In a heartfelt letter to her younger self, Emma Purcell reflects on an extraordinary journey of resilience, creativity, and advocacy. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy at an early age, Emma defied all expectations, flourishing academically and socially despite her physical limitations. However, her path was far from easy. Unexpected vision loss during her secondary school years led to isolation and depression, but Emma’s unwavering determination and passion for storytelling helped her rebuild her confidence and purpose. Through her work with Disability Horizons, her blog Rock For Disability, and as co-founder of Crip Life™, Emma has become a powerful voice for disability rights. Her story, penned as guidance to her younger self, is a testament to how hope and persistence can triumph over the most daunting challenges.
Dear Emma Purcell,
The year is 2025, you’re now aged 31, and so far you’ve lived through nine Prime Ministers, two Head Monarchs, Brexit and a worldwide pandemic. At this time in your short life, you are probably thinking about whether you’ll complete school, gain qualifications, get a job and live independently. Well, the short answer is yes, but maybe not in the most conventional way.
It’s cool to be a wheelchair user
Being diagnosed with cerebral palsy brought a lot of uncertainty as to what your quality of life would be. However, you proved all the professionals wrong and thrived.
After trying out at a special needs preschool, the staff concluded your mental capacity was too good and you would be better off at a mainstream nursery, so you
attended Sunbeams, a local nursery located on the school grounds of what would later be your infant school.
For the next seven years, you flourished through primary school, with incredible literacy, average numeracy and you were always keen to participate in classes.
As the only pupil in a wheelchair, your school did an amazing job of including you in every part of the school curriculum. The schools provided height-adjustable tables in the classroom, gave you additional time to complete certain tasks in lessons, and even invested in adaptive sports equipment for PE lessons. You also had support and equipment to access the toilet and do physiotherapy.
The best thing about primary school was that the other pupils thought being disabled was really cool. The kids were all fascinated by your wheelchair. Many children wished they were in a wheelchair too. Even one girl wished to break her leg and use a wheelchair just so she could come with you to the same secondary school.
One of your nicknames was Michael Schumacher, named after the Formula One racing driver because you would speed down corridors and around the playground. This then inspired you to dress up as him for Sport Relief, transforming your wheelchair into a race car.
By the time you finished primary school, you felt anything was possible and were flooded with goals, ambitions, and dreams.
Sight loss leading to hopelessness
Due to your physical disability, you were unable to attend the same secondary school as your primary school peers. Therefore you attended another mainstream school, which included several disabled students who were provided additional support.
Initially, you were very excited about this new venture and began to settle in well. However, two weeks in, you were struck with pain in your left eye and were rushed to hospital. After a biopsy and many tests, you were confirmed to have vision loss due to a virus in your retina.
After a couple of weeks away from school, you returned feeling more lonely, isolated and dependent on people due to your sight loss. Making friends was hard, you were bullied and the staff could not accommodate your additional sight loss needs. This carried on for almost three years, dipping you into a pit of depression, and not knowing what the future holds for you.
Fortunately, you were rescued by the incredible community at Treloar’s, a school and college for people with disabilities. Not only did they get you through your GCSEs and A-levels, but inspired you to challenge yourself, take risks and be who you want to be. You made friends for life there and managed to do things you never thought you could do, such as attending gigs and festivals, which has been your ultimate love ever since.
Becoming a freelance journalist
Despite Treloar’s giving you the skills and confidence to be independent, I have to admit, the reality has been much harder. You studied journalism at university but your experience was awful and you regret doing it.
Although you got the grades, securing employment was difficult. Luckily, you managed to find alternative ways to find work, mostly thanks to being introduced to the online magazine. Disability Horizons, and discovering they were looking for writers. A decade on you managed to publish over 300 articles for the magazine, interviewing dozens of people and gaining vital skills to plan, edit and upload online content.
Through your work at Disability Horizons, you went on to discover other ways of working and securing work opportunities. This has included creating your own blog Rock For Disability, becoming an Ambassador at AccessAble and most recently becoming a proud co-founder and editor of online disability magazine Crip Life™.
Although, making lots of money doing a job you love would be the dream, doing voluntary and freelance work can be just as fulfilling and rewarding as full-time employment.
The quality of care
As a young child, you couldn’t wait to leave home, get your own house and live independently. But sadly, you’ll need to prepare that it may not be a success.
With your level of impairment, you will require long-term, complex care support. But unfortunately, the quality of care is not out there and the result is you will continue to be dependent on your parents.
This does feel frustrating and unfair, but in some ways, you should feel grateful and appreciative for your parent’s support as the alternative could be living in a care home or receiving the support of substandard and unsafe carers.
The next 30 years for Emma Purcell
So, as you can see, you will achieve so much in your life but you will continue to face physical and societal barriers along the way. However, with your determination, optimism and ability to adapt and compromise, you will continue to thrive and make every day count.
Head to Crip Life™ to view more work from Emma Purcell and follow Crip Life™ on Facebook, Threads, Instagram and LinkedIn.