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Taking a giant step

Hi my name is Simon, my story may seem small to some people, but it's a huge deal to me!


I’ve never liked having anybody touch my feet, in fact it makes me feel so anxious that I’d have to say it fills me with terror. I’m not kidding! You might not think that that’s much of a problem but, for example, I used to have a chiropodist cut my toenails but it made me so scared that I just couldn’t go on and she had to stop. I got so upset, it was the most horrible thing for me.


The ubu enablers who give me support to live with more independence wanted to find a way to help me. They listened to me and could see and understood just how anxious and upset the very thought of having someone touch my feet made me. I got to the point where I couldn’t have anyone even near my feet! I needed do something that would make things right for me but I had no idea what I should try or do next.


The ubu enabling team did some looking around different ways to help with my problem. They knew that it was me that had to choose how to get it done and they came up with an idea. It seemed a bit unlikely at first but I was asked if I’d like to try a foot massage from a trained beauty therapist. I thought “why not?” it’s worth a try. The beauty therapist could come to my home and get to know me first. I didn’t think there was anything to lose just meeting her so I said “OK”.


The lady’s name is Jo and she’s from a smart beauty parlour in my town. She came over to my home to see me one day. She was really nice and she was so kind. Jo sat with me and told me all about the massage she can do and how her treatment could help me. Right away, she helped me to feel more comfortable and I said “OK, come next week and let’s see how it goes”. Jo was fine with that and although I was still feeling a bit worried I felt like I could choose what was going to happen next and I liked her.


So the week went by and I felt actually pretty calm about meeting up with Jo again. She was gentle and really respectful of what this meant to me. She took her time so I didn’t feel panicky. I really did have to take a ‘giant step’ to let her touch my feet but the massage she gave me was so calming and I felt relaxed and happy! It was amazing actually.


Now, once a week I have Jo come to my home and she massages my feet, head and shoulders and cuts my toenails for me! It’s been massive, I found a brilliant way to get over my fear and now, because it’s helped me to feel more in control, because I chose this, I’m looking forward to the next step. What’s that going to be?


I’ve made an appointment to go to the salon where Jo works for my treatments. This is pretty major in a different way to the start of my story. Now I’ve been supported to find the right thing for me and chosen who I want to help me I feel much more relaxed and confident.


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