A semblance of normality: An ex- lawyer/ stay at home mum/disabled mums view

Last week Eversheds Sutherland, where I used to work, included this to their lawyers internationally. This is bittersweet. Although this represents a lot of my effort, perseverance and I am really pleased it's been published. A part of me is unbelievably sad - it didn't and doesn't feel real- denial is my friend!!! It won’t happen to me…. Claire Withnall, trained and qualified into Real Estate with Eversheds LLP 2006-2008 , and then left to have a family.  What happened next was not on her agenda...... Life happens. Plans change. It is a sad fact of life most people will face some sort of misfortune, mine was literally overnight. I had a burst AVM in my cerebellum (basically a brain haemorrhage - if you want to know exactly what an AVM is type it into any search engine). It was funny I went t o bed completely  normal and woke up spending three months, including my 30th birthday, in various hospitals! Pre - Brain Hemorrhage Post - Br...

This is the bit where I admit to being one of those weird people who loved revision and exam time at school. This was mainly because I knew how to revise, at least what worked for me and I would put in the time. This ‘putting in the time’ was mainly thanks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer until my post graduate exams when I watched the West Wing. It might sound strange but I would start on episode 1, season 1 and work my way through, sometimes twice but there were quite a few episodes! This was totally normal to me: my mum was a teacher and used to mark with Buffy or a mindless film on in the background. I know a lot of people used to get really stressed and lock themselves in the library but that wasn't me and I did alright! At the end of the day, I would count up the hours of revision I’d done by counting the number of episodes I’d watched in the background - it actually made it enjoyable. And, now, as a mother of two: I apply this logic...