In his own words In the last edition of Student Farmer, Charlie Kifford told us about entering the farming industry while living with cerebral palsy. This time, Joss Naylor, who also lives with cerebral palsy, explains how life has been for him growing up on a farm.
In his own words
COVER STORY
John Cottle
C
abin fever on a 5,000-acre hill farm takes some explaining. I’m Joss and I’ve just turned 15, and I live with a brain injury called cerebral palsy (CP). My CP mainly affects my ability to walk, although I do have other issues. I didn’t walk at all until I was three-anda-half years old, after having Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy in St. Louis, America. The operation involved having roughly one third of my nerves in my spinal cord surgically cut. This is an operation that carries considerable risk, and has taken the past decade to rehabilitate from. The rehabilitation has been constant throughout my life. The other challenge of this operation was getting my dad into a position that he was able to leave the farm. There is never a good time to leave such a large responsibility behind and to place it in the hands of others.
Farming with CP
Practically, I am limited on the farm. I walk around fields but I’m not allowed to walk in the ones containing cows. I may not be able to physically do things like wrestle a sheep out of a bog, but my eyes work well and so does my mouth – when I observe things (such as holes in the fence where sheep may escape), I am able to report back. On the farm there is me, my mum, my dad, and we have one full-time member of staff as well as several seasonal contractors and part-time staff that come in at busy times or fulfil specific roles, such as the farm secretary. Other than that, the only visitors are vets and the occasional sales
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representative for feeds or fertiliser. I personally have a small flock of Jacob sheep, and I also breed cats. I frequently have to look for different ways to be involved. As a result, many of the more technical aspects, or jobs that cater to my skillset, often fall to me. My dad isn’t exactly Bill Gates when it comes to computers. As a result, I often have to read and dictate what the catalogues for upcoming sales are, including entries and reports. In addition, I prepare the VAT for the accountant and help Dad with online banking, invoicing and emails. My mum is particularly keen for me to have real responsibilities around the farm even if they are not in the most physical capacity, although the ability to open and close a
gate properly appears to have passed the general public by. The things I wish I was more able at would be that when my dad is struggling physically and just needs an extra pair of hands. I wish I could be more practical and be able to help him. I wish that when I could see an animal in distress (quite often trapped in a fence or bog) that I was able to help it instead of merely calling for help. Finally, I wish I was able to traverse the moor and other rough ground easier, to be able to see the things that I cannot, and to give me (and my parents) peace of mind that I’d be ok in physically demanding situations.
Off-farm life
CP affects me in many different ways. Chiefly, it’s quite time consuming, as things (especially involving fine motor skills or mobility) either take a long time or I have to factor in my physio, but there are definitely some positives to having CP. Academically, my brain injury is an
January 2022
13/01/2022 10:26:49
