Well, with spina bifida, probably the biggest problem for me on a day to day basis is mobility. I use a wheelchair for work and outside. I can walk a little bit but I find that what tends to happen is that my feet tend to degenerate. I get ulcers and they're an ongoing problem. They have been since my late teens. So using a wheelchair means that I can keep off them for a certain amount during the day and make the most of being able to walk when that's opportune. For example, if I go out to a restaurant or something I might choose to get a taxi there and not take the wheelchair because it's only just a short walking distance at the time. Besides that, I have problems with incontinence. I had many, many years of trying to deal with bladder problems and that was actually resolved about three years ago, followed a colpo- suspension and catheterisation. A slight problem was that following that I had other technical problems with prolapse of the bowel and the vaginal wall and that sort of thing. They were put right last year and since then I have had extreme problems with my bowel just seizing up and it doesn't want to do anything, so I might just see what happens as a result of that. I've got appointments for that over the next couple of weeks.

It's quite uneven actually. There's one or two people tried to identify it medically over the years. The lesion probably covers about three of the lumbar vertebrae. I have no sensation in the buttocks and down the outside of my legs at all. I have no sensation from the knee down on the left side, but I do have sensation up the inside of the left thigh, but I have some sensation on the instep of my right foot, up over the right knee and then right up the inside of my right thigh, which is why I can feel if my bladder or bowels are full. I just don't have the ability to actually do anything about it. It causes problems in terms of I've done daft things like burning my bum, leaning against a radiator. I've had severe burns to my feet from putting them on a hot water-bottle because they've been very, very cold with the circulatory problems they do get cold. I'm getting better at that sort of thing. You learn.

I've never had callipers. I use one stick, although I really need sort of support on two sides, I tend to use one stick and whatever's available to hold onto. More than a few yards is a problem, simply because my back twists and as I say my feet start to sheer, so I can walk in bare feet without too much difficulty, obviously that's just not an option outside the house so rather than lose the mobility I do tend to walk round the house most of the time, but I always need support with furniture, or a stick or something, otherwise I just literally fall over.

I would say I'm probably very independent. I've travelled abroad on my own. I regularly fly down to London for business meetings or travel by train. I work for the civil service. I'm a middle manager. So it's a fairly responsible job with a half a million pound budget, and 40 staff and I manage fraud and security. So it's quite a responsible job, but it does take me out and about quite a bit and it's a question really of you get on with it and you just get on, I treat work as important, because it's the means to all my other things that I do, in my off time, and I do tend to be out and about. I have a lot of different sort of hobbies and activities and I work with a few different charities and do various things, so the independence is important to me. Firstly, from the work point of view, in earning a living, and secondly from the point of view of being able to go out and do the things I enjoy doing.