Jason Moyle: Tuning into Triumph and his journey with Cerebral Palsy in the U.K.

Welcome to Why Not Me, embracing autism and mental health worldwide. Hosted by Tony Mietour. Broadcasting from the heart of Music City, USA, Nashville, Tennessee. Join us as our guest share their raw, howlful stories. Son, who's far clasped, others will move you to tears. These real life journeys inspire, connect, and remind you that you're never alone. We're igniting a global movement to empower everyone to make a lasting difference by fostering deep awareness, unwavering acceptance, and profound understanding of autism and mental health. Tune in, be inspired, and join us in transforming the world one story at a time. Hi, I'm Tony Mietour. Welcome to Why Not Me, embracing autism and mental health worldwide. Joining us today is Jason Moil, a truly inspiring individual whose life and bodies courage and determination. Living with cerebral palsy, Jason has faced unique challenges with remarkable strength, transforming obstacles into opportunities to uplift others. Known for his vibrant presence as a presenter at CHBN Radio, his journey extends far beyond the airwaves, reflecting a profound story of self-discovery, perseverance, and an unwavering spirit. He has a tremendous amount of information, and we are just very happy to have him here with us today. Also before we dive into our episode, we'll be back with an uninterrupted show right after a word from our sponsors. Thanks for coming on. Thank you very much, Tony. Oh, it's my pleasure. Let's start out with what you are doing currently. Okay, well, basically I have got three kinds of jobs. I work at the Civil Further mainly at Redroof, but I also do a community radio station in Truro called CHBN. Also help out with Steve Osborne and Live Wire, but also I write comedy as well now. I'm doing a comedy master's degree. Wow, that's great. Can you give us a little more information on the community work that you do? So the community work entails presenting on the radio, giving out information to the community, giving it to the community and do events within the Truroves, surrounding areas as well. And we're baking for the hospital as well, so we do a lot of hospital related health wellbeing work. Now it's my understanding that you have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Is that correct? That's correct, yeah. Everyone's journey with cerebral palsy can be quite different. Can you share with us how your diagnosis came about and what your experience was? Right. So, way know is, well, I can't remember this because it is. When I was born, but I was born on, I think about 12 weeks premature, something like that. I was quite early, between 12 and 8 weeks. So don't probably be on that, but I was premature anyway. And what happened was I was given birth to in the North to then rough down to a less hospital. And I nearly didn't survive it. They registered my birth about a month or so after I was born. I was in hospital for six weeks. So the diagnosis of cerebral palsy wasn't straight away. They kind of realized they were something wrong when I wasn't starting to war. When I should be, I was crawling and doing all sorts of things, but I couldn't actually get up and war. And they kind of worked out that there was something wrong then. Barry, this is back in the 70s where the medical situation wasn't quite as advanced as it is now. Yes, that totally makes sense. What was it like for you growing up with cerebral palsy? How did it shape your experience as a child and then of course as a teenager? So well, very young. I was in our hospital. I had an operation when I was very young. My parents were kind of very drum to push me forward and make till I had the best of everything, including an operation that was just groundbreaking at the time. So they said they couldn't do anything for me. My walking was not existent. And one consultant said, no, I can't, you know, you can't war. And the one wouldn't pay that for now. So we ended up having another consultant who looked at me and said, look, there's another operation we can do now. It's very, very new, which involves breaking the tenths in your foot and then you have to start to try and walk over again. So my first few years in the attitude question, I was very much insular. There wasn't, I didn't have many people around me, but for my parents, I went to primary school at Garens. That was interesting because they didn't all accept me as I was a bit of a novelty. I used to walk with a limp, quite a penance limp. My one lady's got half their inch short and the other. Did that create any problems for you at school? Yes, I did get picked on a bit when I was younger. And that kind of went throughout the whole of my schooling life, really. I got picked on them in other ways, did as well. As people, children did not easily accept someone who's different. Maybe that's changing in the way that people look at disabilities now and there is a lot of improvement in that area. But back in the 17s and early 80s, there was, you know, the acceptance of someone who's a