It has helped me when I have felt at my lonliest.
I has given me a place to go when it's been tough where there are friendly faces tapping away making it seem a little better.
It is the internet gave me Sheonad.
A best buddy I never knew I was missing, and a family that fits with ours like gin and tonic or fish and chips. You assume your best friends only come from school... but for me the other half of my Tunnocks teacake was sat in Glasgow for 36 years before we stumbled over each others words written raw from hearts both battered and hope filled.
Sheonad is an awesome mummy, wife and gin lover. We have holidayed together, the kids have laughed till they wet themselves, the grown ups have supported each other and the Dad's are currently having a beard off after both failing miserably at archery 2 years ago! The thread that binds us is the understanding of a world unexpected, a path given to us that we do our best with, though it is not where we had ever planned to be. We get how tricky certain parts of everyday are as well as how magical the smallest achievements can be.
This is Eilidh... our dudes fastest whizzy wheeled lassie. In the back ground of this picture (my 32nd birthday conga at Edinburgh zoo!) you can see the boy and Eilidh's awesome big sister too.
Eilidh is infectious! Joy bottled up and given curls and a cheeky grin. She has SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) which means although she is a ball or energy she is unable to walk or stand and her independence comes from 'Snappy' - her whizzy power chair. She is Snappy and Snappy is her - her key to exploring the world.
Children grow.
Wheelchairs don't.
BUMMER.
And that where Sheonad shows her genius - that spark of something that not everyone has. It's fundraising time (round 2) and she has managed to think out of the box again! Already a family member has run the London Marathon and raised well over £5,000 BUT these chairs are 10's of thousands, and despite being worth every penny there is still a long way to go.
So after weeks of planning and a few technical issues Sheonad has launched the Wheely Good Art Auction. There are many lots up for grabs via E-bay for you to bid on and bidding closes on Sunday night. All money raised will go towards the new wheels, there are some gorgeous pieces all of which have been donated - many directly from the artists themselves. It has been a mammoth task to organise and I am super proud of her for pulling this together.
Lots of the pictures are shown on the 'Wheely Good Art Auction' facebook page too, just have a gander, you may find the thing your mantle piece has been missing, Granny's Christmas present or something 'just because you like it' but hands of the Tartan Stags... that's mine!
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