Update | Blogging, bones and beyond.

Lottie is quite the slave driver and when she kept trying to jump up to the computer chair, I knew it was time to pull my finger out a write another blog post. 

Although I have posted a few review posts (we have lots more coming up too). I haven't posted an personal life update in forever. 

Funny Bones 

If you follow us on Facebook, you will know I had another operation on my right tibia in July. I had a metal plate inserted to try and heal the fracture from 2014. The operation was a success and the surgeon was able to get the plate into place, but because my bones are so small the plate is a little large, so will need to be removed next summer. I also have to have the rod replaced in my right femur (thigh bone) as it has bent and moved over time. Both of these are quite big operations but we will cross that bridge when we comes to it. 

That's how I roll

In other news, I'm currently in the process of getting a new wheelchair. Now for those that aren't familiar with the current wheelchair service through the NHS in England. Due to very limited resources the NHS are only able to provide a basic manual/electric wheelchair. Unfortunately for many complex disabilities such as mine, these wheelchairs simply aren't fit for purpose, they neither provide the comfort or support that a disability like mine needs. After all I can fracture from jumping, so having a specialist wheelchair is important.. If you choose not to have one of their wheelchair they offer you a voucher for the amount that the wheelchair would of cost the NHS. 

Many local hospital are able to purchase these wheelchairs at the NHS rate, most specialists wheelchair cost around £20,000 and my NHS voucher will be for around £3,000. 

If you opt for this scheme, unfortunately you are very much on your own regarding raising the rest of the funds. I'm currently looking at different ways to raise the extra needed. Obviously the wonderful Brittle Bone Society will be able to help but as they are only small funds are limited. I'm hoping either Apple or Amazon are reading this post, as I'm sure they have a spare £17,000 lying around (one can wish!). Seriously though if anybody reading this has any ideas/or wants to help raise the extra money needed for my new wheelchair, please contact us by Facebook/Twitter or leave a comment. 

I know some of you may think this post is a little depressing, and not like many of my others. I started this blog to raise awareness of Osteogenesis Imperfecta and unfortunately at the moment I am having a rough time of it. I don't want to write a unrealistically as that is not raising awareness for anybody. I hope you guys understand.... 

Now on a brighter note, Lottie is doing great, she was diagnosed with dry eye but that is being managed really well with eye drops. 

She had a fab summer as you can see from the photos below, and made lots of new furry friends.

We both cant wait for Christmas as it my favourite time of year, and we have a Christmas Gift Guide coming soon so be sure to look out for that. 

I have being well and truly told off by Lottie, and blogging with now be much more regular.  Watch this space.... 

Love Jessica and Lottie xxx 

Disability Awareness Series Part 4 | Dogs really do change lives!

Many of my readers will already be aware I am currently writing a disability awareness series to help you guys have a bit more of an insight into my life and the real problems disabled people face everyday. We have found so many furry friends including the great Blacky the Wheelchair cat. Over on his page Facebook page they are also doing a disability awareness week to help raise awareness of disability.

We decided together it would be great for me to write a guest post that I would help to raise more awareness of my disability. As well as tell my story of what it is truly like to be disabled and how one small little dog  has changed my life.

Having a disability I feel is sometimes quite an odd concept to understand. Even just the word disability labels me on the things I simply cannot d and how my ability to carry out those activities is hindered. What astonished  me most is we don't judge or label 'normal' people on what there ability level is. When you meet someone  new you don't introduce them as ' Hi, this is Scott and he can't play the piano'. It  just sounds silly and in fact pointless, why would I need to know that about him anyway. Well I feel the same about my disability, I don't want to be labelled on the things I cannot do, I'm just Jessica, nothing else just me!

This in my eyes has evolved a whole new culture that looks at disability from the wrong angle. I have a disability called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones) which basically just means my bones are more fragile than most, as a result I have to use a wheelchair full time. Throughout my life I have faced an awful lot of discrimination. When people see me in the street they don't see me they just see my wheelchair and assume I either can't communicate or don't have the mental ability to do so  and simply either ignore me or talk to the person that is with me and thus am sitting there thinking 'Helloooo I am here, I can hear you and I can talk!'.

