A bit more about me…
Along with being a person living with a disability, and someone who loves to find the hidden gems of the beautiful city of Victoria BC, I also cherish the gift of life.
Like everyone, I have a backstory...
I was born and raised in Sidney BC to loving parents. I was healthy and strong, loved my little brother, the family pets, and my neighbourhood.
I developed a deep love for horses at a young age and began riding as much as I possibly could. I started competing in my preteens and all things equine soon became my r’aison d’etre. My teen years were a blur of horses, basketball, and my boyfriend.
I began travelling in my later teens when I won an athletic scholarship to a university in Australia. During my time Down Under, I thoroughly explored both Australia and New Zealand, establishing my love for exploring the world!
When I came home to Canada after my studies, I realized I wasn’t ready to stop traveling, and took another year and backpacked around Western Europe.
At that time I also had a very serious relationship on the go, and following in the family tradition of marrying young, tied the knot at the tender age of 22!
And so family life kicked in in earnest at that time, among moves, career changes and two kids. Life was very happy, very full, and very stressful!
Because life rarely follows the best laid plans, in my mid to later 20s I began to notice strange things happening with my health like loss of balance, fatigue and mild coordination issues.
These strange “symptoms” would come on for no apparent reason and then disappear just as strangely. I did my best to ignore it and focused on my kids.
After a year or two, I couldn’t disregard what was going on anymore and went to see my doctor. She was concerned and set me up to see a neurologist, who asked questions and examined me. After more visits with other neurologists, more appointments and tests, I had an MRI and at age 30 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
My husband and I were devastated.
The next decade I experienced what my doctor described as “a very active course of the disease”, which basically looked like a worsening of the symptoms I had already begun experiencing. I was losing control of my limbs, losing my balance, and my coordination deteriorated. I gave up driving when I was 35 and started using a walker in my home and a small mobility scooter when I was out and about.
When I was around 40 years old, a lot of my symptoms began to quiet down but I was still aware of a slow progression of the condition. I was no longer able to walk, but that didn’t change my enthusiasm for living a full life! My attention was on my growing sons and family life, which was exactly the way I wanted it.
I don’t like to dwell on my health, even though I can’t ignore it. I always do my best to focus on family, friends and enjoying life to the best of my ability.
My love of travel has never waned, nor has my love for exploring new lands and cultures. One of my favourite places to experience was the amazing city of Prague in the Czech Republic. That being said, Southern California is always calling my name and I try to visit at least every year or two. I am a self-proclaimed sunshine lover! (but definitely not an extreme sunbather - there’s a big difference!)
This ties in nicely with my love for Victoria - not only a city with a very interesting history and beautiful natural wonders, but loaded with top quality restaurants, places to stay and world-renowned attractions. Victoria has all of this, and significantly more hours of sunshine than Seattle and Vancouver, thanks to being in a rain shadow of the Washington State Olympic mountain range.
Paradise!
In 2019 I began developing the concept for this website to share my experiences, and my joy of discovering the treats and treasures of Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula with other people who need to focus on accessibility. I love recommending places that work for everyone with every ability to enjoy the city’s amenities with success!