Our health stories

Angela Still and Ian Davies
Central England People First

We have two experienced self advocates who would like to come and talk about their own personal experiences of health problems. They will talk about the time from finding out about their health problems until now.

Angela Still wants to talk about having epilepsy. Her story is about being diagnosed and the doctor only speaking to her mother and not Angela. She talks about finally taking control of her own diagnosis and how much happier it made her to have a doctor talk to her about epilepsy. She also want to talk about her experiences of being a carer both to her mother and her friend. She also has tried to battle with doctors to have a knee operation that is only given to people over the age of 65. Angela has asked doctors to think about the fact that people with learning difficulties don't live as long and so she should have it sooner. Angela's story shows how far we have come. Anglea was not talked to by doctors about her own health and now she is talking to doctors about her mother's health and battling the NHS to get an operation.

Ian Davies wants to talk about his experiences of being diagnosed with a cancerous tumour on his spine. He wants to talk about what happened to him and how it was discovered and how he dealt with it. He wants to talk about his treatment and the importance of having good support from friends and colleagues. He also wants to talk about  how important it was to be able to carry on working during his illness. Ian will talk about how this experience ten years ago has affected how he thinks about things now. Ian's story shows how one person with learning difficulties has experienced and overcome cancer.