âIâm having a rest in the car, with no one screaming my nameâ
Snow, vaccines and parenting in pain.
After immune-compromised Holly had her vaccine last week, Kate has now been called to get hers. Excitement levels are high but she wonders how her body will react to the jab.
Meanwhile, keeping four-year-old Scout and one-year-old Gracie amused is a struggle, until snow brings some welcome fun.
Produced by Amy Elizabeth.
If you want to message Kate or ask her a question, email amy.elizabeth@bbc.co.uk.
Subscribe to the podcast on ±«Óătv Sounds or say âAsk the ±«Óătv for Ouchâ to your smart speaker.
Full transcript
This is the full transcript of Ouch â the cabin fever Isolation Diaries podcast as broadcast on 19th February 2021 and presented by Kate Monaghan.
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[Music]
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holly - Oh, Iâve heard, apparently wearing two masks helps.
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KATE - Itâs just really hard to swallow, like, how low on the priority list disabled people are.
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HOLLY - Itâs all right, Gracie, Iâm going to get you another chip.
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SCOUT - Weâre celebrating my Mummaâs vaccine.
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kate - Itâs a double celebration. Last week my wife, Holly, had the vaccine and this week I received some pretty good news too. Firstly, before I get too excited, hello, and welcome to the latest episode of Isolation Diaries with me, Kate Monaghan. This is my virtual audio diary. I have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a condition that gives me quite bad mobility issues, as my joints donât work as well as they should. This means Iâve have had to miss out on some, but not all, of the fun with the snow weâve had up in Yorkshire the past few weeks. I have two daughters, Scout, whoâs four, who Iâm trying desperately to home school, and one year old Gracie, who we adopted last year.
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Helping me stay kind of sane during this lockdown is my wonderful wife, Holly, who had a kidney transplant a few years ago and therefore has no immune system. Because Holly is highly vulnerable to COVID, we as a family have been strongly shielding since last March and for this third, and hopefully final, lockdown weâve also been joined by Hollyâs brother and his girlfriend. So, weâve all got quite cosy really. Last week we had without doubt one of the best days of our lives, as Holly received her vaccine, and this week it was about to get even better.
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KATE - Holly? Holly? Holly?
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HOLLY - Yeah.
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KATE - I just had a text message.
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HOLLY - What text message? Is it the vaccine?
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KATE - Yes.
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HOLLY - What, have you got a date?
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KATE - Yes!
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HOLLY - No way.
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KATE - I literally clicked the link the second it came inâŠ
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HOLLY - Yeah.
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KATE - âŠand Iâve got it on Friday, first thing in the morning.
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HOLLY - My God, thatâs only a few⊠three days away.
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KATE - Yes.
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HOLLY - Thatâs amazing!
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KATE - I know.
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HOLLY - My God. I canât believe that.
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KATE - I know. I literally phoned the doctor to say⊠The paediatrician told me because our daughter has a disability, they told me to phone and get registered as her carer so that I could stay safe to look after her. A couple of days later Iâve got the text and Iâm all booked in.
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HOLLY - My God, thatâs amazing.
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KATE - Itâs so good.
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HOLLY - The NHS are doing wonders at the moment.
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KATE - Yeah, I donât really get it, but, like theyâre just so fast andâŠ
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HOLLY - Iâll justâŠ
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KATE - Youâre choosing your clothes, yeah.
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HOLLY - Iâm really tempted to put a fancy dress on to go to Sainsburyâs, like, the one you gave me.
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KATE - [Laughs]
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HOLLY - Iâm not even kidding.
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KATE - Yeah, that is a good dress. Wear it. You havenât got anywhere else to wear a fancy dress.
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HOLLY - I know, but I donât want to, like, ruin it or something.
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KATE - Yeah, I gave Holly a very nice dress for Valentineâs Day. And what did you give me? Some love. [Laughter]
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HOLLY - I got you a good card.
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KATE - You did get me a very good card of Moira from âSchittâs Creekâ saying âHappy Valentineâs Day, BĂ©bĂ©â which is the best thing ever.
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HOLLY - But we did agree no presents, and you went against that, soâŠ
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KATE - But yeah, Iâm going to get the vaccine.
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HOLLY - Are you going to be ill, do you think?
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KATE - Er, no. I am hardy. Iâm used to the pain, Iâll be fine.
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HOLLY - Yeah. Well your mum was really poorly.
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KATE - Yeah, Mum had a really bad reaction, which is quite concerning because Mum and I have very similar health conditions, and she, yeah, she was really ill for, like, five days afterwards, because some kind of⊠She has problems with her immune system and it was like a really weird immune response that she had.
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HOLLY - Yeah. Donât do that.
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KATE - No. Iâm hardy, unlike you.
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HOLLY - Oh, Iâm really hardy. Iâve been through a lot, thank you.
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KATE - Yeah, but nowâŠ
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HOLLY - If we counted operations Iâd be winning.
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KATE - Would you?
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HOLLY - Yeah. How many lines have I had inserted into�
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KATE - What are you counting as an operation?
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HOLLY - Anything where you go under GA.
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KATE - General anaesthetic.
