23:21
the plain flapjack. And yeah, they are really,
23:25
really good. They're not the cheapest, but I
23:27
think for me it's a really good snack.
23:29
It's a good on the go kind of protein bar, I guess that's also
23:34
just really tasty. And it's gluten free and vegan
23:36
so you can't go wrong. Again, it's like it's no prep
23:39
needed. You can just Chuck one in your
23:41
bag if you do get hungry throughout the day.
23:43
And especially as someone who is a celiac and struggles to eat
23:46
out, sometimes it's just a nice little snack to just keep you
23:50
going. And just in case, you know, you
23:52
don't end up finding anywhere that's gluten free, at least
23:55
you've got something, you know, you've got a backup, something
23:57
else that I've been kind of holding off on recommending for
24:01
now just because I was kind of trialling using it.
24:07
But I have been consuming D ribose for a while, which is
24:10
some kind of powder for bodybuilders.
24:13
But people with my condition have been recommended to take it
24:17
just as a kind of boost to give you a bit more energy.
24:20
And I really do feel a difference.
24:21
I feel a bit more energised throughout the day.
24:24
I feel like I've got a little bit more strength.
24:26
Obviously it doesn't fix you. It doesn't heal you at all.
24:29
It's not a cure, but it's just a little something just to keep
24:33
you going. I have mine in my coffee or I
24:36
put it in my overnight oats just to kind of conceal the taste.
24:40
But I really recommend that if you do have my condition, give
24:45
it a go. I didn't agree with it when I
24:47
first tried it because I think you need to eat quite a bit when
24:51
you consume this because it doesn't always agree with your
24:55
stomach, as I learnt. But no, I think I'm on a good
24:58
streak with it right now. So that's another thing that
25:01
I've been enjoying. OK, we're moving on from food
25:04
and we're doing things now. So this is a mix of different
25:07
things, both for disabled people and non disabled people.
25:12
I'll start with the ones that are just normal things, I guess,
25:17
like not necessarily a disabled friendly hack.
25:21
And something I'm loving right now is reusable cotton pads.
25:25
So for all the people out there that wear makeup, obviously
25:29
throughout my life I've gone through so many cotton pads and
25:33
it's actually probably quite disgusting amount because
25:36
they're not reusable. You use them once and then you
25:39
just throw it away. And I know that's the case for a
25:42
lot of things that we use day-to-day, but I'm trying to
25:45
get better with things like that and trying to use more reusable
25:49
things. So when I was in France,
25:51
actually couple years ago, I was at this market and me and my
25:55
family just ended up batch buying loads of reusable cotton
25:59
pads. And they're just like little
26:00
square material that you can obviously use to take your
26:04
makeup off. You can put missile of water or
26:06
whatever, you know, your makeup remover on there, use it to take
26:10
your makeup off and then you just Chuck it in the wash and
26:12
then you can reuse it. And they've really changed the
26:16
game for me. They're saving me so much money
26:18
from buying, you know, cotton pads and just, you know, saving
26:21
a lot of waste as well. So yeah, I do recommend looking
26:26
into getting some because, you know, they may be a little bit
26:29
on the pricey side. Depends where you look for them.
26:32
You know, if you want to buy them from a small business or
26:35
something. But think of the money that you
26:36
will save over time. These will last me years.
26:39
So I'm looking for more things that I can reuse rather than
26:43
just use once and throw away. So if if you have any
26:45
recommendations please let me know.
26:47
Another thing that I'm loving and I'm not quite sure if I
26:50
mentioned this in my life hacks video, but it's not really
26:54
suited for this time of year but electric blankets and they've
26:58
changed the game for me. It's so nice to be able to come
27:01
home when it's cold outside, tuck the electric blanket on and
27:04
then by the time you get into bed after getting on ready, the
27:08
bed is so nice and warm and it's amazing.
27:10
And honestly, it's, it's my best friend.
27:14
So especially for people with disabilities who might need a
27:17
bit of extra heat to, to warm them up, you know, I get really
27:20
stiff over the winter. So electric blankets really,
27:23
really helped me just to kind of wind down some more things I
27:27
recommend for people with disabilities, but just also in
27:30
general. The first one is electric
27:32
toothbrush. And people have told me for ages
27:35
to use an electric toothbrush and did I listen?
27:38
No OK sorry about that. My camera overheated and I can't
27:41
really remember my train of thought, but I think I was
27:43
talking about electric toothbrushes and obviously they
27:48
are so handy when it comes to saving energy, especially as
27:52
someone whose arms are affected by LG MD.
