A voice for Christmas
Thanks to supporters like you, I’ll be recording my voice so even after I lose the physical ability to speak, I can still communicate as me.
You can support someone like Jane
I’m a priest in an Anglican church, and a theatre director who works with both disabled and non-disabled people. I paint and write poetry, both for stand up and for my own amusement. Excitingly, I’m also in the process of writing a book that potentially could be published!
Things started to change for me three years ago when I was diagnosed with progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I was told I have lesions appearing on my spine, mostly affecting the parts that control my voice. This means over time my condition will worsen, and my voice will be the first thing to go.
As a Vicar, Theatre Director, and as a person, not having a voice would significantly change the trajectory of my life.
I believe people can identify their own independence and then show others how best to support them.
Thanks to kind donations and gift in Wills from amazing supporters like you, I am able to be part of Leonard Cheshire’s Assistive Technology program. Most excitingly, I am in the process of recording and banking my voice for communicating.
So, when I no longer have the physical ability to speak, I’ll still have my voice.
Using this cutting-edge technology, I can capture my identity, meaning I’m future-proofing my ability to do the things that I love in the way that I want.
The fact that it will still be recognisably my voice is just terrific and incredibly special to me. Working as a theatre Director, I encourage actors to use their voice as their heart’s centre, as it’s the place that gives the truest response.
So, to capture the weird and wonderful variety that I use in my speech – the expressions, and the way the energy changes – will be miraculous.
I believe people can identify their own independence and then show others how best to support them, which is exactly what I’m doing with Leonard Cheshire.
It’s enabling me to carry on an independent life, which is so important to me.