This is where Lottie comes in, I will admit I never quite expected the reaction to alter so much! People now just see me as a fellow dog owner instead of a wheelchair user. They come up and talk to me, let the dogs say hello and then we both carry on our normal day to day life, just like everybody does!

I have always wanted a dog, and finally got to get one on my 18th Birthday. Before then it was always a no from my parents and with good reason too, I had many lengthy hospital stays as a child and it was just simply unpractical. However as I grew older the hospital stays became less frequent , so that barrier was finally removed!

I mainly wanted a dog for company, I have always loved animals as they don't judge or label. To Lottie I am just Jessica, not Jessica with a disability who uses a wheelchair  She doesn't care about that I am simply just her mum. What I hadn't accounted for when I got Lottie was all the other aspects in my life that she could help me with, such as  my confidence, the ability to open up a whole new world  I didn't know existed as well as gaining me more independence by helping me around the house.

Before having Lottie I would never of started a blog to help raise awareness of my disability neither create a Facebook page. The support I have received has been amazing and I thank you all so much. I have made so many friends not only online but also by attending training session with Lottie there again something I would never of done without Lottie. By attending these classing I have been able to train Lottie handy tricks that can help me around me house such as fetch my slippers and pick things up off the floor that I have dropped.

Dogs brings something humans simply can't. It always been a saying I have great belief in, and  that has certainly been the case with Lottie.

I hope this post has given you more of an insight into my life with  a disability as well as how dogs can really help those with disability.

Here is double trouble!

Jessica and Lottie.

Disability Awareness Series Part 3 I bet your never thought of this?

I hope so far in this disability awareness series I have given you more of an insight into what it's really like to be a disabled dog owner.

I want to share with you a few problems that I soon faced that altered the dynamics of owning Lottie due to my disability.

I know I have let you guys know about this before but all my childhood life all I wanted was a dog. Due to long hospital stays this simply wasn't possible. However on my 18th birthday I told my mum I had saved the money for a Westie puppy and had booked an appointment for a viewing that afternoon.

Having an accessible bungalow you sometimes forget all others are not so wheelchair friendly! Once she knew about the appointment she agreed that we could go to have a look but didn't promise anything. I already had the address but stupidly had glanced over the fact that in the address it stated it was a farm! A farm and a wheelchair hardly go together well. Unfortunately I didn't realise this until we got their, however I was that determined to see Lottie's mum who was pregnant at that point. We all teamed together and I did get to see Lottie's mum and I'm pretty sure you're all aware of the result of our first visit.

This is my 18th Birthday. Lottie is just 8 weeks old! 

This is just one of the first small things that altered dog ownership for me, normally the first meeting would be something many of you don't even give a second thought to. For us this was certainly not the case!

I remember a very important statement that my Grandma made before we even collected Lottie, "Dogs normally attach to one family member more than others, its normally the person who feeds the dog".

In our household dog ownership would involve two people. Me and Mum, after the statement my grandma had made panic struck, what about when I was poorly from a fracture, or I was recovering from surgery. Would the dog I had brought to bring so much joy to MY life, be attached to my mum instead. As far as feeding we were using a baby gate when we first brought Lottie home, one I couldn't get my wheelchair over so yet another small obstacle that meant I couldn't 'bond' with Lottie.

It a strange thing to say but I feel that being in a wheelchair actually brought me and Lottie closer together, because each small little issue we faced took so much hard work, there was no way the two of us could not be bonded. Needless to say we the best of friends and actually Lottie responses more to me than my mum. (Don't let her know I told you guys that).

We clearly have no bonding issues now! 

