Celebrating some of Essex’s inspirational people with disabilities

Today is International Day for Persons with Disabilities, an annual event that celebrates people with disabilities. The day aims to spread awareness and understanding of disabilities that might not be immediately visible, such as mental illness, chronic pain or fatigue and learning disabilities.

The World Health Organisation estimates that over one billion people – around 15 percent of the world’s population – experience some form of disability. Of this number, it’s estimated 450 million are living with a mental or neurological condition— and two-thirds of these people will not seek professional medical help, largely due to stigma, discrimination and neglect.

To mark the occasion, EssexLive has compiled a list of inspirational people with disabilities from across the county.

Anne Wafula Strike

Paralympic wheelchair racer Anne Wafula Strike began her Olympic career by becoming the first wheelchair racer from Sub-Saharan Africa to compete at the Paralympics in Athens. The Harlow resident, who is originally from Kenya but became a British citizen in 2006 and joined Team GB a year later, was a ‘fit and healthy’ child until she was infected with polio aged just two years old.

Speaking on a YouTube video, she said her family had to deal with the stigma attached to the disability in her native home: “Some people thought it was a curse from god, some people thought it was witchcraft, so my family was left with me, not knowing what to do.”

The polio resulted in Anne having a diagnosis of below T7 paralysis, but she didn’t let that stop her. Anne became a sporting legend, obtaining an MBE for her sporting achievements as well as her endless campaigning, help and awareness for disabilities.

Kerry Riches

Kerry Riches, who is from Dunmow and suffers from multiple sclerosis, appeared on the latest season of Big Brother. On the show, Kerry described her disability as her “superpower”

She added: “It absolutely will not hold me back from doing anything. It massively reduces my mobility – I walk with a stick and also use a mobility scooter.”

Ella Middleton

TikTok star Ella Middleton’s life changed forever when, at the age of 11, a horse riding accident left her immobile from the waist down. The accident resulted in the 24-year-old from Maldon suffering from a condition called dystonia, an incurable neurological condition in the brain which attacks nerves and muscles in the body.

The signals from her brain to her legs have shut down, meaning she requires a wheelchair to move around. She also endures brain fog, severe fatigue, tremors, loss of feeling and curling of the toes and hands.

But Ella has since developed a huge following on TikTok, with more than one million followers. She makes videos about her everyday life, make-up sessions, and good-natured, light-hearted sketches wracking up tens of thousands of views every time she posts them.

Emily Heddle

Every activity 22-year-old Emily Heddle does could lead to a sprain, dislocation or scar. Simply climbing out of bed could lead to a sprained ankle, or stepping down onto the pavement could cause a dislocation.

Even a paper cut could leave a permanent scar. Since she was a child, Emily has had to treat her body as if it were made from glass. This is because she suffers from a condition called hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a rare genetic disorder which affects the connective tissue in her body.

Her condition is so severe that many people who suffer from it end up permanently in a wheelchair and have to be fed through a tube. Despite the limitations it has set upon her, Emily is keen to spread awareness of EDS to help people know and understand the condition, as well as push for more research towards finding a cure.

Rebecca Austin

Rebecca Austin can experience the symptoms of a brain tumour from something as minor as a change in the weather. She has a rare neurological disorder called Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), a condition that affects only 1 in 100,000 people.

For Rebecca, the condition causes frequent and debilitating migraines, memory loss, mood changes and severe fatigue – not including the effect on her mental health. Even just a change in the weather can trigger a severe migraine due to changes in the air pressure, making her like a “human barometer”.

As part of trying to spread awareness, Rebecca contacted Holby City and suggested they should write a storyline involving IIH. They accepted her idea and it was part of the plot in an episode in 2020.

Lenny Rush

Lenny Rush, who was born in Burnham-on-Crouch in 2009, has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, the same type of dwarfism as fellow-actor Warwick Davis. His career began when he was seven and his mum, Lisa, applied to be part of the CBeebies docu-soap Our Family.

It was this experience that made Lenny want to act, and since then he has landed a number of roles, first in CBeebies shows Apple Tree House and The Dumping Ground, and then on BBC’s Dodger. He also played Tiny Tim in the production of A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic in 2017 and 2018, before reviving the role in a BBC TV version of the Charles Dickens classic in 2019, directed by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

He cemented his rise to fame with his Bafta-winning performance as Ollie in the BBC series Am I Being Unreasonable?, acting alongside Daisy May Cooper. Most recently he bagged a presenting job on BBC Children In Need.

Speaking to the Guardian, he said he wanted to help increase the representation of people with dwarfism, saying: “There weren’t too many people out there [with my condition]. There is Warwick, and I remember Verne Troyer, and there’s Peter Dinklage, but they are the only actors I know, which is a shame. There should be more.”

References

1. ^{^} Colchester Royal Grammar School wins East Anglia Secondary School of the Year in Sunday Times guide (www.essexlive.news)
2. ^{^} Essex Police officers who saved drowning woman commended for bravery (www.essexlive.news)