I have lived with illness all my life. At 2 years and 10 months old I was in a coma for a day fighting for my life after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes to late. My dear dad can remember holding me and crying thinking I may not wake up or if I did would I be brain damaged.

Well 43 years on I am still here and fighting with thanks to the NHS, mum and dad, friends and family and my beautiful husband. I have had a life filled with adventure, love and laughter even contending with on going illnesses on top of the diabetes. I have travelled to America twice, Canada and all over england including my beloved Exmoor. For the past 23 years I have also run and grown Little Feathers Gallery, a business that has allowed me to embrace my love of silversmithing. The smell of the metal and heat from the torch reminding me of when I was a child playing in the sand pits beneath the jet engines that hung on thick chains in the RAF hangers where my dad worked.

But now i am struggling. Three years ago I was diagnosed with Chiari where the brain falls onto the spine compressing the main spinal nerve. Along with this they have found that my skull is not sat straight on my spine and my C1 and C2 are out of place compressing the nerve further. This gives me pain in one form or another 24 hours a day affecting hands, arms, spine, legs, and feet as well as a headache 24 hours a day and other weird and wonderful pains in the skull and visual disturbances which have lead to damage in one eye. My stomach, pancreas, kidneys and bladder can also be affected causing sickness and the worst is the "screaming days" when all I can do is cry in bed with daggers of pain going through my skull and eyes.

But I refuse to give in, this is not going to define me. I love my business, a little gallery in st agnes where the theme of nature mixes with a little bit of magic and spirit. I love the silversmithing and I love the customers who have been a great support through all of this but I feel I cannot continue as I am. Little Feathers will have to change and that scares and excites me!

So with and open, honest heart I am asking for your help. After 23 years I need to separate the work bench from the gallery space. This will mean that when I am at the gallery I can devote myself to her and to the customers and when I am in the new studio I can completely immerse myself in the silversmithing and designing. This will help with pain management, thought patterns and memory. My parents are lending me the money for the studio but I still need to get the fittings which is where I need the help. With the help of a dear friend I am setting up a crowdfunding page in the hope that we can raise the money to get equipment that will mean I can work more comfortably and safely. This includes a new workbench, chair, polishing wheel with an extraction unit and light, pliers and heating (yep circulation is not great!)

All of this would mean that as a whole I can continue to run Little Feathers Gallery in the dynamic way that she deserves and enjoy a few more years running her. Love and light to you all xxx