I've challenged myself to do a dance a day for a year and hope to raise money by asking people to sponsor me. 

I was diagnosed with Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension in 2015 and I couldn't have managed without the support and information that I recieved from IIH UK. I never thought a visit to the opticians with extra sight problems would result in admission to hospital for a lumbar puncture and a diagnosis of increased fluid around my brain that was threatening my sight. I got a lot of information at the hospital, but when I was all on my own needing answers to questions and waiting for my first appointment with neurology, IIH UK and their Facebook support group were there to help me find what I needed. Especially when it came to managing the effects of my treatments. The effects of low pressure after having fluid removed to initially improve the situation was one of the worst experiences of my life and the side effects of the medication were horrible, but I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. I've never had the debilitating headaches that many suffer with IIH, and I've not had to have surgery to have a shunt fitted, and I'm currently doing well enough that both ophthalmology and neurology have discharged me. 

However, my IIH does still affect me and I have other health conditions. I struggle to exercise and stay active and can only do very small amounts of activity. 

I've been dancing for about 15 years, but haven't been to a class since 2014 and struggle to dance for very long because of my health. However, I still love to dance, and I've found that doing a little bit on a regular basis can help my health. 

In 2018 I took part in the Active for April challenge run by IIH uk asking those of us with health issues, who aren't able to do things like run marathons or climb mountains, to do something manageable every day for a month as a sponsored event. I decided to try this with dance and was able to complete the month and raise some money. 

I found the dance a day beneficial to both my physical and mental health, and hoped to continue dancing most days at the end of the challenge. Unfortunately I struggled to maintain motivation and my movement was limited by further health complications. In 2019 I had an abdominal operation and I told myself that, once I'd given myself a year to heal, I'd challenge myself to do a dance a day for a year to hopefully improve my physical and mental health and raise money for good causes.

 

1 year and 2 months after my operation I started making my dance a day for a year challenge a reality and, having passed the halfway point, I'm now getting closer and closer to completing my challenge. Please help me to stay motivated and support IIH UK by sponsoring me. 

Thank you

Penny x