Tips to stay positive

Hey guys :)

This is a bit of a random post today but i hope it helps anyone who is reading this! While dealing with PFFD, disability or any struggles in your life it can be hard to keep positive and remember all the good things that may be happening in your life. Here is just a few tips that i have found to be helpful!

I love having positive quotes and pictures around me to help me keep motivated. The small things in life mean the most and just sticking up a picture of where you would like to go on holiday or your dreams and ambitions will help you stay focused and help you achieve them. 

My favorite quote of all time, right next to my biggest inspiration Katie Piper xo 

 For example i have some happy quotes i keep around my room to read for when i am having a bad day with my frame. I also have a picture of the Eiffel Tower as my mum and dad have promised me that when my surgery is over they will take me and my boyfriend back to Paris. By knowing this it makes every crappy day or pain worth while :)

I bought all my cards from Paperchase for about 60p each.

You are all beautiful xo
http://www.paperchase.co.uk/

Valentines Day OOTD

I hope you all had a lovely Valentines Day whether it was with your loved one or just spending it with your friends and family.

For Valentines Day Nathan and I decided to go see the highly anticipated 50 Shades Of Grey and then go for a lovely meal. We had such a nice day, I love him so much and would be lost without Nathan <3

Top & Skirt- New look
Boots- River Island
Necklace- Primark
Braclet's- Michael Kors

Opening up about your disability

Not only is it hard having a disability, but trying to tell someone about it is even harder!

At one point in my life my disability was very visible this was when i was wearing a built up shoe and false leg. Because they where so noticeable everyone would stare and whisper to there friends or family "whats wrong with that girls leg" or a classic "omg that girl has three feet". I hated people staring it completely shattered my confidence, i felt like an alien for something that i couldn't control or change instantly. I felt my most paranoid and self conscious when it was big groups of teenagers staring at me, because all i wanted to do was say I'm just the same as you! I also knew that teenagers can be pretty mean and so was always worried if they where making fun of me! I have had some instances when people have tried to sneakily take a picture of my false leg and think that i didn't notice! That used to boil my blood as i thought what the hell are you doing my leg is really not that big of a deal. I also had another run in with what i thought was a nice old lady who then asked if my false leg was there as a joke because it looked like i had three feet. At the point it completely crushed me. Luckily my mum was there to defend me otherwise i would have just broke down crying right there, lets just say my mum gave that women some talking to lol. 

Me with my built up shoe :) xo

My first frame xo

The thing that frustrated me the most was I'm not bothered if you want to come up to me and ask me questions about my leg, I just don't want to be pointed at and then wonder what your saying about me. Im not gonna lie i do have my days where I'm in a sarcastic slightly annoyed mood where i don't want to be asked. And in that case i like to make up some funny stories as to what has happened to me for example i once said i got bitten by shark! The boys jaw dropped and he walked away which at the time is what i wanted, but in most cases I'm proud to talk about my leg. When i started Secondary School it was pretty daunting the first day as i had one more thing to worry about than the other kids and that was how are people going to react? Am i going to be bullied for how my leg looks? I can honestly say i had no problems at school to do with my leg. I found the best way to tell people about my leg was just to be straight forward with them, get it all out in the open. When i did most of the boys and girls would want to know more about it and find it pretty cool that i had, had operations ect. Im sure that people would say a couple of digs behind my bag but hey if i didnt hear them i didn't care :) 

BOYS!

I had my first boyfriend in YR 11 and i was quite lucky because he already knew everything about my leg and had seen all the changes with it from; false leg, frame then just raise in my shoe and he didn't care but we didn't work ha. 

After that i then met my amazing boyfriend Nathan, he popped up to me on facebook saying "hey i think i know you from somewhere" (even though he didn't) i played along with it because he was cute but i was so nervous talking to him because he had only seen my pictures on facebook which didn't really show my leg so he had no idea i had PFFD! We carried on talking for weeks and i thought he was so funny and caring and i really fell for him. He then started to ask to meet me and kept trying to put him off because i knew if i met him he would then see that i walked with a limp and that my leg was slightly thinner than my other. I thought i had to tell him because if we did meet he would maybe notice but if things went well and we started going out he would eventually see all my scars and then he would defiantly know i was keeping something from him. So before i agreed to meeting him in town i rang him and told him i had something to tell him. I was so nervous and i could tell he was too (he says now he thought i was going to say i already had a boyfriend) and so i just blurted it out " I was born with a condition called PFFD) he asked what it was and i explained i had one leg shorter than the other and i have had operations to try and lengthen it. I couldn't believe the first thing he said " Oh cool, my ex girlfriend had metal rods in her back" i was screaming inside yessssss he dosn't care! We spoke for ages about all my operations, scars and future treatment. Nath could not have cared less and it was then i knew i really liked him and wanted to go out with him :) And now we have been going out for nearly 2 YEARS! He has seen all my photos of me as child, my old false legs, my scars and now is going through my last operation with me. He has been an absolute life saver and i couldn't have done this without him. I know i can be myself and he wont care i love him so much and he is my everything! I never thought a boy would want to be with me, but i defiantly was proven wrong and so will you be if you are having them doubts.

