Knightmare Fuel

I was born with a really rare disorder. It’s called Congenital Insensitivity to Pain and Anhidrosis, or CIPA, for short. Basically, there’s a disconnection between my pain-sensing nerves and the part of my brain that’s supposed to receive pain signals. Let me give you an example: when you hurt yourself, your nerves will do you the honour of telling your brain “ouch, let’s not do that again”. Mine don’t. Another part of my condition is that my body is unable to regulate temperature. I can’t sweat. It’s starting to sound kind of nice, isn’t it? A sweat-free, pain-free life… what could there possibly be to complain about? Well, because of this, my body is unable to cool itself down, leaving me at risk of overheating and possibly dying from heatstroke. The same applies for being too cold- I could get hypothermia and not even know. What I’m trying to tell you is my body is fucked. My first ever memory is of Mum cooking dinner. She’d left the kitchen unattended for a minute, ...

My husband and I were over the moon to welcome our gorgeous little girl into the world on August 4th 2023. For privacy reasons, I will refer to her as 'Rose'. It's safe to say that our lives completely changed from the moment Rose took her first breath. It's an incredible experience becoming a parent, but it's not without its challenges. Despite the obvious life altering differences you might expect, like lack of sleep and constant anxiety, there have been other changes, too. Changes no one warned me about. Now, for the record, I'm an extremely introverted person. My husband, Sam, is the complete opposite. He's the kind of guy who can make a friend for life while waiting for a bus. But, me? I use self service machines in shops just so I don't have to face another human being at the till. I can force small talk if necessary, but it will completely drain me for the rest of the day. So, you can imagine the dread I felt when all of a sudden the...