27:55
So instead of having to use a lot of energy brushing your
27:59
teeth, you can use an electric toothbrush, which saves a lot of
28:02
movement. And I know that you still have
28:05
to hold your arm up and you know, maybe you could lean
28:07
against something with your elbow.
28:09
I'm learning to lean against things if I'm doing my hair and
28:13
my arms are a bit too tired, but electric toothbrushes are
28:17
definitely a good way to save a bit of energy at the beginning
28:20
and the end of every day. Another thing I have to give a
28:24
huge shout out to is New Balance The shoes.
28:28
And if you're watching, I'm holding up one of my shoes right
28:30
now, they are probably the best shoes that I found as someone
28:37
who struggles to walk sometimes and has struggled to find a shoe
28:42
that accommodates, you know, my walking and isn't an extra
28:46
weight or makes me uncomfortable in any way.
28:49
Like these are so so light and bouncy and I feel so comfortable
28:55
in them. I, I don't feel like they weigh
28:57
me down at all. Like I just, I love these so, so
29:01
much. If I could buy all my shoes in
29:04
this exact style, I absolutely would.
29:06
But I have the 50 threes. I imagine 5:30.
29:10
Sorry, five 30s. They're also really stylish.
29:14
They kind of go with everything. I know they're trainers, but you
29:17
can dress them up or dress them down.
29:19
And I'm not trying to be some fashion expert here, but they
29:22
work and I wear them to work and I absolutely love it.
29:25
So if you're looking for a shoe that accommodates your kind of
29:30
needs and doesn't give you an extra weight or
29:33
uncomfortability, New Balance is the one for you.
29:37
This is not an ad. This is a genuine, genuine
29:40
review. Another thing for my disabled
29:42
friends is radar keys and I don't know what the system is
29:46
outside of the UK, but with public accessible toilets they
29:51
often require a specific key to get into the toilets and it's
29:54
the same key throughout all of the different accessible
29:58
toilets. It's called a radar key.
30:00
You can get them off Amazon. You can get them really cheap.
30:03
You can apply for some medically for free if you want to.
30:07
I had one that I'd applied for, but I also just bought lots of
30:10
spares on Amazon because they're really handy to have in, you
30:14
know, pockets of different coats or different bags because you
30:17
never know when you're going to be out and you need to use the
30:20
keys. So I really recommend using that
30:23
because it just saves the awkwardness of having to find a
30:26
manager or a member of staff to ask for a key to let you in.
30:30
You can just do it really discreetly.
30:32
You can just go in, do whatever you want, you know, and you
30:35
don't need to attract any attention at all.
30:37
Because once I was somewhere really, really busy, like this
30:40
massive market, and I didn't have a radar key on me.
30:44
And I had to go up to the manager.
30:46
I kept asking around different members of staff, like, where
30:48
can I get a radar key? And they were like, oh, you have
30:50
to ask the manager. And he was working behind the
30:52
bar. And it was so busy.
30:54
And I had to basically shout across all these people, like,
30:56
can I have a key for the toilet, please?
30:58
So yeah, save yourself from doing something like that and
31:01
just have your own radar key. Another thing that I haven't
31:05
really used in public, I don't think, but I've just bought and
31:09
I don't want to use this as a recommendation.
31:12
I don't want to recommend it per SE, but I just want to make
31:15
people aware of it. Talking about toilets, it's
31:18
something called a shiwi. It's something for people who
31:21
can't usually pee standing up to be able to pee standing up.
31:25
Pretty much. I hope that I'm explaining that
31:27
in the best way. It's basically for when you're
31:32
struggling again using a public toilet.
31:34
If the toilet is too low, if there's no rails by the toilet
31:38
to get up and down properly. If the seat of the toilet is too
31:42
gross. Because I often find, and I know
31:44
a lot of people with LGMD or different disabilities relate to
31:48
this, but if I do use a public toilet and it's a bit too low, I
31:52
have to put my hands on the toilet seat to get up.
31:54
And that's the only way I can get up if there's no rails
31:57
around me. So it just saves you from having
32:00
to do that as well. You know, the last thing you
32:02
want is to just cause some more and hygienic Ness just from
32:08
having a disability. It's not really fair.
32:10
So I've only trialled it at home once the Shiwi.
32:15
I have yet to take it out with me to use in public, but I know
32:19
that I'm going to a lot of events coming up that have
32:22
portaloos or maybe won't have very accessible toilets.
