When I first became unwell with seizures I would have days where I could hardly move my body at all, I had to relearn how to do so much.
Holding my makeup brushes was difficult because I would drop them, I had limited function and mobility.
With the right medication I had improvement in my seizures, but I still felt that I wouldn't be able to go back to the gym due to the type of wheelchair I had and not being able to find any fitness classes suitable for someone like myself in my area.
I am currently looking at a way of becoming a qualified fitness instructor/personal trainer.
As a wheelchair user one of the biggest barriers I faced was not feeling like I belonged in the gym because I didn't see myself being represented in this space.
If I could have found an instructor that understood the challenges I was facing, I feel I would have gone back to the gym much sooner.
I was fed up of feeling isolated and unable to get out of the house and do things for myself.
Taking charge of my fitness was something that only I could be responsible for, I was slowly gaining more weight by my illness making me less mobile and I knew I was the only one that could change things, so I started looking around for wheelchair sports and found that there was a wheelchair rugby team not too far from me that were having training sessions that week.
Most of my family lives and breathes rugby so I thought I'd go and see what it was all about with a kind of "what's the worst that could happen" attitude.
My husband took me, and I turned up in my power assisted wheelchair.
I honestly don't think anyone in my family thought I was going to like it but after my 1st training session I was hooked!
Thankfully this year I was able to get an active wheelchair and since then my life has changed so much.
I've been able to really start to focus on my fitness journey and also do a lot more within my volunteer roles.
When I sit and actually think about things, I guess I actually do a lot more than I realise but I wouldn't be able to do any of it at all without my husband Wayne driving me everywhere I need to be.
He's also my gym buddy too as I have someone with me all the time just in case.
I've found that by making exercise and fitness actually part of my volunteering I'm able to fit more of it in, though the busier my week becomes I am finding the longer I need to rest and recover.
Thursday's I'm at Sporting Memories where I work as part of the Dragons Community at a rugby club, the group passes a rugby ball around & talks about their week, I host a sports quiz and game of boccia.
I play 3 hours of wheelchair rugby on a Thursday - The Youth session is 1 hour which I help to coach & then it's straight into 2 hours of intense team training straight after.
Friday is when I coach the Dragons AllStars Inclusive Touch Rugby Team with my husband and our friend and fellow coach Liam. We started the team together back in August and this is a mixed ability team for all genders & disabilities for ages 12+ including adults.
I also created and run out teams social media page which takes up quite a bit of my time, especially since I'm also managing the team and organising things for tournaments behind the scenes too.
As a Volunteer Inclusions Ambassador for Dragons RFC I am on duty at home games, supporting the club and looking after guests. I also help out with community sports and fun days where we provide activities for children within the community.
At the wheelchair rugby presentation evening I was awarded Top Volunteer 2025 which was a really big suprise to me, especially since I've only been with the club since August 2024
As well as the above since having my new wheelchair I've been able to get back in the gym & try to go as often as I can.
I'm a mum to 2 teenagers & they have been incredible, especially since they became young carers when I got ill.
I try to spend time with them doing regular mum stuff like going shopping, doing their hair and makeup and playing Pokémon cards. My youngest plays in the rugby team I coach and my eldest also enjoys coming to the gym with me.
But when I'm not busy with rugby stuff and volunteering I do like to keep up to date with all the latest goings on in the world of beauty. I have my own beauty blog where I review and post my makeup looks.
Unfortunately when I became ill I had to give up my makeup career, so this is my way of still keeping a little piece of it going.
Finding wheelchair rugby and being part of Dragons WCR has been life changing for me. I didn't just find my passion for fitness again, I found a welcoming community that supports me and encourages me to reach my full potential as a disabled person in sport.
This is why I love being a volunteer within the sports inclusion and community settings, I want other people to be able to have a positive experience & build confidence through sport and fitness in the same way that I have.