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My Job Hasn’t Changed, My Disability Hasn’t Changed, So Why Has My Support Changed?

A photo of Touretteshero co-artistic director Jess Thom, wearing a blue and green hoodie and looking serious. White text on the right of the image reads: Under Labour I've Been Forced To Stop Working Here's Why. This is the thumbnail from a YouTube video in which Jess speaks directly to camera from her wheelchair.

Shortly before my emergency pacemaker operation at the end of March, I had a meeting with a couple of my colleagues to talk about what should happen to our company if I didn’t survive the procedure. This conversation was a lot to take on at that time, specially as it came so soon after Liz’s death, but it felt necessary, and the result was a set of principles that I hoped would ensure that the spirit of what we’d created remained healthy and strong if I didn’t make it.…

A Career-Ending Decision?

A photo of Jess Thom, a white, wheelchair using woman looking into the camera with a serious expression. She is wearing a blue and green hoodie, black padded gloves and is pictured in from of a brick wall

Fifteen years ago, I co-founded Touretteshero as a creative response to the increasing impact that my tics were having on my life. I also started writing this blog. Over the years I’ve tackled some tricky topics, both personal and political. I’ve found the words to describe my changing mobility, reflect on the impact of increasing pain, talk about the emotional impact of hate crime and most recently, detail the risky heart surgery I had in March.…