Alison Connoley (Cerebral Palsy & Transverse Myelitis) | #91

Alison's life changed overnight when she couldn't feel anything from the waist down. After being diagnosed with a 'bad cold', her symptoms became worst, soon discovering she had Transverse Myelitis, 'an inflammatory disease of the Spinal Cord'. With Alison now to become a full time Wheelchair user, it presented an opportunity to reflect on her career as a nurse and broaden her perspective of what support could look like in the in not only the medical community within her own town but within her own family. Her email to ListenABLE: “I would love to share my story on ListenABLE so that others can see that life doesn’t end just because you have a disability and really, life gets better because of it. I am a better wife, mum, friend and employee because of my disability”. Overcoming the previous stigma and representation of what it means to be disabled, Alison speaks about her current road to acceptance of her own disability and how her attitude has created a ripple effect to not only the people she loves most but her own community. Check out Alison's website: My Choice Group: https://mychoicegroup.com.au/ Check out this episode on our YouTube: https://youtu.be/pYMfK5M-o1A Check out the new 11 part podcast series about Accessible Tourism: 'Accessed That' https://www.queensland.com/au/en/things-to-do/traveller/accessibility/accessed-that-podcast Join the 10,000+ legends on Instagram: @ListenABLE_ Podcast https://www.instagram.com/listenable_podcast/ Grab our first merch release at our website From Your Pocket https://fromyourpocket.com.au/work/listenable/merch  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.