little bit different. It's not that. I think things hopefully are getting better now. So how did that affect you during your teen years? My teen years, so I went from primary school and then I didn't stay in primary school for more than one term or one year. My parents, they were called for a meeting because I was treated differently and because I was a bit, other parents and other teachers didn't know how to really, you know, have to deal with me because I was still a very bubbly child, but also, you know, had my issues with myself or pausing and everything else. So they wanted to put me in a class with other people, like, educatedly, who were probably a bit less, well, educated, it was. So my parents said, no, we're not having this. So we're going to take them away and put it into private school. So I ended up going to a private school, took the Emotionsic family and spent a few years at Turokathedal school and then went off on the Turok school. So it answered your question again. My teenage years, I was bullied a lot in Turokathedal school. Turokathedal school not so much, probably last year I was bullied a bit there, but Turokathedal school, and there was a lot of people that didn't accept or found it difficult to accept my disability. And of course, the problem is when you get bullied a lot, your mood changes and you become more, you change your personality as well, which I felt that happened to me during my teen years. So can you give us a little more information on how you changed? What type of personality were you and then what did you become? So my personality is that I am now basically is quite mild, you know, outgoing, bubbly, you know, I will talk to any one type thing. But I was like that in Turokathedal school to a long period of time, but I think I was trying to deal with disability in general about my limitations. I love cricket, that was my big things cricket, and still is, and I wanted to prove that I could play cricket like the rest of my peers, which I wouldn't do because of my disability, although I was good at cricket at good level. So again, I was struggling with my own identity at times, and I think what happened with the bullying, it made me go more insular and probably more aggressive till a mainly more short tempered. That makes total sense, and it is completely understandable why you would feel that way. Serial policy can look very different from person to person. Some people experience more physical challenges, while others may have intellectual or additional disabilities alongside it. In your case, did you experience anything beyond the physical aspects of it or anything that might have mimicked those challenges that you see with other people? So brain-wise, I was lucky, it didn't affect me as much, that's why I had to have a reasonable education. It's mainly my body, my left side, left weakness, all my left side is weaker than my right side, for instance. Yeah, I count myself very lucky, compared to other people with cerebral palsy, because as you said, there's different types of cerebral palsy, there's different parts of the brain that can be affected. People could be, could walk much better than me, possibly, but then be affected in different ways, and there are people who can't walk at all and are in wheelchairs. And obviously that's why I am now, but that's not where I was when I was young, because my body was reasonably young, and I could cope with doing thoughts and things like that, but not so much now. Many people with cerebral palsy will connect with organizations or charities that support the community in different ways. Have you been involved with any groups of causes that are meaningful to you? No, I have supported them, I have supported, I have bought scope, but that's more of money, kind of thing, I support that, and financially, I would like to get more involved with charities with cerebral palsy. Yeah, I would, it's difficult, because I'm quite busy doing lots of different things. I think I've probably, I've got a little bit of time, I've got a moment, but when maybe next year when I kind of possibly leave my main job, I'll maybe be looking at doing something with cerebral palsy, charities as well. Living with cerebral palsy can sometimes feel easier when there's a sense of community. Have you connected with others who also have cerebral palsy? Maybe as a mentor, peer or a friend? Have you been able to share advice or support people in navigating their daily challenges? I meet people with cerebral palsy all the time in my daily life, whether it be work, colleagues or members of the public, the manager of CHBN, a committee of radio stations that I work for, also has cerebral palsy, and also has similar thoughts, but different kind of situations than I do, because he's, as I said, all cerebral palsy is different. But yeah, I do try and pass on some information and advice to people who've got cerebral palsy. Don't do that very often to the point, because each cerebral palsy has got their own things to deal with. So what I deal with might not be what someone else deals with cerebral