32:26
So I'm going to take this with me and I'm going to try it out
32:29
if I'm absolutely desperate. It just saves having to, you
32:33
know, do the squatting, which I can't do or put your hands on
32:36
the seat or just struggling to sit down and not be able to come
32:40
back up again. And I've visited people's houses
32:43
as well, where obviously they're not accessible and I use their
32:46
toilet and I physically cannot get up, especially if my feet
32:50
are sliding on the floor. Like my feet need a good grip on
32:52
the floor to be able to stand up.
32:54
But I have like been in scenarios and situations where
32:58
I've been as a guest in someone else's house, I've been stuck on
33:02
their toilet and just not being able to get back up.
33:05
So it's very humbling and this will hopefully come in very
33:08
handy for stuff like that. Another thing that has changed
33:12
my world and my physio recommended it to me is silk bed
33:16
sheets. So instead of having just a
33:18
normal cotton bed sheet and to have a silk one because it's
33:21
just easier to roll around in it, I do struggle with rolling
33:25
around in bed sometimes. You know, if I want to change
33:27
sides that I'm sleeping on, having a silk sheet underneath
33:31
me has helped me so much with that transition.
33:35
So that's another recommendation for some of you guys that may
33:39
benefit from that. And the last one is a car door
33:42
handle. And that is for people that
33:44
struggle getting out of cars. If you need a good grip with
33:48
your hands to actually push yourself out from the car, these
33:51
handles are very handy. You put them in the little metal
33:56
bit that's like on the inside bit of the car door.
33:59
And it's really hard to explain, but there's lots of kind of
34:03
stuff around on YouTube and Amazon.
34:05
If you Google it though, if you put it in Amazon, like the car
34:09
door handles, they all come up as car door handles for elderly
34:14
because, you know, only the elderly have disabilities,
34:16
right? It's so silly.
34:19
So I was like, oh, great, I'm not elderly.
34:21
Like am I eligible for this? Can I have one?
34:24
But no, I have one in my own car and one in my boyfriend's car
34:29
just in case I get a bit too tired or I really struggle that
34:31
day with getting up from the car.
34:33
And it's there ready to go, ready to just kind of lock into
34:37
this little metal bit and really help me up.
34:40
And I can put all my support on it.
34:42
And it's really, really sturdy. So that's my last thing that I'm
34:45
recommending and I know this was a mix of like life hacks and
34:51
things that I'm loving. Oh guys, I have to give actually
34:54
a shout out to my new sunglasses and I don't actually have them
34:57
on me right now to share, but I'm sure you'll see pictures on
35:00
my Instagram. But there's I've been looking
35:03
for sunglasses for so long, like some like sleek, elegant ones
35:06
because I've got quite a small face and most sunglasses look
35:09
really, really big on me. I look like a family.
35:11
I look like a bug wearing sunglasses.
35:15
So I finally found some sunglasses that are a little bit
35:17
sleeker. The frames aren't very big, and
35:21
it's from a brand called Ego. If you just Google Ego
35:25
sunglasses, they're really affordable but such nice
35:28
quality. They kind of feel like dupes for
35:30
like, designer sunglasses. And I'm not spending hundreds of
35:33
pounds on designer glasses because I don't trust myself to
35:36
not break them by accident. Yeah, I recommend Ego sunglasses
35:40
as well for this summer. Hopefully the sun will be out
35:43
for them. I might do another episode of
35:45
this if you guys are interested, I can dive into some more things
35:49
that I'm loving. You know, aside from the topics
35:51
that I spoke about today. I hope that you have enjoyed
35:55
today's episode. If you do end up buying or you
35:59
know, using something that I recommended today, please let me
36:02
know. Send me some pictures.
36:04
Feel free to share it on your Instagram stories and share it
36:08
with your family and friends. Don't forget to follow this
36:11
podcast and rate it five stars and subscribe if you're watching
36:15
on YouTube. Thank you so much to kill LDMD 2
36:18
I for sponsoring this podcast. I can't wait to see you guys in
36:20
Florida. So, so excited.
36:23
And yeah, stay tuned and subscribe to my YouTube if you
36:26
do want to see some content outside of this podcast and also
36:31
my Instagram at Unbalanced Podcast because there's a lot
36:34
going on over there and you don't want to miss out.
36:36
I will see you guys very soon, but until then, enjoy.
36:39
All the interview episodes are coming up.
36:41
Love you guys so much. Bye.