Anyone can become disabled. Anyone, anytime.

In December 2008 I was planning my dream wedding for that July, only 7 months away. I was working full time in a job I wasn’t totally happy in, but it paid the bills. I was not expecting to be about to become permanently disabled and lose my job.

I had been experiencing pain in my right hand which was causing problems for me at work. Painful joints were no stranger for me, I had struggled with pain since I was a child. Spraining my ankles regularly, sore hands when I was writing, joints aching at night, but I thought I was just soft. At 16 I started with back pain. In 2001, (aged just 17) I started to became a regular at the local emergency department and GP with my wrists and thumbs, and I was diagnosed with Repetitive Strain Injury which then plagued me for years in both hands. At 20 my neck joined in, and I was unable to hot-desk at work and I had to have a set desk which was suitable for my needs.

In early 2008 my wrists, hands and thumbs got worse and I was struggling at work, and I was diagnosed with de Quervain’s tendonitis and referred to see the occupational therapist for the first time, Gina. She initially provided me with hand splints to wear at night and then she provided some more for daytime.

In very early 2009, the pain started to spread to other areas of my body, so Gina, continued to support me in many ways as my health declined. She provided me with my first set of walking sticks, more hand splints, and supported my general wellbeing. The biggest thing that she did for me for to help me to come to terms with being a 25/26-year-old who was ‘disabled’ and no longer able to work with a two-year old child to care for and a wedding on the way. Gina caught me on the cusp of becoming disabled and I didn’t know it at the time, but she was truly instrumental in me accepting that my life was never going to be the same again and accepting that with grace and dignity.

One of the most important things which Gina and occupational therapy gave to me in those truly dark days was the positivity and the knowledge that I could still participate in the occupations that were meaningful to me, I just needed to figure out how. For example, I love to read, and I could not hold a paper back book open, but I could hold a kindle and I could listen to audiobooks, these are techniques which I still use today. She just listened without judging me. She encouraged and supported me to get DLA and a blue badge. 

Without the support of my very first occupational therapist and those who have come after her, my life would be very different and I don’t know if I would able to perform my own ADLs. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to attempt to study occupational therapy at university.

I think it’s really important to remember, as occupational therapists, why we’re supporting the individuals that we do and what this support will lead to down the line. It’s not just the support to help someone to do a specific task such as making a cup of tea. It’s also not the expectation that a disabled person should be completely independent. It’s the support to allow a disabled person to be human and have a fulfilled life and only they decide what that should look like. Their life will evolve and change, as their disability, health, knowledge and support will change and ebb and flow around them, so what they need from us will change. To know what they want or need requires us to do more than just asking questions and listening, we need to be an ally. Allyship means that you believe them, support them and don’t judge their choices or assume that you know what it is like to live their life. Learn to be an ally by finding out more about @AbleOTUK on twitter or our website, take part in and listen to the past EDB sessions on the RCOT website.

Natalie is a Founding Member of AbleOTUK. You can follow Natalie and AbleOTUK online at:

Twitter – @nataliehixy/@AbleOTUK

Instagram – @AbleOTs

Webpage – AffinOT – AbleOTUK