palsy, because it's kind of unique. It's like two or three different jigsaw puzzles. They may look very similar, but the pieces don't always fit the same way. Yes. Putting it that way, it just makes so much sense. Now that you're so involved in community projects, and often in front of people who may not face the same challenges you do, do you find that they give you feedback or show support because of what you've had to overcome? Yeah, I think people respect what I do and how I've achieved what I've achieved over the period of time, and what I do now. I probably get that more in my main job than I do in my community. They do it, but I think I do get people coming up to me and saying, oh wait, I feel you have something what you do is amazing. But again, I don't look that way. What I see is I do what I do to get around and live my own life, you know, and I always push myself to achieve more and more because it's important to do that. Absolutely. I think that is just an awesome way to look at life. So looking back, how do you feel that you've changed from your high school days to where you are now? In what way have your experiences shaped how you see the world, how you've handled the challenges, and then on your outlook on how your life is today? Right. Well, I've definitely got calm. I've definitely got a lot better at dealing with life. I've always, when I was growing up, I was always a bit bitter, a bit angry about why it was, why me is it, you know, why have it happened to me? You know, I want to play sport. Why can't I play sport to the level I want to play it? But now I think, you know, I've said this to someone else the other day. I think at my age now, I've actually come to terms with my situation, my life that it is now, and I know that I'm happy in my own body. I know that I can push myself to a certain level, but, you know, I know not to push it too hard. But I think I've calmed down. I think I've a lot more actionable than I was in my 20s and my teens. Yeah, I'm hoping I can say the same thing that I'm a little calmer than I was in my 20s. When people think about bullying, the often picture it is something physical, but it can also be very verbal and emotionally challenging. Have there been times in your life where you face those kinds of challenges, not just because of how people saw you physically, but also in the way they treated or respected you as a person? So, doing the school white, I got physically bullied a lot and I used to come out with bruises or with my legs and arms. My parents had to go to the school a few times and just, it didn't improve to be fair on that. And the mental side of the bullying were the name calling, that kind of, when you were younger, that kind of hurt more than now, it doesn't. Well, I find now, if I find people patronizing, that's my trigger now, when people look at you and patronize you and they think they're doing the right thing, they talk down to you and they kind of shout at you and say, oh, you all right. And I'm like, you don't need a shout, you don't need to be kind of condescending. I can understand what you're saying. I may be in a wheelchair, but I can understand this, you know? Yes, I get that. Can you tell me how you get around now? Are you able to walk on your own or do you have to use the wheelchair? So at home, I walk around. I kind of walk, I know my house quite well and I do walk around the house. I think after COVID, I was doing COVID and before COVID, my mobility was getting worse and I think around that for the 20 time when everyone was like, looked into the house and my walking, obviously, I didn't do much walking then, apart from walking around the house and I think it got worse then as well. So the arthritis and everything else is part of the cerebral palsy. The knee gets affected because of the amount of walking I've done over the years and also I had a back operation 10 years ago, which obviously corrected things for a while, but it's come back again a bit now. Is the back issue related to the cerebral palsy or is that just something completely different? Yes, so the back is like it's all interconnected. So the way I've walked all my life, it was always a jerky movement and I always walk quite quickly because the momentum was there when I was walking and that is probably why I don't walk so much now because I can't walk that quickly, I haven't momentum and the problem was that that kind of affects the back, especially the upper back and the neck area. So I had a curvisher of the spine and it was compressing him to my nose and that's when I had an operation about 17, 17 years ago now. Okay. Now, what about medications? Do you have to take any medications because of the cerebral palsy? No, I'm trying to avoid the medication if I can help it. So at the moment I'm on the medication, obviously I need medication, it's a doctor giving medication, I'll take it, but at the moment I take no medication, I don't need it. That's great. As long as you can see off the medication, I think that's the best thing you can do. Now, what about pain? Do you have any pain