tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32879428333142973002024-03-05T11:07:51.679-06:00The Squeaky Wheelchair My name is Kathleen Downes. I blog about my life in a squeaky purple wheelchair. Seatbelts optional.
The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06173011955812450261noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-6232901178448672532023-12-05T14:07:00.001-06:002023-12-05T14:07:42.248-06:00Cripples At Christmas 2023<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Descriptions below each image</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">1.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Polar Express Paratransit Call Center Was Rebranded The Polar Vortex…</span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXhw3tbYTONzgg0n0RmBCtxTr8zWHDC1aEY4j-b-Oz_961kWjjyejilcxHRkI3ANCB2Y8vXJ8PwWzTVXvhWnE7Ctz7XKMvltue8wud73bQR8gyd9ica9EIpcWRLjbEmNDwd4LlDV6balDbCnu0GQhrx78EtvLAD6uXV2K92jO_kYZPg4DC4gR5Zv4VzQ/s792/2023%20Tiny%20Tim%20Gait%20Trainer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tiny Tim wearing a black hat while he stands encased by a large blue gait trainer. A speech bubble reads, “So it’s a little less poetic but this gait trainer is so much better on my shoulders.” An excerpt from A Christmas Carole above his head reads, “Alas, for Tiny Tim, he bore a little crutch and had his limbs supported by an iron frame.” There is a strikethrough over “little crutch” and it is replaced by “massive gait trainer.”" border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="792" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitXhw3tbYTONzgg0n0RmBCtxTr8zWHDC1aEY4j-b-Oz_961kWjjyejilcxHRkI3ANCB2Y8vXJ8PwWzTVXvhWnE7Ctz7XKMvltue8wud73bQR8gyd9ica9EIpcWRLjbEmNDwd4LlDV6balDbCnu0GQhrx78EtvLAD6uXV2K92jO_kYZPg4DC4gR5Zv4VzQ/w640-h494/2023%20Tiny%20Tim%20Gait%20Trainer.jpg" title="Tiny Tim" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-size: medium;">Tiny Tim wearing a black hat while he stands encased by a large blue gait trainer. A speech bubble reads, “So it’s a little less poetic but this gait trainer is so much better on my shoulders.” An excerpt from <i>A Christmas Carole </i>above his head reads, “Alas, for Tiny Tim, he bore a little crutch and had his limbs supported by an iron frame.” There is a strikethrough over “little crutch” and it is replaced by “massive gait trainer.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p>4. </o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At the Disability Inclusive Christmas Concert, the North Pole Chorus Changed Their Lyrics to Better Suit Their Audience…</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOTBc4ajL4DDvw8uwJNDtmF1Y8Yr0bZBeQrag-4zS6AeXsh_jWTqcYQB9I-Vl3DD5spH-SoRrZWtHPpXKSbyZH6LpB_LZPeuWuR1UM4k7Oi6oNEgvCYlf-gqefB5WPnrpxXKWyzqFcVvL_sQ53P8nHQhJ_P-TSeoxgSKueQkFKABrLu3Hk-VL2om69vg/s792/2023%20Inclusive%20Holiday%20Concert%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A quartet of stick figure wheelchair users sing “Two nitrile gloves and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee!” The two turtle doves look on, with a speech bubble reading, “It would seem we’ve been replaced.”" border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="792" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzOTBc4ajL4DDvw8uwJNDtmF1Y8Yr0bZBeQrag-4zS6AeXsh_jWTqcYQB9I-Vl3DD5spH-SoRrZWtHPpXKSbyZH6LpB_LZPeuWuR1UM4k7Oi6oNEgvCYlf-gqefB5WPnrpxXKWyzqFcVvL_sQ53P8nHQhJ_P-TSeoxgSKueQkFKABrLu3Hk-VL2om69vg/w640-h494/2023%20Inclusive%20Holiday%20Concert%20.jpg" title="Two Turtle Doves Changed Lyrics" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;">A quartet of stick figure wheelchair users sing “Two nitrile gloves and a partridge in a pear treeeeeee!” The two turtle doves look on, with a speech bubble reading, “It would seem we’ve been replaced.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p>5.</o:p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">The New “Monopoly: Disabled Housing Edition” Brought Down the Mood in Santa’s Workshop…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszUuZoiqjommG7b-7eR5dUXBs2oxdKfx8NgM7jChm4ETuKzyerR4VOwDUTL_z0ItfUuV1BzaDY56aKoSxCebzqaUHeyE7IHoMdXJlwqj6hsWXdCnuUNC2Zo-hlJw_fVXzTH4Qcx95g60bdwKs011VsOGC9Yb62W5yrL8jLpXDo_Sc6bUXnrD58VwWG7M/s792/2023%20Disabled%20Monopoly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Monopoly: Disability Housing Edition" border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="792" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszUuZoiqjommG7b-7eR5dUXBs2oxdKfx8NgM7jChm4ETuKzyerR4VOwDUTL_z0ItfUuV1BzaDY56aKoSxCebzqaUHeyE7IHoMdXJlwqj6hsWXdCnuUNC2Zo-hlJw_fVXzTH4Qcx95g60bdwKs011VsOGC9Yb62W5yrL8jLpXDo_Sc6bUXnrD58VwWG7M/w640-h494/2023%20Disabled%20Monopoly.jpg" title="A monopoly board game box that reads, “Monopoly: Disabled Housing Edition” and the words, “Good luck finding any properties” and “Money not included.” Santa says to an elf, “What do you mean every property is a cardboard box?”" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;">A monopoly board game box that reads, “Monopoly: Disabled Housing Edition” and the words, “Good luck finding any properties” and “Money not included.” Santa says to an elf, “What do you mean every property is a cardboard box?”