Dog walking is something so many dog owners take for granted. I have been in a wheelchair all my life so am extremely used to managing to push with one hand (and not go around in circles!) when carrying shopping etc. So walking Lottie would be easy right! Wrong, this was more of the reality I faced. I had a very excitable little puppy on the end of the leash. I was trying to juggle holding the clicker in one hand (I was teaching walking to heal), the lead in another, managing treats. and making sure most importantly I was training Lottie correctly and push my wheelchair. I know us women are the masters of multitasking but this was pushing that fact to the limit! I had many walks with Lottie where I thought we would never get their and walks on our own were definitely off the cards for a while! I was however determined this wasn't going to stop us and persisted and I got involved in as many of Lottie's walks as possible. About 6 months later Lottie was beginning to calm down and also the clicker training was well embedded. One day I just decided  "OK today I'm going to take Lottie for a short walk on my own". We only went around our cu-de-sac but it was one of the best decisions I ever made. On our own we learnt to work together and found ways to adapt our walks, we gradually built up the distance which is where I actually started to enjoy walks with Lottie instead of the dread and fear I felt before. We overcome this obstacle and now our walks are exactly the same as yours!

This may look easy, but it took months of hard work! 

These are just two of the small problems I faced once Lottie came home. I will share a few more in the next part of this series. I really want to stress that the aim of this series is not for you to feel sorry for me due to these issues. It's about raising awareness of how a disability can impact so much on a persons life not only in terms of  health issues but simple tasks such as bonding with your new puppy and the simple task of dog walking are such a big milestone.

Jessica and Lottie

If you guys missed part 1 and 2 of my Disability Awareness Series the link to those posts are below. Be sure to give them a read too!

Part 1 - Disability Awareness Series Part 1 | Thursdays Barks and Btyes | Such a precious game of fetch.

Part 2 - Disability Awareness Series Part 2 | Thank you Mum, three little words that mean so much! - National Carer's Week 9-15th June, are you aware?







This post is part of the Thursday Barks & Bytes Blog Hop, hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like a Dog. Go pay a visit to the hosts and check out other hop participants.

Normal cuddles are resumed.... nearly!

Those humans really are clever (maybe not quite as us canines though). Since mum has got home from I'm not supposed to go on mums knee since her operation, so this has really hindered those comfy long evening knee cuddles I am so used too. 

Then mum came up with a genius idea, the huge chair the hospital loaned mum, is exactly the same height as mums bed. So mum decided to put the wheelchair right next to her bed and place my cushion on and hey presto! I can lie right next to mum without hurting her poorly leg.

Evidently ever since I have hardly moved from my new favourite spot.

Jessica and Lottie 

We're participating in the Pet Parade Blog Hop hosted by Rascal and Rocco, and co-hosted by Jan's Funny Farm, Basil the Bionic Cat, Barking from the Bayou, and Love is being Owned by a Husky! - thanks guys!

Thursday Barks And Bytes - Mum's Home and I have a new treat ball can life get any better?

Today is my first day at home after my hospital stay from the operation. To be  completely honest it doesn't feel as good as expected. Things are so much harder at home, with not being able to weight bear or bend my knee. Every small little task is like climbing mount Everest. Luckily though I only have this plaster cast on for four weeks so things can only get better.

The hospital has loaned me a wheelchair with a leg rest so I could mobilise around the house. Of course Lottie needed to give it the royal approval and as you can see I think it passed!

Before I went into hospital I decided to treat Lottie to a new toy. (As a sort of mum being away present). Lottie has tried and tested many treat dispensing toys some of which we have been more impressed with than others.

After much debating in our local pet store I decided to purchase the Animal Instincts Puzzla Treat Toy Atom for £6.99 which I thought was very reasonably priced. It also comes in a ball and pod shape. (The link is to Amazon who also stock the toy)

This is the hole to fill the toy

This is the exit hole with the two removable tabs 

The idea of the three designs is they progress in difficulty levels. The ball is the easiest and due to its shapes and also having the largest hole treats fall out easier. The pod is stated as medium difficultly and has a 4" exit hole. The atom is leveled as the hardest of the three, this was my main motive for purchasing as we have found many treat dispensing toys in the past are far to easy for Lottie and within five minutes she has finished.

