Seat belt – two words that used to make me break out into a sweat because up until a few years ago, they didn’t fit me. In fact, when I was at my biggest, I wasn’t able to fit behind the wheel of a loan car that I was provided with when mine was being repaired. I broke out into more than a sweat on that day – I remember crying – full on ugly crying. It was nothing compared to the feeling I’d get when I was pulled over by the Police for not wearing a seat belt and I had to explain the reason why I wasn’t wearing one along with producing a medical certificate to substantiate my claims. I soon discovered an array of seat belt extenders on Ebay. I needed to link 2 together on a few occasions (depending on the Car) but eventually that changed to one and then a few years ago, I waved goodbye to my extenders.
Ubers, work
cars, friend’s cars, loan cars, buses, trucks (if you’re lucky enough to need a
tow like I did at one point!) – there were so many occasions where I had to explain
to people why I wasn’t wearing a seat belt or why I declined a lift. It never got easier. It was just another reminder that the world
is only made for a certain size (something that needs to change!) and would be
a daily reminder that I’d gotten to that point.
I was also aware that should I ever need an Ambulance, I needed to let
them know that I required a ‘bariatric ambulance’ because the time I did need
one, I had to climb into the Ambulance rather than being pushed in on the bed
because I was too heavy.
When my
mate Dave asked me to do the ShitBox rally with him, even though I haven’t
needed an extender for several years I almost went into my spiel of ‘I’d love
to but it’s unlikely the seat belt will fit’ but instead I asked him ‘where do
I sign?’. There is NO WAY I would have
been able to manage such a quest even 12 months ago. It’s not just about driving from Alice
Springs to the Gold Coast in a car worth less than $1,500 – I’ll need to be
physically able to do all the things to really enjoy the experience! This is gearing up to be one of my biggest
non scale victories to date. The ShitBox
rally raises money and awareness for the Cancer Council. We need to raise $5,000 to take part —
with the first milestone of $2,500 due yesterday (urgh).
Normally I’m
the one people go to when it comes to raising funds! I raised close to $5,000 for the Cancer
Council when I climbed the 46 floors of the Melbourne Central Tower and I’ve
been able to raise around $3,000 over the years that I’ve participated in Relay
for Life. This time has been a bit
tougher — I’ve been dealing with some mental health stuff, and it’s made it
harder to get into gear fundraising-wise.
I know times are tough but if you’re in a position to donate, please click here - https://spring2025.shitboxrally.com.au/puff-the-magic-wagon
and if you’re not able to donate, sharing this post and spreading the word
about the Rally will be very helpful!
We have a
Bunnings BBQ coming up in September, we are holding a Market Stall on Saturday
(eeek!), we’ve got Cadbury fundraising boxes on the go, a pie drive… we’ve been
busy doing a few things but if you have any ideas that you’d like to share, feel
free! We’d appreciate your help!
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