In 2012 I won an award for Volunteer of the year after my work in mentoring vulnerable adults. I continued this work for 7 years, gaining much valuable experience.
I do consider that my life thus far has been an achievement. For my whole life I have suffered with chronic allergies & illness but I have never let it stop me. My work as a trouble shooter in oil exploration took me into some incredible environments & situations in many countries, which tested my mental & physical fitness to the extreme.
I had to leave my 12 year career in oil exploration after being diagnosed with a large brain tumour & being given 2 years to live. The resulting major brain surgery put me in a wheelchair for a few weeks & gave me life-changing injuries to my sight, balance & hearing as well as giving me a facial disfigurement.
After the brain surgery, I considered myself retired due to ill health, however, I was still building my health & my body through my passion of yoga which I have been practising for 30 years. In 2016 I started facilitating dance workshops which utilised movement medicine in a therapeutic context.
Although I still have sensory challenges as a result of the brain surgery, I consider that I have reached a level of physical, mental & emotional fitness that I am happy with. I have beaten all of the allergies that have plagued me most of my life. This has also led me to coach others on their health too.
In 2016, the Tory led government of the UK decided to remove all benefits from people with disabilities. As I foresaw this, I had already decided to apply for further education loans. I was accepted into the Eden Project Foundation degree in Storytelling & performance.
Above is a poster (designed by myself on Adobe Photoshop) for a solo play I put on at St Austell college. Below is a poster (designed by Eden to my specifications) advertising my self written story & solo play I performed to the public at the Eden Project.
