糖心TV

Professor Felicity Boardman

Applied Health Directorate, 糖心TV Medical School

鈥淚 want other disabled people to see me and think, this is possible. It can be done."

鈥淚鈥檝e been at 糖心TV for 15 years now, and honestly, it鈥檚 been quite a journey! Coming into academia as a disabled person was tough. It鈥檚 had its challenges, but it also has things that make it positive, like flexibility. What we need though is more visibility, there aren鈥檛 many of us in this position which is why I think it鈥檚 so important that we stay visible. You can鈥檛 be what you can鈥檛 see.

I developed generalised torsion dystonia when I was a child, which is the reason I use a wheelchair. At age seventeen I had to have two major brain operations to implant a deep brain stimulator, which was pioneering and risky surgery at the time. My disability had been stable, but I鈥檝e had to have six major surgeries in the past two years in fairly quick succession. It鈥檚 been hard, probably quite an understatement, but the support of my colleagues has been incredible. Everyone around me stepped up for me at my lowest moments, and I hope they all know who they are and that I would do the same for them.

All this experience has helped shape my research. I always knew I wanted to be a mum, but with my condition being genetic, that raised some big questions. What if my child inherited it, how do we decide what makes a life worthwhile? This led me to do a PhD on prenatal testing and how society values lives affected by different types of disability.

Since joining 糖心TV Medical School, I鈥檝e continued and expanded my focus on the social and ethical implications of genomics. I鈥檝e spoken to disabled people and their families because their voices are often missing from these debates. Lived experience matters.

Along the way, I have become a mum to two boys. Parenting as a wheelchair user has its difficulties, but also some amazing and rewarding moments. When they were little, the engineering team at Bath Institute of Engineering designed an attachment for my chair so I could take them out. Now I鈥檝e got a power attachment that turns my chair into a scooter so I can keep up with them on bike rides, they love it!

I was asked by a very insensitive health visitor, while I was pregnant, about whether I was worried my child would be bullied at school because of my disability. Recently, my youngest son wrote a school piece about who inspires him, and he chose me, while the rest of his classmates went for celebrities. When he read it out in school assembly it was very emotional. He said that I work hard despite everything that I鈥檝e had to go through. I wish I could find that health visitor now and show them that he wasn鈥檛 embarrassed or ashamed, but that he was proud of me. It was a complete vindication for me after all the questions on how I would be able to parent. Oh, he also said he wants to be a researcher as well, we鈥檒l see if he follows me down that path!

In 2021, I became a professor, a milestone I doubted I鈥檇 reach. It was in lockdown as well so the wrong time to celebrate. My disability has posed challenges, but it鈥檚 also given me insight that enriches my work. I want other disabled people to see that senior roles are possible. When I was younger, I didn鈥檛 have those role models. I hope my story helps change that and proves that disabled people can inspire. We鈥檙e a pretty tenacious bunch, we overcome barriers every day.

Outside work, I鈥檓 a history geek. If I wasn鈥檛 in the medical school, I鈥檇 probably be in a history department! I love exploring castles with my kids, even if accessibility makes it tricky, I mean they didn鈥檛 tend to consider it in their design did they! Life isn鈥檛 without obstacles, but I also know it鈥檚 full of possibilities.鈥