Each toy has removable tabs on the exit holes which can be removed to increase the flow of treats or left to increase difficulty. I decided to leave it standard and see how Lottie got on. Inside the atom toy there is also rubber triangular pieces which stop the treats from being dispensed too quickly.

As you can see I didn't fill the toy with many treats and only used small ones to start with.  
Lottie couldn't wait to get started. As soon as I gave her the toy I saw the instincts she shows when she really likes a new toy. The toy lasted her around 20 minutes which I was really impressed with seen as the amount of treats I used. The treats were difficult for her to get out  but because I used some of her favorites this gave her the motivation to keep going.

Finally I have found all the important factors that I want from a treat toy. A durable, well designed well priced treat dispensing toy. The main reason I am highly impressed is Lottie actually found the toy challenging which is exactly what I wanted.

I am a big believer that mental exercise is equally as important as physical exercise. Especially as I am house bound at the moment I am having to rely on mum for dog walking duties and with my circumstances Lottie's walks are not as long as they were pre-operation.. So for us mental exercise is a top priority!  

Does your dog like treat dispensing toys? Which ones do you find work the best?

Jessica and Lottie

We are joining the Thursday Barks and Bytes Blog Hop Co-hosted by our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs blog and Heart Like a dog Grab the badge and join the fun!

Wordless Wednesday - hey that's my chair!

Watch out!

Having a puppy is a challenging time for anybody but being in a wheelchair and having a tiny ball of fluff running around can add a whole new dimension that you guys may not of even thought about.

Imagine waiting nearly 2 months to collect a white ball of fluff, and the day finally arrives. Obviously you would be overcome with excitement as I was certainly was. What I had not accounted for was that this tiny innocent little dog has now got to get used to a moving object ten times bigger than her!

My every move now needed to be thought of first "Where's Lottie'. This was definitely a challenging time for us and some times frustrating. Lottie was never scared of my wheelchair it was more me terrified of running over her tiny little paws.
After around 3 months things seemed to settle down and Lottie soon realised if she got to close to the big round wheels it hurt (a lot!)

Nowadays we are both much more used to one another and she doesn't bother how close she gets to my chair in fact she  regularly uses under my wheelchair as the ideal place to lie (even though she has a lovely cosy bed) , or as a sun shade on a hot summers day.

Jessica

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Get a grip!

It's been delivered!

I arrived home from a shopping trip and there on the door mat was a parcel, I was hoping it would be the Grippy lead I ordered and it was!

Before I even unpacked the shopping I just had to give it a go. I ordered a pink 5 loop 19mm Grippy lead.

The first thing I must say is the delivery service is fantastic I ordered it late on Wednesday night and it was delivered today.

As I have mentioned before I have struggled with so many different types of leads. I normally end up with half of it wrapped around my hand, and the blood supply really feeling the pinch by the time we get home. So I was praying the Grippy lead would answer all my prayers.

And yes, it answers my prayers and so much more! It has a D ring on the end, near the handle so I am able to clip it to my chair meaning I only need to hold one of the loops lower down.

With the lead having 5 loops (they also do a 6 loop option) it means that Lottie can he held at any length along the lead and it's even great for close control.

The material is so soft and won't cause any rubbing on my hand even if Lottie suddenly decides she wants to desperately look at something a few feet away! (Which she often does)

Being the girly girl I am means everything must be pink, and Lottie very much shares this thought too (Pink makes the boys wink, right?). So evidently I ordered the cerise pink option which more than deals with our pink requirement! The colour is so vivid and bright and it even matches her harness to!

In my eyes Grippy leads are an essential for any dog owner but for us they hold that special place, and have solved so many of our dog walking problems. Walks from now on will be a complete pleasure with a Grippy lead in hand!

Jessica