It’s hard to believe that in the next 12 months I will be turning 30 years old and giving something back to the college in Coventry that changed my life between 2012 and 2014.
Being born on August the 9th 1996 with Cerebral Palsy and Hydrocephalus meant that I did not have the easiest of starts in life, however I’ve gone onto achieve and have some incredible experiences.
Just before starting at Hereward College in Tile Hill, Coventry I was given the opportunity to be Herefordshire’s Paralympic flame ambassador by the local authority. I was able to deliver the flame to the people of our magnificent county on horseback with the help of Herefordshire RDA (the Riding for the Disabled Association).
In 2022 I carried the late queens message to the commonwealth on a leg of its visit to Hereford as it travelled to the opening ceremony of the commonwealth games in Birmingham.
Over a year later I began working with the team at West Midlands Railway / London Northwestern Railway on a project to improve the accessibility of the railway stations they manage for those with disabilities and other mobility issues.
As you know the following railway stations managed by the operator now have accessible waiting spaces along with signage mirroring the same messaging on the platforms: Aston, Witton Lane, The Hawthorns, Coventry Arena, Kenilworth, Lye, Worcester Foregate Street, Worcester Shrub Hill, Selly Oak, Telford Central, Shenstone, Blake Street, Wylde Green, Erdington, Gravelly Hill, Four Oaks, Chester Road, Lichfield City and Sutton Coldfield.
This year will see the first station on the London Northwestern Railway network get the waiting spaces and signage on the platforms, Tile Hill is a station that I hold very close to my heart as it was the one where I started my journey home by rail from college every Friday evening as a 16/17 year old twelve years ago.
When WMR started installing the waiting spaces and signage on the platforms at various railway stations they manage just under 2 years ago I asked if Tile Hill could be included in the project, it’s fair to say that achieving this was a challenge due to the health and safety of those standing on the platforms because of high speed trains passing through the station.
However I am delighted to say that these issues have been overcome by the operator and the waiting spaces/signage is going to be installed at Tile Hill railway station during 2026 by the operator.
August this year will see me celebrate my 30th birthday something that is going to be a huge moment after I was born 15 weeks earlier weighing just half a bag of sugar and spending the first 3 months of my life in either Hereford County Hospital or Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
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It is only right that I end by paying tribute to the medical teams at Hereford County Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital who helped to save my life 30 years ago and in the years since then, it hasn’t gone unnoticed and is very much appreciated.
A thank you must of course go to each and everyone of you, my loyal readers and social media followers who continually take the time out of your busy schedules to read my latest posts, as always it doesn’t go unnoticed and is very much appreciated.
Finally all that is left for me to say is wherever you are in the world when the clock strikes midnight, have a Happy New Year.
Cam
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