Hi, my name is Mark and I live near Blackpool, enabled and supported by ubu. I wanted to share a story about a really positive experience I recently had with my GP when I went for my annual health check.
I have a sensory impairment, so I like to be hands on and I am very touchy feely. I like to reach out and feel for things about me. It helps me to understand my environment and what’s around me. Some people say that I’m not the most patient of people. That might be true, I don’t really like to wait for things to happen.
I need to use a wheelchair so that I can get around, but I don’t like to be sitting in it for long. I suppose I get impatient, perhaps that’s part of my personality. Fortunately the ubu enablers who support me when I need help, know me pretty well. They are all aware that I find it nearly impossible to sit and wait patiently for anything.
On the day of my recent health check appointment, a ubu enabler explained what we would be doing that morning. Together we went off to the GP surgery. As usual there was a delay in the waiting room and by the time my name was called to go in and see the GP, I wasn’t in the best of moods.
As soon as we got into the room, I’d had enough and slid out of my chair on to the floor. I began reaching out with my hands to explore the environment. My enabler thought that the GP might rush the appointment and prepared for us to leave as quickly as possible if necessary. But the GP explained he had read my file so was familiar with my needs and that we could take as long as we needed.
The GP then got up from behind his desk and came and sat on the floor with me. My Dad had come along too and joined us on the floor as well. So in the end it was myself, the GP, my enabler and my Dad all sat on the floor in the GP surgery to do my health check. It went really well. Usually as soon as I start to get a little restless, I’m ushered out as soon as possible. It made a nice change to have this level of understanding and support.
I’ve since been helped to send a thank you card to the surgery because I think that it made a huge difference to me to find people who are willing change their usual ways of working in order to help somebody who has different needs than they are used to.