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p>6.</o:p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">With the Onset of Intractable Nerve Pain, the Little Drummer Boy Rebranded…</span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;">Two stick figure wheelchair users are chatting and one says, “What do you mean you still believe in competent case managers? That’s just a story to lift the mood…” Santa looks on, saying, I told you <i>I </i>was real…”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">8. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">When the Cabbage Patch Kids with Disabilities Became Cabbage Patch Adults, They Were Immediately Sent to the Island of Misfit Toys…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN4qWCLjkpL9m0oJsk3P0iSoIqmWKNQbnn_9UMX2SzDTHyIcGGD6P9hKQnzPSiEhWL2Rn14f-oQ_Ty1WZrybHpnjtjgD5uTom_PoiWt-g5a9j-SZ_J3XKKKU-ZSFna_Zj4vB2kd4bgfJRJNnOloW9zXAx-6WCSSuBtoVhxfPS32w9iZD951rY1pVzyzo/s792/2023%20Disabled%20Cabbage%20Patch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A doll using forearm crutches is speaking to a baby doll who is holding a bottle and wearing a bonnet in a nearby carriage bearing an accessible symbol. The adult doll says, “What do you mean, island of misfit toys?! Inclusive toys are in!” The baby doll replies, “Erm…to a point. Disabled adults don’t really fit the aesthetic.” A Christmas tree stands in the corner of the room." border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="792" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN4qWCLjkpL9m0oJsk3P0iSoIqmWKNQbnn_9UMX2SzDTHyIcGGD6P9hKQnzPSiEhWL2Rn14f-oQ_Ty1WZrybHpnjtjgD5uTom_PoiWt-g5a9j-SZ_J3XKKKU-ZSFna_Zj4vB2kd4bgfJRJNnOloW9zXAx-6WCSSuBtoVhxfPS32w9iZD951rY1pVzyzo/w640-h494/2023%20Disabled%20Cabbage%20Patch.jpg" title="Disabled Cabbage Patch Kids Grow Up" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;">A doll using forearm crutches is speaking to a baby doll who is holding a bottle and wearing a bonnet in a nearby carriage bearing an accessible symbol. The adult doll says, “What do you mean, island of misfit toys?! Inclusive toys are <i>in</i>!” The baby doll replies, “Erm…to a point. Disabled adults don’t really fit the aesthetic.” A Christmas tree stands in the corner of the room.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;">9. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Increased Demand for Inclusive Baby Dolls Had Santa’s Busy Season Starting Way Earlier…</span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79smWBBhTwGX_smhOaq-WJWyDk0S4FnMimmf2K1MoHUuHHFHKYbnMcj3jS_AkU4N6HC1cSTFd_sbbMoSC2Jovn8kRdLCSjM5CLyTKwoLSIQKbhj1_7ET5LtOjIxesZ7WhE4QdO0SIcehqzM27kPh9hYd2LTDIT5bL2UePajw_bCc_cykq3nwpMteGCJ8/s792/2023%20Connect%20Four.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A Connect Four board game box reads, “Connect Four (Mystery Symptoms)” and the words, “1. 2. 3. 4. Strange Undiagnosed Condition. An inclusive twist on a classic! *Gaslighter doctor not included, but easily acquired.” Two stick figure wheelchair users are chatting, and one exclaims, “They had me at weird knee pain!”" border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="792" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79smWBBhTwGX_smhOaq-WJWyDk0S4FnMimmf2K1MoHUuHHFHKYbnMcj3jS_AkU4N6HC1cSTFd_sbbMoSC2Jovn8kRdLCSjM5CLyTKwoLSIQKbhj1_7ET5LtOjIxesZ7WhE4QdO0SIcehqzM27kPh9hYd2LTDIT5bL2UePajw_bCc_cykq3nwpMteGCJ8/w640-h494/2023%20Connect%20Four.jpg" title="Connect Four: Disability Edition" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: medium;">A Connect Four board game box reads, “Connect Four (Mystery Symptoms)” and the words, “1. 2. 3. 4. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;"></span> Strange Undiagnosed Condition. An inclusive twist on a classic! *Gaslighter doctor not included, but easily acquired.” Two stick figure wheelchair users are chatting, and one exclaims, “They had me at weird knee pain!”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-67372090093684167122023-08-08T11:41:00.003-05:002023-08-08T11:43:46.276-05:00Free Virtual Summit on Travel Featuring My Perspective: Access Begins August 14<p><span style="font-size: large;"> Hi all,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I recently (in a pre-recorded interview) shared my perspective as a wheelchair user and my experiences with travel for this free, family-friendly virtual summit on Zoom! You can access the material beginning August 14 and there is a panel to benefit both families with and without disabled members! While I am forever shy to embrace the term *expert*, I hope my experiences are helpful. </span></p><p>____________________________________________________________</p><p><br /></p><p style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0px 0px 0.75em; padding: 0px; transition: all;"><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;">Unlock Your Dream Vacation with the Stress Free Family Vacations Event!