Aeturnum Libertas – Does everything happen for a reason? Or not?!

Hello Readers.

Well! I know it has been far too long since I have wrote any Blogs!

So it is with a quiet dignity that I am sat here with a whole host of different thoughts and emotions. Ready to open the door to a snapshot of my life once more! So. On October the 7th 2024 I thought my world was turned upside down when, with just 5 weeks notice, a complex disability and a fully comprehensive nursing and personal care package needed. I found myself homeless. I didn’t even have the time to process any of my personal emotions regarding losing my home with Revitalise after 15 years.
And I was just sat in a daze for a good few hours.

That was until I remembered a conversation that I had with David Young approximately six months prior to this. I told him that something didn’t feel right in my heart about my placement there anymore…

I couldn’t put my finger on it…I just knew. Particularly given that I had already lived through the closure of one Revitalise Centre before. David simply said, make one phone call if the worst happens to you – Ring me! David and ISL gave me the lifeline that I so badly needed. And I came to live with them in November 2024..

I now have a beautiful flat! One-to-one care hours! And for the first time ever! I don’t have to share them with anyone! Trust me! For someone who is, and always has been, completely passionate about helping others. And indeed it is something that has always been such a major part of my driving force through life! I have to admit , it has been quite an alien concept for me to just think about myself! I have to say, I have fully embraced being given the time and space to rebuild myself and my life. I now believe I will always be evolving!
Following the news. For the first three months I was in absolute bits. I cried so much in private.

And then slowly but surely, I went back to the beginning of my Revitalise story in my head on a daily basis.
This allowed me to reflect on all the positive and amazing moments that my experience with the Charity gave me! I am the woman I am today, to some degree because of the incredible platform that they provided.

It has helped thousands of people with complex and life changing disabilities. I had the most profound opportunities, life enriching experiences, I gave interviews, I wrote articles, I gave speeches, I attended events! Witnessed some fabulous entertainment! And all this as a direct result of my having a home with Revitalise! I also made some of my most precious and strongest friendships! And there is nothing like the crisis of being homeless to show me the true depth of real friendship…ISL can and should be very proud of their organisation! I will never forget the help and support that they have given me at a time when I truly thought my world was falling apart…
I might have thought that it was at the time of course. But devastatingly since then, my beloved powerhouse of a Dad has sustained a life-changing accident. Meaning that he now has an acquired brain injury. So you see. What we think is a devastating event at any given time in our lives. Just might not be…

I would therefore like to dedicate this blog to my amazing Dad! The man by which I measure every other man who crosses my Path! And my heart knows that I was so lucky that night when I felt like Cinderella for the first time ever! Little did I know then. Just how much a man who shares the same name as my beloved Dad! Would be pulling me through, what I thought at that particular time were some of the darkest moments of my life. He reminded me of my incredible POWER!
To ISL. Thank you for giving me so much more than a home!!! To Vicky Ramage and Mersey Gardens! Thank you from my heart to yours for embracing the full TMB experience!

Much love.
Thanks for reading!
Toni-Marie xx