Marion Paton has been one of our Blackwood tenants at Broom Court in Stirling since 1999. “I love it here” she says with a smile; “the staff are very nice to me, I am very happy and I have made a lot of friends”. Marion was on the waiting list for 4 years, so when she was finally offered the tenancy, it was “a dream come true”. When she first moved to Broom Court Marion took up residence in the downstairs unit, but after a few years she felt she would like to live more independently in one of the flats upstairs. She still visits her friends downstairs every weekend, but she also enjoys having her own space and time to herself now. The carers let her do as many as things as she can on her own and “do not like to interfere when they are not needed”.

Marion’s Mum fell down a spiral staircase when she was pregnant with Marion which damaged Marion’s head and back, so she has been a wheelchair user all her life. Marion was born 2 months premature, it was Friday the 13^th , and she did not cry until the next day – but for Marion ‘13’ is a lucky not unlucky number because “I was given the gift of life” she says. Marion was in hospital until she was 9 years old, and she did not attend school or learn to write her name until she was 12 years old. The quality of care Marion and her family received when she was in hospital was very poor and the splints on her legs would dig into her ankles, keeping her awake, and making her scream at night. But this pain only made her stronger.

 Marion grew up in Shettleston in Glasgow with her Mum, Dad and older brother Billy. She has many happy memories of her childhood – she went camping with Girl Guides and would ride the disabled bicycle around the playground at school. At the ‘Spastic Area’ in Glasgow (now called the Resource Centre) Marion won many javelin competitions – her Mum said if she got any more certificates she could wallpaper her room with them! In her early twenties Marion went to work in a factory that made blinds, and she worked there for 25 years: “I loved every minute of it”. On one occasion her friend Alasdair had a severe epileptic fit in the factory and it was just as well Marion was there at the time to find someone to call for help. Alasdair made Marion a medal to thank her for saving his life. Sometimes Marion’s Mum and Dad would get upset and feel guilty that Marion had to use a wheelchair, but Marion always reassured them that it did not matter – “it was an accident that could have happened when I was crossing the road”; “I am lucky and thankful just to be alive”.

She has always wanted to be remembered as a happy person who values life. Every story Marion has to tell involves her cracking up into a fit of giggles about something; she always manages to see the funny side of life, and she is very open about her disability. On one of her weekly visits to the cafe in Debenhams, one of the ladies working there accidentally said: “Hello Marion! Come and pull up a chair!” - quite forgetting Marion was already in a chair – her wheelchair. However, Marion did not mind and thought it was a very funny joke!

After her Dad passed away, her Mum fell ill so Marion went to stay at Fernand Street Hostel before moving to Stirling. Soon after settling into Broom Court she enrolled in Drama, Singing, Art, Writing and Computer classes at College with another tenant, and together they would travel there by ‘Dial A Journey’. Marion said she really enjoyed using the computer but struggled to rest the keyboard comfortably on her lap. She would like to get some sort of bespoke desk space set up in her flat so that she can try again more easily. On the walls of her flat she hangs the colourful stencils she makes at the ‘Art Reach Group’ which she attends once a week. She sang a solo in their performance of Romeo and Juliet, and many years ago she was invited to sing on stage at her local church in Drumchapel. She got out of her chair and, holding onto the back of it, stood standing up, singing the National Anthem. However, she stopped going because a bus service could no longer be provided.

When Marion was living in Shettleston, she also could not cast her vote herself because she could not ascend the steps to the town hall; someone had to do it for her. Hopefully over the last decade society’s provision of transport, accessible ramps and power assisted doors for wheelchair users has improved. Marion feels the design and quality of personal equipment such as wheelchairs has improved in many excellent ways, and she describes her flat at Broom Court as nothing short of “perfect”, but she still encounters problems out-with the home in the form of uneven, broken road surfaces, narrow pavements and high curbs. This has forced Marion to become her own expert in navigating safer routes around town, but the fear of losing control in her wheelchair remains a worry when she is out and about, especially in bad, often unpredictable weather. However, the sense of independence she gains from doing her own shopping, and the fun she has when she meets up with her old college friends, is worth these on-going challenges she faces.

Marion’s outlook on life is extremely humbling. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she battled through the treatment, had a mastectomy and came out the other end smiling - “If I lose my smile, I’ve lost everything”, she says. Marion has not only written a very entertaining autobiography, but a beautiful collection of poems which both reflect her bright fighting spirit, and convey some very powerful messages. When she was a little girl Marion’s dream was to be an ice-skater, but when she realised she could not achieve this, she “decided to be a poet instead”. Her poems really say something about her life story; they celebrate life, reflect on life, and aim to reach out to other people in need of moral support. Marion has such a deep well of hope, and some very inspiring perspectives to offer society.

“I have had, and still am having, a very interesting and full life even though I’m in a wheelchair. I have tried all kinds of activities, some I liked, some I didn’t, but nothing stopped me from trying! Your life isn’t over because you are in a chair.” Marion stresses the importance of making the best of life, in whatever way you can. She says she wants to help disabled people find the determination to this, especially young wheelchair users because she understands how they feel at that age. “It is hard, but never give up trying. If you try hard enough you always get there in the end.”

Marion wrote this poem for a 16 year old boy she met at Fernand Street who once asked her “Is this all we’ve got – sitting in a wheelchair?”

‘Be all you can be’

Be all you can be

But don’t sit on the shelf

Be all you can be and chase the clouds away

Be all you can be and sing a song today

Be all you can be and make someone smile then you

Know your life has been worth while

Be all you can be and the stars will shine so bright

BE ALL YOU CAN BE GOOD LUCK AND GOOD NIGHT

Marion Paton

Watch this space for more of Marion’s poetry!

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