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HOLLY - Or a procedure.
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kate - No, a procedureâs not an operation.
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HOLLY - Even when you have a tube put into your heart?
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KATE - Yeah. Thatâs just a procedure.
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HOLLY - And I think if we counted up all the hospital time I would excel!
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kate - Well, actually we did a pain tolerance test once didnât we? Do you remember?
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HOLLY - Yeah.
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KATE - It was going round on social media, so it was, like, who can withstand more pain?
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HOLLY - You would have done it until you passed out, just so you could beat me.
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KATE - I know I would. And you had to, like, put your⊠So thereâs, like, a cold bath, you have to have an icy bath and then put your arm in and see who could last the longest with their arm in the ice bath and Holly lasted for about five seconds and I was there five minutes later going, yeah, this is fine.
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HOLLY - No you werenât. Kate, you would have done it until you were unconscious if it meant beating me.
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KATE - Also true. Holly and I are insanely competitive with each other arenât we?
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HOLLY - Yeah.
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KATE - You may have noticed.
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KATE - So, we have decided to come out and take the kids sledging because itâs snowed, which is amazing. Oh, Iâm out of breath, just walking a little distance in the snow. Itâs so hard on my joints, I have to, like, do about five steps and then stop and then five steps and then stop and then five steps and then stop. So, itâs really hard work, but because Will and Louise are living with us at the moment theyâve come out with me and Holly to help with the kids and itâs so nice because weâre all literally, like, killing each other. This weekend has just been the worst weekend for a really long time. Itâs been raining, the kids have been screaming.
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Thereâs been, like, nothing to do. Scout just refused to go outside, which I donât blame her because itâs raining, Grace doesnât want to go outside because itâs raining. But, like, neither of them will just sit and watch TV anymore because thatâs what theyâve done for months on end now. So they wonât do that. And thereâs just, like, nothing to do. Scoutâs attention span is that of a gnat. So weâll set up, like, a craft activity for her, sheâll do it for five minutes and then sheâll be, like, right, whatâs next? And then youâve got the whole day spread out in front of you with nothing to do and no focus to it. Itâs just so hard. So the snow has actually been a welcome break of the mood I think, and weâve been able to get a couple of sledges and go out to a park. And Iâm just on driving duty so I drive them, sit at the top of the hill, watch them go, they do their sledges, and then I go back to the car, bring it down to the bottom and pick everyone up.
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So I get to see them having fun, which is great. Unfortunately, like, unless someone took the car from the bottom to the top of the hill I canât get back up the hill. Oh my God, itâs so hard. And the cold on my bones. Like my Grandma Betty used to say, "Itâs all the cold on my bones," but thatâs how I feel. The cold is so bad on my joints, but youâve just got to suck it up donât you? Youâve got to suck it up and do what youâve got to do for the family, because otherwise, lordy knows what weâd be doing right now. Anyway, Iâm going to go and pick them up from the bottom of the hill now and hopefully theyâll have had a nice time.
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KATE - So I canât quite believe it but I am in my car in a queue, waiting to go for the vaccine. Yeah, I still canât quite believe itâs happening. As ever in our relationship I drove Holly all the way out to get hers, and stayed in the car while she had hers, and then - oh, Iâll move forward in the queue, in the car queue - and then drove her home again, all that. Me? No. Sheâs, like, "Sorry, you can drive yourself and sort yourself out." [Laughs] But I donât care. Iâm being vaccinated so it makes no difference to me whatsoever. Going forward again. Like, it just feels like it happens so quickly, itâs amazing. I literally, like, took the very first slot that they could possibly do at, like, nine oâclock in the morning. So yeah, Iâm excited. Very excited.
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KATE - Itâs done, itâs done. I just got back in the car. Iâm done. Iâm not going to cry like Holly did, but oh my goodness. Also, the radioâs on. It was really quick, easy. They did it really well. Not the injection, I mean, they did, that was fine, I just meant it was organised really well. They offered me a seat at the queue because I just said, "Oh sorry, I canât stand very long," and I was walking a bit funny and they noticed and they were, like, "Oh, hereâs your seat." So I just had a seat and yeah, then five minutes later basically, popped out into the room, the injection went in and out again. And I was all, like, "Thank you so much everybody, thank you, thank you, thank you," just because Iâm so grateful to life right now and science and all you amazing people who made it happen so quickly. And everyone whoâs been keeping us safe. I mean, it is just insane how many people have, like, made this happen.
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Yeah, itâs done. And Holly texted me saying Scout is being really difficult at home, so I kind of just donât want to go back, so I feel like Iâm just going to sit in the car for five minutes before I leave, because she wonât know that itâs finished this early will she? Sheâll never know that⊠until she listens to this. But yeah, so Iâm just going to take a little five minutes to myself right now in the car with a seat warmer on being warm, and not having anyone screaming my name every five seconds. Itâs just my own little spa break right now, just to say well done me for having the vaccine.
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KATE - So what did you tell me to do before my vaccine today? Do you remember?
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HOLLY - No.
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KATE - You told me that I had to wear two masks.
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HOLLY - Oh, well Iâve heard apparently wearing two masks helps you against the new strains.
