June 1996 and life was a predictable reality. I was studying at university, it wasn't a very exciting university in an even less exciting town. Frankly, my life was predictable and going nowhere. I awoke one day and decided my life needed a new direction that direction was travel.
This corner I was about to turn was made slightly more difficult for me than it would be for many others. I have a rare neurological disorder called Friedreich's ataxia. This affects balance and coordination, and over time muscles become weak and easily fatigued. Diagnosed at the age of 9, I had shown symptoms of clumsiness since the age of 4. I was diagnosed with Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) when I was 9. But it didn't bother me, partly because of my intention to live for the present, I decided to turn that corner and begin 'My Mad Life'.
The United States was the land which I had always dreamed of, so the US had to be my initial country to 'conquer', the first in a long globe trotting adventure. California was the place where my dreams stemmed. I starting in Seattle in the north where I bought an Amtrak rail pass and headed down to Eugene in Oregon, then down to California, ..............
June 29th 1996 : the day which changed my life, forever. The day I left England, traveling in my wheelchair, alone, aged 20. The beginning of a global adventure which would last, as of that day, an unknown 13 years.
My entire philosophy is to give life 100%, the maximum - My life's motto became 'Love to live, Live to love'
My Mad Life in the Accessible Skies' - is a true glimpse at where I've been and what I've done for 13 years of travel. Everything is the truth, nothing made up and nothing exaggerated. Details have been omitted as they seem immaterial or boring. I may have forgotten trivial events and I have omitted many of my drunken or sexual exploits in Thailand and the Philippines. Some sections are very detailed others less so. Different sections have been rewritten from detailed notes or simply written from memory, but mostly written as events happen, much as a diary would be written. Many activities and events seem amazing but that's been My Life for 13 years : Madness !.