<br style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;" /></span><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;" />Do you daydream about your perfect family vacation? Imagine the joy, the laughter, the unforgettable memories… Now, imagine achieving all this without the typical stress that accompanies the planning and execution of such trips. Sounds like a dream? Well, we're here to make it a reality!<br style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;" /></span><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;" />We're thrilled to invite you to our special event - </span><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;">Stress Free Family Vacations! <a href="https://relaxationplanner.com/sffv-kathleen" target="_blank">Join us!</a></span><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;"> Hosted by the esteemed Vacation Planning Coach, Jaime Kelley, this free event aims to redefine your family travel experience. Join Jaime and a handpicked team of seasoned travel experts (including yours truly) as we share invaluable insights, insider tips, and effective strategies to transform your travel experiences.<br style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;" /></span><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;" />Whether you dream of sun-soaked beaches or snow-capped mountains, whether you're a seasoned globetrotter or a first-time traveler, this event is tailor-made for you! Learn how to:</span></p><ul style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 1em 0px 1em 40px; padding: 0px; transition: all;"><li style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px; text-align: left; transition: all;"><p style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all;">Deepen family bonds during vacations.</p></li><li style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; transition: all;"><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1em; transition: all;">Minimize stress in planning and managing family trips.</span> </li><li style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; transition: all;"><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1em; transition: all;">Create unforgettable family memories.</span> </li><li style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; transition: all;"><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1em; transition: all;">Save time and money with insider tips.</span> </li><li style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; transition: all;"><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1em; transition: all;">Navigate new destinations with confidence.</span> </li></ul><p style="border-color: currentcolor; box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); color: #555555; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; margin: 0.75em 0px; padding: 0px; transition: all;"><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;">Join us as we unlock the secret to stress-free family vacations and turn your travel dreams into reality. </span><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;">Sign up today <a href="https://relaxationplanner.com/sffv-kathleen" target="_blank">by clicking here</a> </span><span style="background-color: initial; box-sizing: border-box; transition: all;">and embark on a journey towards happier, more fulfilling family travels!</span></p><p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3ArtOHBdoO1x7CH4580YiY3m0zQUb3SEAND_jKFvhwsqBWmXDMJbsYSdPbMG5GpNeB9FChSelDaLD9wPM00m6AvMaxLyAiTlBRvdK9R4cjA8z-DTSJEjAbCTsNwJZy4ZNkxd66L74N05tf7VTSEQykAmnKamqu6CvuLlzkG4X9_4zSiTzTunGJC2iVeE" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A blue square infographic featuring photos of me and Jaime Kelly for a virual event on travel beginning 8/14" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg3ArtOHBdoO1x7CH4580YiY3m0zQUb3SEAND_jKFvhwsqBWmXDMJbsYSdPbMG5GpNeB9FChSelDaLD9wPM00m6AvMaxLyAiTlBRvdK9R4cjA8z-DTSJEjAbCTsNwJZy4ZNkxd66L74N05tf7VTSEQykAmnKamqu6CvuLlzkG4X9_4zSiTzTunGJC2iVeE=w400-h400" title="Free Virtual Event!" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> ID: a blue infographic with a photo of me and Jaime Kelly advertising a free virtual event about travel starting August 14.</div><p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-50210003191454206972023-07-03T14:41:00.002-05:002023-07-03T17:08:12.392-05:00When Are We Going to Talk About Care Recipient Burnout? <p> <b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span><span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></b><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;">July 1, 2023</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b> </b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We’ve all heard of <a href="https://ncoa.org/article/preventing-caregiver-burnout-tools-you-can-use" style="color: #954f72;">caregiver burnout.