Hey I'm Ami! Country bumpkin (I'm from Norfolk). I'm 23,
deaf, partially sighted, among other conditions and recovering from Transverse
Myelitis. I joined Scope's online community early this year and was offered the
role of a Community Champion!
I was really anxious to begin with but really excited at the
same time. I have volunteered in the past however never on a online forum. I
never voiced my opinion as I was always afraid of how people would react.
Scopes online community has helped massively, not only towards teaching me to
accept my disabilities, but building my confidence back up too!
Unfortunately, a few days after I was offered the role, I
was admitted to hospital. To cut a very long story short, I contracted
bilateral pneumonia and learnt that I have Transverse Myelitis, which
means my spinal cord became inflamed. I spent 4 days in a induced coma because
my body was too weak to fight pneumonia. It could have gone either way but
thankfully I came through it!
Why is this connected to my role? I had to learn to type on
my IPad again because the cervical and thoracic area of my spinal cord were
affected. This made me unable to control my limbs. I had to learn to reach with
my arms, pick things up, sit up, stand up and learn to walk again.
As you can imagine this would cause a substantial amount of
stress and it broke my heart when I couldn't be involved with Scope as much as
I wanted to be. When I did master typing again, I emailed Scopes' community
team to ask if I could continue the role of a community champion. They kept me
as a community champion all this time I had been in hospital and I was beyond
elated!
Since resuming my role a couple of months ago, I have
noticed a massive change in my self-esteem and my mental health. In between having
intensive Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and seeing my Psychologist, I
spend the majority of my spare time on the forum, discussing various topics,
welcoming new members, chatting with good friends that I have made from within
the community. Every single member has helped me in more ways than one and I am
forever grateful.
My good friend, @thespiceman a fellow community champion
says:
"I like being a community champion because I can help and advise
members of our community. Give them information and hope we can inspire others
to talk about their illness or disability."
We all have different reasons as to why our role is
important to us. I love helping others, I know it's ironic but I am a good
listener, despite being deaf *laughs*. We support each other, understand each
other. Why? Because we are all equal.
I am excited for the future, I am getting married next year
and have been in contact with the fundraising team for Scope! So watch this
space!
Also, if you would like to read more about my recovery,
check out my blog!
Do you have a spare hour or two during the week? If you are
interested in learning more and becoming a community champion then email community@scope.org.uk