associated with it at all? The thing is when you live with what I've lived with so long, what I consider pain is probably, you know, I do get the on painful moments and things like that, I can't get that. I can't kind of get to live with that because that's what I've lived with. Yeah. So it's kind of like you have a certain threshold of pain that you deal with on a daily basis or a consistent basis, yet when it gets worse than that, you need something, then you know that the pain is unbearable and you could do something about it. Yeah. I have got to the point at some point where I had an ex-adoptor as an ex-adoptor, and they suggested pain killers and they suggested that, breathing and that type of thing. At the moment, my pain threshold is, you know, it's what I think it is. So, you know, if they can get worse, then I'll obviously will do something about it, but it's okay at the moment. Well I think that's just great that you're not having any extreme pain right now. So it seems like you've handled it quite well. Like it. Spity. Now that you've lived with cerebral palsy for some time, you've reached a place of acceptance, your calmer. What does a typical day look like for you? Are you working, ending time with people? How do you balance daily life while managing the challenges that come to you every day? So my day to day, I'll be home all day. I work three days a week at a cerebral servant, so I travel to Reddry's three days a week. So I have a lot of social interaction with my work colleagues and with customers, and I enjoy that, and I am thinking about finishing that next year. I haven't completely decided yet, but it depends on how my final assignments go with my writing, because I might want to just do a career when we're writing. My only concern with that is that I'll feel less interaction. So, three days a week, I'm in Reddry's, I get home, have tea, and do go to the studio occasionally, but I normally do radio from home. So I kind of have interactions. I've been away, go off the mock cricket and do things like that. So I go off on the trains a lot, and that's maintaining it at times, especially when you've got to rely on people helping you and they're assisting you around, but she's not always, but always the case. I'm sure it is. I think you just brought up a good point. People that know you, people that have worked with you, they have come to accept you because of getting to know you. They accept you because you are you. Yes. What about people that don't know you when you go into a train or you go into a public place? What's the interaction like there? Because you might have a problem getting from point A to point B because you wheelchair. Do people step up and help you or do they just stand back? What's your take on how they react to you? Well, I'll give you a couple of examples. So I went to Southampton, not this time, the time before, and I was kind of went off to try, didn't get a pre-book taxi, went off to the taxi rent, and went to the first taxi and I said, oh, I'm going to this hotel. My wheelchair folds, it'll go in the back. I can't do that. And so, well, I can't you do that. Well, no, you need a wheelchair accessible taxi. I said, no, I don't. I said, this one folds and fits in the back of your car. I can sit in the front. So he refused. The next one after him was used. And then I was fed at five, ten minutes going up and down the taxi rent. The actual wheelchair accessible taxi had no one in it. The driver wasn't in there. No eventually, when he came back and made you get with the front of the light, I had to go into that. But at that point, I fed to the taxi driver. I said, no, I still want you to put my wheelchair in the back and I'll sit at the front. If that's more comfortable for me, I found when I was in London, when I had to go to taxis, almost side on. I had to go in side on because no way of maneuvering you can't face the front. You have to go up a ramp. And the problem is with roads in London or any roads, there's always jolts. And I felt that my back out quite badly when I went to London in May. I didn't want to have a repeat of that. So a lot of people just don't understand and don't want to accept that what you're saying to them is saying, I think it's mainly because the wheelchair is 25 kilograms. It's heavy, but it's either a big suitcase that it folds. A lot of people will back away from that if they're known. And it's someone else's problem. Do you experience any issues with your arms, such as muscle problems or is it primarily your legs that make it difficult for you to get around? So my left arm, my left hand is like a claw. I can't really grab much. You can grab a few things, but I couldn't carry a cup of coffee in the left hand properly. My left arm is weak and my right arm is left muscle density in my left arm and my left leg and there is in my right arm and right leg because that's the way I was, you know, that's how it was growing out because I left side was weak, it grew weaker as well. Do the doctors suggest any physical therapy or anything like that to help strengthen your