It has been over seven years since I first set up Diary of a Disabled Person and hit the publish button on my very first blog post “Introducing”. Even back in 2017 I knew that this day would come around eventually, but I could never have imagined how far into the future it would be. Neither could anything have prepared me for how much would happen in the meantime, or how emotional writing this post would make me.

After today, I will no longer be posting regularly on Diary of a Disabled Person.

The practical bit:

I would like to bring your attention to the word “regularly” in the above statement.

While I will no longer be posting fortnightly, I will still post when I have had an experience worth sharing, or there is something in the news I wish to discuss in detail. I would also like to continue the annual tradition of posting a round-up post on New Years Eve. Furthermore, I am very much still open to collaborations, reviews and requests. Press subscribe to be emailed every time I post!

In addition to these blog posts I will remain active on social media, where I will continue to share any blog posts I do write. My most active social media profiles are X (a.k.a. Twitter) and TikTok where you can find me @WheelerDax. I can also be found on the disabled.social server of Mastadon @WheelerDax, and on Facebook and Instagram @diaryofadisabledperson.

The reminiscing bit:

My life has changed immeasurably since I wrote “Introducing” in January 2017. At the time I was a student living in university accommodation, had never had a proper job, and still thought I was a cis-gendered, straight woman.

Perhaps the biggest change for me personally is that I am now openly bisexual and non-binary, beginning my transition in 2020 and changing my name in 2021.

Going back to 2017, I graduated with a first class honours degree that summer, landing my first job soon after, and undertaking the first of three house moves as I moved in with my now-husband. Shortly before getting married in December 2018, I got a new job in medical research, and have since been promoted twice. At work, I founded a disability staff network that united hundreds of people from across the university, leading this for two years.

Since 2017 I’ve also had three surgeries, two requiring general anaesthesia, gaining a new diagnosis and losing a gall bladder in the process. I’ve had two piercings and eight tattoos (ninth incoming shortly). I’ve had multiple wheelchairs and a rollator, and survived a pandemic.

In seven years, I’ve written approximately 400 blog posts and won nine awards, as well as writing for the likes of Cracked and DiceBreaker, and contributing to a Huffington Post article.

It’s been a far bigger journey than I could ever have anticipated, with almost 20,000 of you joining me for the ride across various platforsms.

The hard bit:

Frankly, I have no idea how to write a conclusion to seven years of blogging. There is simultaneously nothing more to say and too much to articulate. So, I will leave it with something I wrote on the very first day;

Disability Doesn’t Mean I Can’t.