Covid-19: Meet the young man from Truro who's been shielding since March
Ross Lannon has Spinal Muscular Atrophy
A young man from Truro has told Pirate FM how he has been shielding since March, because of his disability.
27-year-old Ross Lannon has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a condition that weakens the muscles.
The lifestyle and disability blogger uses an electric wheelchair 24/7 and is in the high risk and vulnerable category.
Ross has used the coronavirus lockdown to work on his writing and his blog, which is all about his journey through adulthood, as a young man with a physical disability.
He created a series called The Isolation Diaries, a lighthearted take on his experience of self-isolation during the pandemic.
"The hardest decision for me throughout this whole pandemic was making the decision not to return to work, once the shielding restrictions were paused. Sometimes you just have to put your health first. I personally didn't feel ready to return to such a busy working environment."
Ross Lannon
Ross is passionate about the representation of disabilities, and feels that there has been a lack of communication and support for people in the vulnerable category.
"We often get missed out from the government talks. People who are shielding, especially young adults, you don't often get a mention or any guidance, especially when the shielding was officially paused.
"I drive a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, I get in the van and drive and find somewhere with a view, I would have been lost without that."
Ross says he is slowly trying to return to normal but there is an uncertain time ahead as we head into winter.
"I made the decision to keep myself to myself. People often say 'oh what's it like being stuck at home?', but I'm not stuck at home, I'm keeping myself safe at home.
"I'm a proper social butterfly, I'd give anything for a night in the pub with my friends again, we've been adapting and doing the best we can, online connections have been great, and I've started to see people again from a social distance in the garden.
"It's not been easy, but I am trying to venture out a little bit more to try and get life a little bit back to normal, but it's just hard to find the balance between keeping safe and being sensible."
Ross Lannon