Accidental boob squeeze 

going for a wheel round the hospital 

I hope this post helps others become more confident and open about your disability. I find that being open from the start and showing your proud of who you are is the best way to tell people about it! At the end of the day if they judge you about your disability then they are not worth knowing! Be proud to be unique. 

I promise you do have good days!

So last friday me and mum had a nice girly day out to bond with each other. We decided to go into the lake district and do a bit of shopping and then we went for afternoon tea! 

Whilst driving to the Lake District the scenery was breathtaking, it had snowed so all the mountains where covered in snow and the air was crisp. We honestly could not stop pulling over and taking pictures we looked like write tourists. On some of the mountains there where people still hiking and to be honest i was pretty jealous i bet the views from the top would have been stunning. The part of the Lake District me and my mum decided to go to was Keswick it is my favorite out of the whole of the Lake District as it isn't to big and has the best shabby chic craft and home shops to look in, ohhhhh and also the most amazing sweet and chocolate shop ever. I'm not going to lie the Lake District is not wheelchair friendly so my poor mum was like literally shoving me through the tiniest shop doorways I'm surprised we never broke anything or ran over anybody's foot. Luckily everyone in Keswick was really friendly and helped us. If you ever go to Keswick you should defiantly go to the Orchid House which is such a cute shop for kitchen home-ware it has the prettiest plates and bowls that are almost to stunning to put your food on! Then there is Enchanted Gifts it sells the most prettiest and delicate home accessorizes from hanging hearts, candles, pillows, throws and twinkly lights my fave! The women who owns the shop is so nice she also brought in her boxer dog who was so happy following me round in the wheelchair which completely sold it for me ;) Then its the Peter Rabbit and Friends shop which is kind of a baby shop and seen as i do not have children i am defiantly to old to go in there just for me. But heeey hoe i like to look and pretend what cute peter rabbit stuff i would get my children. Peter Rabbit is a classic and everyone should know it"

After shopping it was time for Afternoon Tea which my mum treated me to at Armathwaite Hall. As soon as we pulled up i felt like i was in someones grand stately home! We where shown into one of there formal dining rooms and we had our own little sofa area which looked over the lake and the mountains it was beautiful. The afternoon Tea included a drink of tea or coffee, scones with jam,butter and cream. Then a selection of finger sandwiches which were way to posh for me i hardly knew what was inside them. And last but not least a lot of cakes, biscuits and tray bakes it was amazing! And if that wasn't already enough a cheese cake shot almost and shot of the sweatiest wine which we both passed on! 

It was so lovely to be able to have a good day out with my frame on and not be in pain. Im so thankful for my mum doing this treat for me it defiantly helps the bad days with the frame on seem less dark. The frame is a pain and can make you feel trapped but it is important that you beat it and go out and do what you want. Sometimes you do have to rest for a day before or afterwards when you have gone out but after that rest you just have to jump back on it and do something that makes you happy :) 

Choose happy

Being born with PFFD can be pretty tough, and having to go through many operations can take its toll. Although its hard sometimes i have learnt one thing it could always be worse unfortunately there are people who are in a worse position than you and so each day you have to be grateful for what you have.

Its taken time for me to come to terms with having a short leg and i still go through depression and have some anxiety but hey its normal and completely understandable for people with a disability. But there is one thing that my mum always has told me, and that is you have a choice to be happy or sad and you only have one chance at life. With every hospital appointment, surgery, bad weekend or week you have there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Its okay to have a bad day!

I have been feeling a little down this week and i just wanted to share this inspirational quote it always helps me when i read it and i feel like it is so true. Having a frame on you are defiantly going to have bad days but you have to remember you choose to be happy or sad and you have to believe that the next day is going to be better. And you have the choice to make it that way! Wake up in the morning forget bout your previous bad day and say this going to be a good day :)