Monthly Archives: July 2021

Travel Kind

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Hello all,

I have been rather busy with work lately so I haven’t had chance to do much writing. Today is my day off so I thought I’d do some.

In the past few weeks I have noticed a difference when traveling to and from work with the business of public transport. This has made it more tiring getting to and from work.

The differences have been that more and more people are using public transport as people start to return back to working in the office. At weekends more people are using public transport to go out into town.

What makes it even more tiring and stressful is that I am starting to notice people’s return to ‘normality’ when it comes to public transport.
By this I mean people are not always giving me space when I get on the train, they are not offering me a seat, they are cutting in front of me and my cane.

This is physically exhausting and mentally draining.

All I want is for people to respect my space and to just ask if I need help. It’s nice to be nice.

Looking down at my feet, wearing converse. My guideline is in between my feet.


However, I do try to focus on the good people do. For example a lady helped me cross a busy road and asked I needed help navigating some road works on the pavement ahead. I said I was fine and thank you for asking me if I needed help.

Another lady asked if I needed assistance on the escalator. She said she was’t sure whether to ask because she understands that Disabled people are capable of being independent. I replied saying that I would prefer if people asked, because in doing so you are showing you are being kind whilst respecting they might be perfectly fine. I thanked her for her help.

Please just be mindful as you go abut your day that all this ‘opening up’ business is very exhausting for Disabled People. I  wasn’t shielding I was going to work as normal when my work re open-end. It was much nicer for me travelling to work when it was less visually stressful. Please be aware of your surroundings and if you see someone who might need help, just ask. Personally I prefer this, then if I do need help if more people are offering, I don’t have to worry about finding someone to ask.

Thank you for reading. If you can please check out my fundraising page and help me raise £3k for the BHF and Children’s Heart Surgery Fund. 

CPR and Defibrillators

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Hello again,

This blog will focus on the importance of CPR and Defibrillators. Before I dive into this I would like to ask if you know the difference between a Heart Attack and a Cardiac Arrest?

‘5 differences between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest:

1. A heart attack is not the same as a cardiac arrest.

2. A heart attack is when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked. The heart muscle is robbed of its vital blood supply and, if left untreated, will begin to die because it is not getting enough oxygen.

3. A cardiac arrest is when a person’s heart stops pumping blood around their body and they stop breathing normally.

4. Many cardiac arrests in adults happen because of a heart attack. This is because a person who is having a heart attack may develop a dangerous heart rhythm, which can cause a cardiac arrest.

5. A heart attack and a cardiac arrest are both emergency situations. Call 999 straight away.’

The above information is taken from The British Heart Foundations Website.

I remember in secondary school in a PE lesson we learnt CPR. It was a very strange lesson. Knowing that what you were learning could be used to safe a persons life was very strange. I do not remember getting a certificate for it. But I do remember being taught the basics and what to do in the event someone collapses.

Learning CPR is a vital skill you could save life. Here are some facts from the BHF (Click on BHF Statistics Factsheets-UK):

• There are more than 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCAs) in the UK each year.

• The overall survival rate in the UK is just 1 in 10.

• Every minute without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by up to 10 per cent.

• Performing CPR can more than double the chances of survival in some cases (ventricular fibrillation).

• It’s estimated that public-access defibrillators (PADs) are used in less than five per cent of OHCAs.

• The Chain of Survival (below) is a sequence of steps that together maximise the chance of survival following cardiac arrest

These numbers are very scary. I hope that one day we can live in a world without Heart Disease and all the other areas the BHF is working so hard to fight against.

If you want to do your bit to help ensure more people survive out of hospital Cardiac Arrests please learn CPR. You can find out how to do CPR here.

St Johns Ambulance has a course which is Certified for learning CPR. Click here.

When you are out and about keep a look out for any Defibrillators you might see. Take a picture of it and post it on social media. In doing so you are helping to raise awareness of their locations and ensuring other people know where they are. Also check out the National Database for your nearest Defibrillator. (Caution that this may not contain all defibrillators and it may not be accurate as to whether they are in service.)

Always dial 999 if you suspect someone needs an ambulance.

When it comes to CPR it is better for you to try and do something, call for an ambulance immediately. If you can do CPR, try. No one is going to say anything if you do it wrong. Very second that passes counts.

While you are doing CPR you are doing the work of someones heart for them. You are working to keep that person alive. That to me is pretty mind blowing.

Please consider all I have said. If you can also help by donating even £3 to my fundraising to The BHF and The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund, you will be helping to make a difference. Donate here.

Thank you for reading.

Twitter: @PhilippaB

Instagram: @VisuallyImpairedPip