Faye Vogiatzoglou – 10 Super Cool Things About Me!

This time I thought about telling you a bit about myself – Faye Vogiatzoglou.  At work, I don’t tend to share a lot of information about my personal life.  Besides, you are coming to me about your feet!  I would like to focus on you!  YOU are my priority.

I would love to know more about you.  Let’s be open and honest.  This is me!

Let’s start at the beginning – Faye Vogiatzoglou

1.

I am Greek. Very Greek! I love Greek food, Greek culture and the Greek sea and the sun!  One day I will go back and retire in front of a beautiful sunset!

2.

When I was a child I wanted to grow up to become a mother! By the time I finished school, I wanted to become a Mathematician, a Psychologist or a Doctor! I chose Podiatry because

1. As a Podiatrist, I did not have to do on-calls like a doctor so I could spend time with my future family.
2. There was a lot of Medicine and Surgery involved in the Podiatry course.
3. I did not want to make a living teaching Maths
4. Psychology courses have a lot of theory and I do not like parrot learning.
5. I liked the flexibility of private practice as my mother had her own podiatry practice
6. The opportunity to be away from family arguments was very promising.

3.

I came to Birmingham in England when I was only 19!
It was very exciting and challenging as my language skills were very average.  I was going around with a dictionary for many months and I could hardly understand people.  But I was determined to succeed.

4.

I qualified with a First Class Honours Degree! I also got Distinction in my Masters Degree and any other Certificates or Diplomas I have gained over the years.  I am really proud of this!

5.

I have been an only child until the age of 23! I have two amazing half-brothers, who I adore! They live in Greece and we are very close thanks to our father.

6.

I was bullied in high school (year 10 and year 11) because my mother was a podiatrist! Apparently feet are dirty and toes are smelly so she must be dirty and smelly!  Therefore I come from a dirty, smelly and low-level family!

7.

Bullying made me feel so bad that I developed a stammer! Having conversations was difficult and standing up to talk to people, teachers or pupils was my worst nightmare.  The whole class was laughing and during break times I was pointed at to make sure the whole school knew about me.  It got to the point I could not even pronounce my name!  My real name is Foteini (means Light of God), but it was taking me ages to say it.  This obviously made things worse so people started laughing at my stammer.  Somehow, I got through high school (lyceum in Greece) with the help of the teachers, speech therapists, counsellors and some of my friends! Even now, after so many years, my stammer comes back when I am emotionally stressed.

8.

The reason I changed my name to Faye in college was because of the bullying. I could say Faye without a stammer!

9.

I met my wonderful husband on a bus! Our story is very much a like a fairy tale!  The Indian Prince met the Greek Goddess and decided to be together.  The Wicked Witches tried to separate them but were unsuccessful.  They managed to get married and lived happily ever after!

10.

My husband and I have had 1 church Greek blessing, 2 weddings (Indian and Church of England), and 3 receptions! We were really happy we found each other.  Raghu wanted 4 children, I wanted 2 children, and so we ended up with 3 wonderful kids! Our life together is great! We have good days and bad days! We also have days that we would like to kill each other but we respect one another and care deeply about our family and friends.

So this is it! I hope you enjoyed reading my story. I would love to find out more about you.

Next time you come to the clinic, why don’t you share your story with me? While I am treating your feet, it would be lovely to discuss something other than feet!

Thank you so much!

Faye Vogiatzoglou x