arms and legs back up? I had had physiotherapy throughout the years and I'll be honest with you Tony, when it comes to physiotherapy, I have been lazy in the past and that someone's actually doing it with me. I never was actually getting me to do it. It's one of those things that I do it for a while and I think, oh well, no, I don't want to do it anymore. That's my regret really. I haven't done enough to stake for my arms, legs, I could have done more, but yes, it was, well, I was younger, my parents used to do physiotherapy with me. I used to have to squeeze a ball at my right and my left arm in that left hand and give me strength. My left hand won't turn around. It will only go as far as, yeah, it won't turn around. So it's always, I'm always looking at the back of my hand and I never can look at the front of my hand. So what do you see for the future? What are your plans? Does cerebral palsy have things that you have to worry about for the future or do things pretty much stay the same? I'll set up a palsy, both necessarily get worse. The actual condition for a palsy, it's all the things that relate to it. Because my body, I'm in my fifties now, but my body probably is in the seventies. It's been through a lot. It's not been through a normal 50 year old body, life span, it's been through a lot of falling over. I haven't mentioned that, but I used to fall over a lot. When I fell over a lot, I could get myself up when I was younger. I can't get myself up now. So it doesn't involve, of course, if you're falling over a lot, you'll put your lower strain on your back, your body and everything else. Yeah, you have to be very careful when you fall. You can break an arm, you can break a leg, you can break a hip. That's something that you have to be very, very cautious about. Yeah. Well, I've been fortunate, I'm happy with what I say. I've been fortunate because luckily, from an early age, because I fall so often, I'm a brainer, think has gone into a safety mode where it relaxes my body straight away. If I know I'm going down, I will go down and people think, always go down very heavy. Well, that's because my body is relaxed and I've gone down like a second spud, you know? So, no, it means that I haven't necessarily injured myself, but later I said, as you get older, your bones are not quite as resistant to be like, bam, it's back. So the possibility is that's why I try to avoid falling over if I can, and anyone would. Absolutely. What do you feel is important for the listeners to hear and understand about cerebral palsy? What message would you like to convey to help others better grasp the daily challenges and experiences so they can better understand the realities that you have to live with? Okay. Well, when I walked more, I went to cricket and I was walking rather than wheelchair. A lot of people saw me and thought I was drunk because of the way I walked and my walk was quite staggered sometimes, especially when you get quiet. And I think that people kind of look at someone and say, oh, I had a drunk or they're this and they're that. But they need to like, I think, think twice about whether someone's actually drunk or whether someone's actually got a disability or a health condition. I remember one person at the cricket when I was in the wheelchair and he kept me on his shoulder, it was raining outside and he goes, oh, you're all right because you've got a chair already, haven't you, mate? If it's almost like, and I've turned around to him and I didn't know really what to say because if I was quick in that, I would have said something like, well, do you want this chair or something? They need to understand that people in wheelchairs or people who've got these disabilities have struggles a long time. They don't have to deal with and other people don't have to deal with. They'd, most people deal with their own difficulties and what they want is a bit more empathy, I think, a bit more understanding. And as you said, do you vether, do a bit of learning because everyone's different, you know, the people who use the word normal a lot is normal. This is normal. Everyone is normal. People are different. They're normal is different. So if everyone has the impression that everyone is normal, that's where your benchmark is. You treat people as normal and you treat them as what they need to have because sometimes they need support and sometimes they don't. Some people rush to my support and I say, no, no, no, I'm all right. I'm very independent in that way. Sure. That's great and I'm glad you are. Well, this has been great, great information, great conversation. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us today. Thank you very much, Tony. Oh, the pleasure is all mine. Thanks again. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to listen to our show today. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. If you know someone who has a story to share, tell them to contact us at whynotme.world. One last thing, spread the word about why not me. Our conversations are inspiring guests that show you are not alone in this world.