Iβm not a βgood disabled personβ, just because I work
Artist Jackie Hagan reveals the challenges of living with a life-limiting disability, while making a living as a writer and performer.
Jackie takes nothing for granted: βIβve got working class bones,β she says, βlife has always been uncertain.β
The award-winning Mancunian artist from Skelmersdale was hospitalised in 2013 with circulation problems in her leg.
She was diagnosed with a rare form of Scleroderma, a condition which causes Raynaudβs Syndrome.
Her 5 month hospital stay led to the amputation of her leg, below the knee.
The condition, which affects an estimated 19,000 people in the UK, is caused by the immune system attacking connective tissue in the body. It can be mild, but Jackie, unfortunately, has the life threatening form of the disease called Systemic Sclerosis, which can cause heart disease and kidney problems.
Following her surgery, Jackieβs life has changed unrecognisably. Before, her art was a hobby, now she uses it to pay the rent.
