The Good, the Bad and the Unshackled – Inspiring Short Documentary Films

Welcome

Many thanks for making your way to this page and investing the time to take look at a project very close to my heart.

I am going to produce a television quality series to show how some very special people have overcome impairments like a disability. The production will inspire everyone who sees it to look at things differently and fight to also become 'special'.

I’ve provided some additional information below about the documentary series, including the first episode 'My Disability', an overview of how the ‘Budget’ will be utilised in order to support my appeal and for those interested I have included a little bit about my background.

My Disability

This project isn’t about my own condition, but those individuals that I will feature in my documentary series. I am learning quickly that there is so much more about a person's disability and/or condition (DC) than is first realised. Most of us don’t appreciate that the simple daily tasks that we take for granted, can be far more challenging to complete or even attempt than for a fully able bodied, healthy person. With each person to be featured, it’s essential that I spend some quality time with them, capturing the everyday tasks that present extra challenges and what it takes for them to overcome these hurdles - The Good, the Bad and the Unshackled.

The Good

Having a DC doesn’t stop people having a life, but it does impact on their daily lives. So how do they stay positive? Understanding and sharing this positivity is critical, not only for people who find themselves with similar issues to overcome, but even those who are not directly affected will find inspiration in these 'good' stories.

The Bad

We all have something to share that is bad. In order to maintain perspective, it's important to pick up on the times when life with the DC isn’t good. For some, it’s extremely hard to see beyond the daily struggle. In capturing this, I shall raise awareness and understanding of why people with DC find themselves in dark places. What can we learn and do to support people being weighed down by the Bad?

The Unshackled

There are of course those that go above and beyond and illustrate this in the most incredible fashion - this will leave you truly inspired! Once we’ve broken down the basics, the extreme accomplishments of some individuals become even more remarkable, leaving us with a very tangible feeling of awe!

‘WOW, That’s unbelievable’ type moments of inspiration - these people are what would call Unshackled.

My Promise

Originally, My promise, was to thank you for supporting me, once 50% of the target funds are realised. I have since decided I will start Vlogging (from July 2019) on a regular occasion to provide updates and thank those who have supported me. You can keep up to date with my activities and progress Liking / Following / subscribing to my ‘Peg Leg Pawley’ pages on the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Social Media

Please visit the following social media platforms for more information on my journey and my passions:

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Budget and Justification

In order to help you understand where your donations will be invested, I have summarised my budget for you. I already own a computer that is setup with Adobe Premiere (video editing software) to support post production, so this one expenditure that is already covered.

Cameras & Accessories	6500
Sound Equipment	1000
Lighting Equipment	500
Travel & Subsistence	2500
Personal Living Expense over 9 months	7000
	17500	Total
Contingency +10%	1750
	£19250	Grand Total

Cameras, Accessories, Sound & Lighting Equipment

Although I have started to video some of the stories of these extraordinary individuals, to date this has been exclusively for pilot purposes. To achieve the desired quality of output, it's imperative that some of my equipment is upgraded.

I have been carefully researching the equipment I wish to purchase. The more successful the fundraising, the more I can check off the list and the easier it'll become to capture and share these amazing stories at the quality they deserve. Naturally, I'll be prudent with my purchases, doing everything I can to find the most cost effective supplier at the time of purchase.. I would be glad to show the detailed budget to anyone interested in scrutinising my estimates.

Travelling & Subsistence

A significant expense will be to travel to locations where the contributors live and to the places. Realistically, I anticipate that I'll be working ten hours a day and more when at locations, including any commuting although this will vary from client to client. Subsistence will also need to be considered.

Personal Living Expense

This for me is more than a passion. It's an extensive full time project. This will include considerable research, communications, planning, filming and editing. For the next nine months, this documentary series will be my full time occupation and for that reason I am in need of basic day to day financial support. Your support will allow me to give this my full dedication.

My Background

I'm Steve, living in Plymouth and was born with Congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV), often known as 'clubfoot'.

The cause for this is still not understood. As a child I had operations to try and correct my birth defect. This resulted in me have a heavily scarred and still deformed foot and ankle - and the calf muscle on the left leg was also significantly smaller and weaker - this would never improve. It had an impact on how I walked, my sporting activities and my childhood. My left foot had limited movement and far less strength than my normal right foot / ankle. Arthritis developed in the ankle joints at a young age.

I walked with a limp, a limp that was far more noticeable when I ran or when foot and ankle tired, it became stiff and was very painful to walk on. My left leg was shorter than the right, which meant that my hips didn't sit level causing my spine to curve.

Towards the end of primary school, kids started to bully me because of my leg. Once I got to secondary school, the bullying became far more intense. I hated Secondary school for the most part, knowing that most days would be occupied with fending off the bullying. Pretty much everybody mocked me because of my birth defective leg at some point. Outside of my age group plenty of others joined in. At the most intense times I would cry myself to sleep at night. I tried to stand up for myself, but this made things worse. If I went to the teachers, it made things worse. Why didn’t my parents help? Let's just keep it simple and put it down to not growing up in a supportive environment.

Something I wanted to do when I left school was join the forces. I went to see my GP. He was a former Royal Marine medic. I told him about my aspirations but was concerned about my foot and ankle being an issue. He told me that there was absolutely no way that would even pass the medical. I asked if there was anything that could done surgically to change this. His response was that my club foot was what it was. There was nothing surgery could do to improve things and I just had to live with it.

This is what I did for years. I just lived with it. The pain and difficulties worsened over the years, I was popping pain killers like they were Smarties. Eventually, when I could barely walk, I went to my GP. I was referred to a Mr Metcalfe who tried to rebuild my foot and ankle. For a few years things were better. but this didn't last. Walking gradually became increasingly painful and in trying to compensate for the pain, my posture kept changing. This impacted on my back. So I went back to Mr Metcalfe who tried again fix some of the problems with my foot and ankle in December 2017. Unfortunately this made thing worse, not better. I could barely walk and my back now had serious problems too. Early 2018 Mr Metcalfe and I discussed the options available and we settled on Amputation. This was not a decision taken lightly. The impact of amputation doesn't just affect the amputee, but those around you. My life would change significantly - but this was the only option that offered me a chance to get my mobility back. So on the 11th September 2018, with my disability more obvious than ever, I walked into Derriford hospital, knowing I would never walk in or out of there again on the two feet I was born with.

Since then people have questioned me if I will walk again. I’ve been asked more than once if I can still drive a car. I’ve even been asked if I will be able to work again. Too many people appeared to write me off, judging my abilities on their interpretation of my disability. Obviously, since the amputation, my ‘disability’ is more obvious.

From my point of view, when they amputated my foot, they also amputated the ‘dis’. Now remains the - ‘ability’. That’s what my amputation has given me. A new sense of ability. This got me thinking about how I could help change people’s perceptions of what an amputee, or any person of disability can or can’t do. I knew how to produce videos from pre to post production, I thought I would turn my talent to creating a documentary series. The working title is 'My Disability the Good, the Bad and the Unshackled.

Thank You.