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kate - Yes, so thatâs what I did, I double masked up.
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HOLLY - Oh, well done.
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KATE - Yeah, I know. But it felt to me a bit like, you know when you were younger and you were, like, you know, at school and people said, "If you really donât want to get pregnant wear two condoms," do you not think itâs a bit like that?
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HOLLY - No, this is coming from a news source of some description.
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KATE - Which one, the ±«Óătv? Because thatâs the only one to trust.
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HOLLY - Might be, I donât know, I donât know.
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kate - Are you going to go out with two masks then?
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HOLLY - I donât know. Probably not. I mean, Iâm not getting close enough to people really.
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KATE - Well you didnât wear your mask in the playgroup this morning and that really annoyed me.
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HOLLY - I wasnât near anyone.
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KATE - That doesnât matter. You feel like youâre invincible now donât you?
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HOLLY - No, I donât actually. But I just wasnât anywhere near anyone. But Iâm a bit cold-y, my nose was running and itâs making me feel horrible.
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KATE - Mm. So you know how you had a day off after your vaccine? Do I get that tomorrow because Iâve had my vaccine?
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HOLLY - Well, letâs see how ill you are. If you wake up with the sweats and the shakes and, you know, then maybe.
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KATE - Do you think you were properly ill after yours?
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HOLLY - Yeah.
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KATE - Like, in what way?
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HOLLY - Iâm not telling you because youâll get ideas. [Laughter] But you know I was.
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KATE - Well I know you were up in the night, yeah, âcos you hadâŠ
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HOLLY - And the next morning I felt really achy and horrible.
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KATE - But the thing is, like, I feel achy and horrible every morning.
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HOLLY - Yeah, so youâll be fine.
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KATE - So Iâll probably be okay because Iâll just be, like, oh itâs normal.
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HOLLY - Yep.
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KATE - So no milking it?
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HOLLY - No.
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[Music]
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KATE - Say, "Hello, podcast."
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SCOUT - Hello podcast. Today weâre in the car having a Happy Meal, and just Mamma and me are playing top tumps together.
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KATe - We are playing top tumps together.
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SCOUT - And itâs a little bit icy. And Iâm going to put the wind wipers on.
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KATE - Youâre going to put the window wipers on?
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SCOUT - Yes, please can I put them on?
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kate - Yeah, you can. What are we celebrating today?
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SCOUT - Um. Weâre celebrating⊠[Whispers] Louiseâs birthday?
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KATE - No, we had Louiseâs birthday already. What did Mumma have this morning.
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HOLLY - Itâs all right, Gracie. Iâm going to get you another chip.
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SCOUT - Weâre celebrating my Mummaâs vaccine.
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HOLLY - She can have a veggie dipper.
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SCOUT - And you said there were no stickers.
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KATE - No, I didnât get a sticker. Mummy got a sticker for her vaccine didnât she?
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SCOUT - And Mummy got a sticker for her vaccine and she saysâŠ
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KATE - Itâs still going, donât worry.
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SCOUT - And today we did this stuff. Bye.
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KATE - I think Iâve finally gone crazy. Iâve just downloaded an app to translate my catsâ meows into language. Itâs just said that Milo was saying to me, "My love, I am hungry." I mean, which does sound pretty accurate to me. Anyway, enough of my being driven into craziness. Iâm just feeling really sad today because there was a report out yesterday about the fact that 60% of people whoâve died with Coronavirus have disabilities. Do you want a drink? Is that what you were after? Okay. There you go, Iâll turn the tap on. There you go. Yeah, itâs just made me really sad, and then the same weekend weâve had the research saying that more people with learning disabilities are being forced into having do not resuscitate orders put on them, or just being told not to be⊠Like, doctors being told not to resuscitate them in hospital. And in the same token theyâre not being given the vaccine.
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Itâs just really hard to swallow, like, how low on the priority list disabled people are. And perhaps for a lot of the public, I donât know, but I feel like you say disability or learning disability, and perhaps for a lot of people, like a certain type of person pops into their head. Maybe itâs somebody old and frail and we look at that and we think, oh thatâs what weâre talking about, but thatâs not true, like, itâs people like me, itâs people like my wife. [Purring] Yeah Milo. I wonder what that purr meant. Iâll translate it later. Iâll turn the tap off now. Yeah, you know, we are not expendable, our lives are not worth less because we have disabilities, you know, we have challenges that other people donât have, but that doesnât mean that our lives arenât any less worth living than everybody elseâs. It doesnât mean that weâre not worth saving, weâre not worth anything.
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[Music]
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KATE - So it has been a real mix of a week. Happy news, now Iâve had my vaccination part one, and the same old prejudices many of us with a disability have had to face constantly. As always, Iâd love to hear your thoughts on the conversation. Email my producer, Amy, at
amy.elizabeth@bbc.co.uk. Also let me know, how have you found your vaccine? Did you have any symptoms after the jab? And what did you treat yourselves to after? Iâll be back next week with the latest instalment of my crazy life, and I would tease what might happen but at this stage of lockdown I just donât know. Life is full of surprises and Iâm happy to let you share them with me.ă¶Ä
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