When I was a little girl I saw an ad for an amazing new toy, a little doll with a catchy slogan “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down”. My little brother and I tested this claim over and over as we tried to make our Weebles stay down!
Years later at a self-development seminar I was asked to come up with a slogan that described my life. I was at a particularly low point, Steve ...
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In 2006 a stroke caused Steve to lose his speech; since then he has been able to say “1,2,3”, “difficult” and a few other words. His frustration has been immense and the impact on family life is beyond measure.
This Saturday evening our daughters had a baking competition, Steve was the judge. Gina (now aged 14) presented a large, well risen, Oreo cake while Tanya (now aged 8) proudly handed over a modest, highly decorated chocolate ...
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Andrew Marr’s eloquence and humour allowed ordinary people a real insight into life after stroke during his time with JohnathanRoss. This interview offered a rare combination of entertainment, inspiration and highlighting essential issues.
In particular Andrew drew attention to the lack of physiotherapy available for ordinary people who are living with the consequences of stroke. In Ireland and the UK most people are offered six to eight ...
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‘”If Schumacher survives he will not be Schumacher. He will be (Mr.) Bloggs. And his rehabilitation will only be effective if he comes to terms with being Bloggs – and fulfils what Bloggs can do,” said Richard Greenwood, a consultant neurologist at London’s Homerton Hospital and at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.’ (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/15/us-brain-injury-idUSBREA0E1JQ20140115)
When I read this headline my blood ran cold. It brought me back to the café in a Dublin Hospital in July of 2006. ...
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Earlier this year I had the privilege of visiting St Raphael’s school where we met many of the extraordinary teachers and motivated students who fill their bright, joyful classrooms. This was the first time we had the opportunity to show our Talk Around It apps to staff at a special needs school and we were delighted by their response.
During that short visit we heard many stories but the tenacity of one teacher sums up the spirit that prevails ...
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At first I felt guilty. Here I was in one of the poorest countries in the world, sitting in a beautiful hotel stuffing myself with the best food I have ever tasted. When I heard I was coming to India with Journeys for Change I thought that I would be living in rough conditions and helping to deliver polio drops or distributing food parcels while learning about social enterprises here. I could not have been ...
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When I told people that Social Entrepreneurs Ireland was sending me on a journey through southern India I was frequently warned to expect a moment when “It” will hit me. “It” can be anything; for one of my fellow travellers it was a meeting a beggar who shared the same severe disability as two of her children.
Each surgeon completes 100 operations a day
‘It’ hit me in the ...
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In February 2013, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland sent me on the trip of a lifetime to meet social innovators in the India. We started in Bangalore; it was wonderful: perfect weather, incredible people and the best food I’ve ever had.
As I listened to the fascinating insights of the people we met I was struck by one word that seemed to colour every conversation: “contradiction”. I began to understand this during an incredible walking ...
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‘Man is nothing else but what he purposes, he exists only in so far as he realizes himself, he is therefore nothing else but the sum of his actions, nothing else but what his life is.’ (“Man Makes Himself” by Jean-Paul Sartre)
Since Steve had his stroke in 2006 I had not spent a night away from him and our girls. Since our eldest daughter was born almost 13 years ...
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I remember the first time I went to Trinity College Dublin. It was my final year in school and I had been invited to the Trinity Ball. As I stepped through the gates, the noise of the traffic disappeared and the grey cityscape was exchanged for the magnificence of the Exam Hall and the music of Strauss. I remember feeling as though I had been transported into a perfect oasis.
That memory was in stark ...
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