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If you're unlucky enough to catch the german measles (rubella) germ during pregnancy
you will almost certainly leave your child very deaf
or potentially very blind and sometimes both.
I'm as good as blind in my right eye,
nearly blind in my left,
and I'm as good as totally deaf in my right ear,
and I'm partially deaf in my left ear.
I'm also in nappies 24/7 as I have severe bowel incontinence,
also my water leaks quite a bit as well.
I try to live as near normal a life as possible,
probably because I was very lucky to be brought up by parents
who didn't really treat me too much as a disabled person,
and I think that's actually quite important.
[music]
My love of music was there right from the beginning.
I now have some 40,000 singles
and something like 20,000 LPs
and I've been building up a collection steadily over the years.
Donna Summer's 'I feel love'; 'The Crunch', The RAH band;
'Figaro', Brotherhood of Man, if you remember them?
The idea of life without music
is a bit like life without the sound of the birds in the morning.
I really hope that day never comes.
I am a strong believer in independent living,
and I actually live on my own in a bungalow,
and I've been there for twenty-two years,
and it's part of a sheltered scheme which is intended very much for independent living.
I've spent most of my life as a volunteer broadcaster,
and I've also done a lot of work for my local community as well.
"Well, good morning to you.
This is Ian here, broadcasting live from our studio at the very heart of Love Lane,
at the Wight Fibre Headquarters at Love Lane in Cowes.
If you would like us to play a record between now and midday,
please give us a call on our usual phone number.
Meanwhile this is Pat Boone and Shirley Boone, who made an LP in 1959,
and this is 'Side by Side'..."
[music]
About twenty years or so ago, in the early nineties, there was the MMR vaccine scare,
which was suggesting that it may be causing some children to have autism.
Because of the scare, this has meant a lot of children
who are now growing up to thinking about starting their own families
were not vaccinated against rubella,
and this means they are now at risk of giving birth to children with various disabilities.
It is important, before you think about having your first child,
that you get the vaccine for rubella.
There is really no need for anyone to have to go through the trauma
of giving birth to a child with disabilities of some sort,
when there is actually good ways of minimizing that risk.
So, therefore, I would strongly advise that you get that vaccine
before you start your family,
and then hopefully all children that will be born thereafter
will be fit and healthy and live normal lives.