User:Wolf3587

This is a little information about the user "Wolf3587" (real name Nicholas Grace).

I currently live in Solihull (just outside Birmingham) in the UK, but have travelled widely in my life. I have travelled around the world 5 times, lived in 17 different countries and visited over 50 different countries.

I currently describe myself as the rather non-PC desription of "Cripple" being that I am disabled person / wheelchair user due to an ongoing abdominal pain problem, which was undiagnosed from 2000 to late 2007, at which point I was given a possible diagnosis of "Visceral Hyperpathia" (don't worry if you have never heard of it, as none of the doctors I come across, day-to-day have either (in fact, the only person that seems to have even heard of it is the specialist that gave the possible diagnosis). This pain means that I am unable to walk more than 3-4 steps without collapsing into unconsciousness witht he pain - obviously, not a lot of fun for someone who has spent much of his life travelling.

This disability has also effected me in other ways besides the obvious physical ones. It has left me socially isolated (unable to get out and about much), gradual and constant decline on my abilities to concentrate, use my former vocabulary and love of learning. I know that my IQ was measured, just before I fell ill, at around 154, but am confident that this is much lower now (and feels as if it drops at least a point a day). Although I have always had a lifelong love of learning, my ability to do so has been severly reduced over the past few years (being unable to concentrate as well as I used to, unable to get to and from places of learning or groups or societies to discuss and learn and having to live on an extremely low income which seriously curtails my ability to study formally).

Professionally, I have had a fairly varied career too. I was originally accepted to study Medicine at university, but had to drop out after the death of my father (who actually died at the time of my O-Levels, but the continued family breakdown left me unable to commit fully to my studies) and my need to bring up my own children. I then more or less alternated between a few professions at the same time: Running public houses - a job I loved to do, but did not pay much; working as an accountant - a job that paid well, but I did not find as enjoyable; running two businesses (one computer company and the other a management consultancy / book-keeping business), which provided me with some extra financial security to allow me to do other things I wanted to do; and a professional musician, touring with a couple of symphony orchestras, jazz bands, blues bands and writing for and performing with a couple of rock / punk bands. A combination of these jobs allowed me to move around and travel as much as I did