It’s been a brilliant couple of weeks for Living Life to the Fullest Lead Co-researcher, Lucy Watts MBE. Not only has she just been awarded with an Honorary Degree of Master of the University from the Open University, but she has had an article on young disabled people and transition published in the British Medical Journal (Watts, 2018).

Photo courtesy of Lucy Watts: http://www.lucy-watts.co.uk/

On Friday 21st September, Lucy was awarded her Honorary Degree of Master of the University at the Barbican, London. Recognised for years of hard work, Lucy was awarded for her commitment to public services.

She said, ‘I am truly honoured to have received this honorary masters but I accept it not just for myself, but for all the people and organisations who’ve played their part in my life, believed in me, kept me alive, given me quality of life, supported me and enabled me to achieve all that I have achieved and had an impact on me and my life in whatever way. I recognise that whilst it is my hard work, dedication, perseverance and achievements that are being recognised, that behind me is an endless list of people who’ve played a part – some big, some small, some monumental – in my life and thus my success’. To learn more and read Lucy’s acceptance speech, check out her blog here.

In the same month, as well as turning 25, Lucy has published an important article in the British Medical Journal, a weekly peer-reviewed medical journal and one of the world’s oldest general medical journals.

In her BMJ article, Lucy argues that transition should not be a considered a one-time event; she says, ‘Transition is a process, not a single event. When done right it sets the scene for a young person’s care in adult services. When it is done wrong a young patient might not be able to cope and may even disengage from services. Becoming an adult is a process that continues over years. Young adults aren’t big children nor are they little adults; they are a unique subgroup of the population and need to be treated as such’. To read Lucy’s article, please see here.

All of us here at Living Life to the Fullest are really proud of Lucy’s achievements.

References

Watts, L. (2018) Stepping up to adult services, British Medical Journal, 362, doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k3886