</a> The Cleveland Clinic defines this phenomenon as a “state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion” caused by the demands of caring for another person. With our country experiencing a <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/hudson-valley/health/2023/05/05/new-york-home-care-worker-shortage" style="color: #954f72;">historic caregiver shortage</a> and nearly 1 in 3 Americans <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/caregivers-crisis-nearly-1-3-120000441.html" style="color: #954f72;">leaving the workforce</a> to provide family care, this is a pressing and long-overdue conversation. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Among paid caregivers, wages are low and most often position these essential workers live at the poverty line. The inability to make ends meet on these meager salaries perpetuates a desperate cycle of unmet needs from all angles. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Yet something crucial is missing from our societal discourse: where is the discussion about care <i>recipient </i>burnout?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As one of millions of Americans in need of ongoing personal care support, I can attest that the strain of needing assistance with nearly every aspect of my existence, from taking a shower to scratching my back, is ever-present, despite my loving and devoted family and my relatively good luck finding reliable paid staff. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I frequently joke that maintaining this body is like the group project that never ends, with some project participants rotating faster than I’d like and the pervasive concern that my MVP groupmates (Mom and Dad) will suffer crumbling backs and necks on my behalf. Worse even is the knowing that I will not be able to wipe their butts in return when the time comes. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And then of course, there is the nearly unspeakable truth that disabled people with high support needs are not given the luxury of a clear future beyond their parents or other aging primary caregivers. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">With affordable, accessible housing nearly non-existent, recreational programs for disabled adults sorely limited, and access to covered personal care services intricately intertwined with varying degrees of Medicaid-related poverty, looking too far beyond the next day ahead can feel like a herculean task for many of us. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Writing an ad to find a new personal care assistant feels like a weird cross between a resumé, a dating profile, and a job description, but it’s not some abstract “project in development” or quarterly sales report that rides on a smart hiring decision, it’s your life. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Come across warm and friendly, but not so friendly that your new hire has no boundaries.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Weed out all the applicants who seem afraid of or at least vaguely bothered by your pint-sized dog.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Reiterate that yes, there<i> is</i> lifting involved. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">No, this is not private pay. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Yes, experience is great, but not necessary.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, immediately scrap any applications with the words “angel,” “tender-hearted”, “befriending the handicapped” or “special way with those in need.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Let down gently those applicants who seem disappointed that you are not an octogenarian paying $60 an hour for a TV watching, grocery fetching “companion.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And back to the dating profile comparison, silently pray that your most promising applicant doesn’t promptly ghost you upon glancing at the large packet of unfailingly bureaucratic paperwork. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Finding the right person feels a bit like shouting into the void and hoping for a response.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> In practice it looks more like selling your “care pitch” on Indeed, on college campus career boards, and in places you once thought were only meant for selling crusty couches in a dark alley, like Craigslist, while hoping you haven’t unwittingly caught the attention of an axe murderer. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>Hmmm…</i> you think, <i>maybe a pastel Instagram post created on Canva using a charming photo of you and your dog will draw the ideal clothes changer, butt wiper, and shower giver into your orbit.</i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">If you’re lucky enough to find The One, you dread the moment they inevitably take a higher paying job from the very day they begin working. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">This dizzying care-ousel spins onward against the backdrop of a constant battle to convince the State that you are worth caring for in the first place, with a nameless, faceless Medicaid minion eager to reduce the hours of help they begrudgingly award you for purposes of staying alive. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And still, you must carry on juggling the many tasks inherent to being a person apart from care arrangement, tasks that do not politely cease to exist because the long-term care system is a fiery dumpster of despair. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Medical appointments. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Follow ups on wheelchair parts that seem to be floating in the abyss.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Family obligations.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Medication refills. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Organizing your disastrous mountain of catheters and syringes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Maintaining your friendships.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ironically, most of these auxiliary tasks cannot be accomplished without a reliable care team.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Are you stressed out yet? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>Burnt</i> out, even?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Maybe you’d like to cry about it in the shower.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Well, I have awkward news to share. You can’t, unless someone puts you in the shower, and even then, you won’t be alone, and will likely feel pressured to hold it together, as not to make your assistant uncomfortable at the sight of your raw emotion.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">That’s another strange feature of this existence as a care recipient… even in my most fragile moments… the unexpected death of a college friend, the slow, heart- wrenching decline of my beloved grandmother and later, her death, the occasional afternoon when I have simply had <i>enough </i>of the unrelenting nerve pain dripping its acidic terror across the back of my legs…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Even then, I will have a witness. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>Do you know what that’s like?<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Despite the undeniable anxiety, grit, and Squidward meme- level nocturnal rumination involved in arranging care and trusting your body to a stranger, a quick Google search for “care recipient burnout” yields few results… and typically redirects to thousands of thinkpieces, blog posts, and Instagram reels on the exhaustion felt by the caregiver alone. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It is almost as though we are invisible to the media, to the government, and to average citizens, most of whom are content to let our patchwork care system crumble until it affects them personally. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">With the paltry selection of existing media coverage about care recipients mainly focused on elders, the young face an even more isolating and draining experience, especially those who have never for even a moment known a life without needing care.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">For us, arranging caregivers is not a “maybe” task in the distant future, reserved for the last two years of a lifetime. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It is a lifelong certainty with no days off, a commitment we cannot abandon without abandoning ourselves. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I want to be clear that I have a good life in spite of and because of my disabilities. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I believe that being a care recipient has given me a better understanding of what it means to be alive. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I am more equipped to meet others in their suffering and in their realizations of our glorious human fragility.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I am grateful to understand at a younger age than most do that nobody, not even people with blue-ribbon can-do attitudes, moves through this world alone. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And still, being a care recipient from the moment I burst into being is so, so, so hard. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There are few spaces devoted to exploring this particular stress and organizations in the care space seldom ponder the burden shouldered by care recipients. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Mental health counselors and psychologists remain ill-equipped to wrestle with this specific stressor that is all at once unique and astoundingly common. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">News articles, documentaries, and photo essays rarely explore the opportunities stolen from us by a care system based in poverty… rarely consider the ways the receipt of care has fundamentally altered our identities, our relationships, and our concepts of privacy, autonomy, and intimacy. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There is hardly a mention anywhere of educations cut short, jobs lost, and social lives made minimal by the chronic shortage of reliable care. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Even some people within the disability sphere are quick to attribute these snuffed chances and fizzled dreams to a lackluster effort in the pursuit of #IndependentLiving, a concept which I should note can only look the way <i>they</i> think is worthy of praise.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Most of our non-disabled peers do not engage with the topic of care at all, as if they are afraid that if they look too long in our direction, they may become us. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">They have told us, often overtly, that needing assistance with showering, using the bathroom, and eating, to them, represents an unacceptable loss of dignity.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Their discomfort and tacit disgust at the thought of needing care serves to ensure that our stories and our struggles remain unseen and unheard.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I am resolute in my assertion that we must continue to discuss both caregiver burnout and our best efforts to combat it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But as the care crisis rages on, we can’t forget another equally valid perspective at the center of the storm: that of the care recipient. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Let us turn our well-deserved frustrations away from each other and toward the powerful bureaucrats who will gladly sacrifice our well-being to save a dime.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We are fighting the same grueling, perpetual battle while politicians casually divest from our survival. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Care recipients like me are rarely asked for their opinions on the subject, but let me make mine clear: Caregiver burnout is real, and this problem demands compassionate solutions. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But caregivers are not the only ones fighting their way through the flames. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Care recipients also live in the midst of a five-alarm fire, and we too are burnt to a crisp.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-2918936856212278792023-04-09T13:01:00.003-05:002023-04-09T13:01:56.347-05:00Writer, Producer, and Director Anna Pakman Brings Authentic Disability Representation (and Plenty of Humor) in New Romance Flick, "Cripfished"<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In celebration of the</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="https://www.easterseals.com/southerncal/who-we-are/news/easterseals-disability-film.html" style="color: #954f72; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">10<sup>th</sup> Annual Easterseals Disability Film Challenge</a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">, founded by Nic Novicki, I caught up with writer, director, and producer Anna Pakman about her new project, a romance film called “Cripfished” which premiered at this year’s festival. Pakman, who has cerebral palsy, is a longtime advocate for authentic disability representation, with “Cripfished” featuring talented disabled performers in both of the film’s lead roles.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> Pakman invites us, in her words, to “discover the love story” of Logan, described as a “non-binary serial dater” (Melissa Jennifer Gonzales, “Seeking Alice”) and Amy (Bree Klauser, Apple TV’s “SEE”, “Phreaks” on Audible), a visually impaired disability advocate. Logan, who will stop at nothing to win a date with Amy, pretends to be blind on a dating app, against the advice of (most) of their friends, and hilarity ensues. From this fateful decision, the film’s title is born, with “Cripfished” being a wink to two modern phenomena: “catfishing” and “cripface.” States Pakman, “catfishing, for anyone who doesn’t know or hasn’t seen the popular MTV show, is this online dating phenomenon where people create a persona online but when they show up in real life, they’re someone else completely.” She adds that “cripface,” a practice bemoaned by many in the disability community, occurs when [“they Hollywood filmmakers] cast someone who doesn’t have a disability to play a disabled character,” which Pakman emphasizes will “shut out actors with disabilities from being part of those projects.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As a writer, director, and passionate cinephile, will have no such thing, adding that the role of Logan is played by an autistic actor and Amy by an actor who is legally blind both onscreen and in “real life.” Authenticity beyond the disability perspective is also important to Pakman, who shared that both characters, who are queer, are played by queer performers. Pakman calls Hollywood’s widespread use of “cripface” “particularly troubling” given that well-known actors (see: Eddie Redmayne in “The Theory of Everything”) often go on to win Oscars for essentially trying on an identity while hundreds, maybe thousands, of gifted actors who are <i>actually disabled</i> struggle to break into the business. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">While Hollywood has overwhelmingly come to recognize the harm in actors’ pretending to be a different ethnicity, understanding that it is also unacceptable for non-disabled actors to imitate disability has been harder to foster. Says Pakman, “we don’t cast people who are Caucasian as being an ethnic minority and for good reason. One of the things I wanted to show [in my film] is that it’s also not okay to do that with disability.” Pakman credits her cast for helping her ensure the realistic portrayal of identities she does not share, calling the script “a team effort.” She praises Klauser, who is blind, for her insights in creating an authentic blind character.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Asked what else inspired her plotline, Pakman recounts a real-life catfish incident during which her date pretended to live in her neighborhood and was later revealed to be visiting from another country. Audiences both disabled and non-disabled will relate given the unpredictable and often absurd cyber landscape for today’s daters. The film’s humorous take of our app- happy social lives, propelled by a diverse female and non-binary cast, is perhaps the ultimate example of modern love. Not so long ago, Pakman and I joke, online dating was only for those looking to encounter an axe murderer. With online dating now mainstream, Pakman adds that technology has both “brought us closer together” and allowed unacceptable behavior, like that of the catfish, “to proliferate.” When presented with this year’s Film Challenge theme of romance, Pakman and her colleagues decided on a comedic tone for the project in an effort to capitalize on the team’s strengths. Featured in supporting roles are internationally renowned comedian Maysoon Zayid (“General Hospital,” CNN), Shashi Bangera, (“Sesame Street,” “Kelly & Kal”), Josey Miller, and Jillian Mercado from hit show “L Word: Generation Q”). Pakman emphasizes that she often tweaks her scripts based on who she feels is the best fit for the role, stating that her characters were originally written as “agnostic” to any disability or sexual orientation. However, when Gonzales and Klauser, both queer disabled folks, proved right for the job, their characters naturally became “queer, female-presenting” people. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Pakman commends the Film Challenge for offering immense creative freedom to its participants and for providing performers with disabilities a gateway to an industry that often excludes them. She notes that casting directors who want to be inclusive but are unsure where to find the talent have begun to reach out to the Film Challenge as a reliable source for those seeking quality disabled creatives. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Pakman’s commitment to disability inclusion does not end with authentic casting. She also worked diligently to create a COVID safe set, which she calls an access imperative for a community composed of many high-risk individuals. While not all disabled people are high risk, she likens her determination to be COVID conscious to “building a ramp”. Not everyone needs a ramp, but a ramp ensures everyone can participate. Similarly, her safety measures ensured that all individuals could be on her set, including those at greater risk of poor COVID outcomes, including herself. She cautions that no one should be “complacent” given the potentially devastating risk of severe symptoms or post-COVID sequelae, referred to as Long COVID.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">On set precautions included the use of high-quality masks, testing, and a HEPA filter. Pakman calls these measures a “small investment” with the hugely important payoff of keeping the cast and crew safe. The COVID era has also illustrated the unique value of remote appearances, which allow film crews to work with a wider array of talent, including those who “just can’t be in your location” or have difficulty traveling. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When pressed about the takeaway message of “Cripfished,” Pakman said she hopes moviegoers with and without disabilities will feel “pride in who they are.” She feels hopeful about the future of disability representation in the media but laments a still miniscule number of disabled folks in the writers’ room for popular movies and television shows. She is quick to emphasize that disabled folks can provide critical insight not just on disability, but on any and every topic and in any and every role. Pakman wants to see people with disabilities recognized for the full range of their human experiences and feels that “we won’t have true equality” until a disabled actor can come in and “read for any role.” Those who are skeptical should be reminded, she adds, “that people with disabilities are everywhere” and belong in every place from schools to hospitals to business offices and cashier counters. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Audiences can “swipe right” on “Cripfished” beginning April 8 by going to the following link: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMRMCKPmKPg" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMRMCKPmKPg</a> .The film has open captions, with audio description coming soon. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-82736188611012316612022-12-15T19:45:00.002-06:002022-12-15T19:46:26.722-06:00Cripples At Christmas 2022<p> <span style="font-size: medium;">Happy holidays everyone! Please enjoy this year's Cripples At Christmas cartoon collection.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Image description below each corresponding photo. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjW8B5KzWgmGjWTfuPZdkNVcVGTWefY7QP2uPvEfNdZ59fWmSr_pINeJJFlEdnGUxlHAr-CONH9Iusg-YsMLSikii4aygTcCETuBeYUPLb5NcOhsyHyJJ6iRPz-77sh3-dbU7om4gQzCo1agiS5MlxZOy44xTxgDZEAjV57w7fpq979hpr7AfyL9nx3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A 2022 Hess toy truck has an accessible symbol on the side. Advertisement bubbles say, “Remote control lift!”, “Working tie downs!”, and “Comes with free simulated calls to an incompetent lift repair service!” A final bubble says, “Only $1000!”" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="747" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjW8B5KzWgmGjWTfuPZdkNVcVGTWefY7QP2uPvEfNdZ59fWmSr_pINeJJFlEdnGUxlHAr-CONH9Iusg-YsMLSikii4aygTcCETuBeYUPLb5NcOhsyHyJJ6iRPz-77sh3-dbU7om4gQzCo1agiS5MlxZOy44xTxgDZEAjV57w7fpq979hpr7AfyL9nx3=w640-h494" title="Hess Truck Accessible Edition" width="640" /></a></span></div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->The most authentic feature of the new wheelchair accessible Christmas Hess truck was the wildly inflated price tag…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image decription: A 2022 Hess toy truck has an accessible symbol on the side. Advertisement bubbles say, “Remote control lift!”, “Working tie downs!”, and “Comes with free simulated calls to an incompetent lift repair service!” A final bubble says, “Only $1000!”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOtwnG7PE92mjw0zapZYawS8rY0E0J6AkRTrOxL2NnrD9rJdlTv27PBbtkgY6il2pzyc3aJo4-r3TcFB29FAEyJHH8O-hECeUq6xGJtZ2ohFV76Nz2u-Cf6oj6lFgP5aziivNIvWxM3kKfYSvgkJIY1cS7n7vzvy-EPEGQ08KFpPMi3Rwlj8fU2h4B" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A spooky ghost shouts, “I am the ghost of ailments past!” Various gift boxes are marked with different ailments such as “Phantom pain from bygone ulcer,” “Tripped over nothing—twisted knee,” “Breathed wrong—hurt back,” “Pulled neck rolling over in bed,” “Weird knee pain from last July flaring” and “Surgical hardware that still produces wildly uncomfortable tingling.” A wheelchair user stick figure in a night cap says, “Shit, this is scarier than the original!”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOtwnG7PE92mjw0zapZYawS8rY0E0J6AkRTrOxL2NnrD9rJdlTv27PBbtkgY6il2pzyc3aJo4-r3TcFB29FAEyJHH8O-hECeUq6xGJtZ2ohFV76Nz2u-Cf6oj6lFgP5aziivNIvWxM3kKfYSvgkJIY1cS7n7vzvy-EPEGQ08KFpPMi3Rwlj8fU2h4B=w640-h494" title="The Ghost of Ailments Past" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /></b><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">2.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>As Christmas approached and the weather grew colder, adults with CP found themselves visited by a much different ghost than the one haunting Scrouge…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image description:A spooky ghost shouts, “I am the ghost of ailments past!” Various gift boxes are marked with different ailments such as “Phantom pain from bygone ulcer,” “Tripped over nothing—twisted knee,” “Breathed wrong—hurt back,” “Pulled neck rolling over in bed,” “Weird knee pain from last July flaring” and “Surgical hardware that still produces wildly uncomfortable tingling.” A wheelchair user stick figure in a night cap says, “Shit, this is scarier than the original."<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhve2azPhrmb3X-CgkKL9yDIerSghfB9FA2j6f56vw_mlDre_SyHFtCl4EkvsZn836Be-g48l3KI--GBDHjo4HcPiak19FcIPe7zo8tKg3mo1TRDHEtX407Rjs73wvTgmKd6lIVmUdW6sg76-9XNo4WJtcBhwrio4qN9GLAE8dn9JWQdbY04N_-Xvoo" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A bewildered Santa exclaims, “Ho Ho Ho-ly shit! What happened here?” A wheelchair user elf surrounded by beads says, “OK, so I dropped a few beads…”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhve2azPhrmb3X-CgkKL9yDIerSghfB9FA2j6f56vw_mlDre_SyHFtCl4EkvsZn836Be-g48l3KI--GBDHjo4HcPiak19FcIPe7zo8tKg3mo1TRDHEtX407Rjs73wvTgmKd6lIVmUdW6sg76-9XNo4WJtcBhwrio4qN9GLAE8dn9JWQdbY04N_-Xvoo=w640-h494" title="Bead Kits: An OT Nightmare" width="640" /></a></div><br /><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">3. An uptick in requests for beaded jewelry kits at Santa’s workshop had the disabled elves suffering major flashbacks to occupational therapy…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.5in;"><b>Image description: A bewildered Santa exclaims, “Ho Ho Ho-ly shit! What happened here?” A wheelchair user elf surrounded by beads says, “OK, so I dropped a few beads…”</b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.5in;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNkBrs6IHMHUjA_xxalN06LS8X7msAglNkaacJgQ3wTsn0tzduTCeKDhZ134eys75nr1ZXzzeIBtYqVN25fAqEHEHHQaVoEsSWRXf4pTQYcCZQ2BBBMgBGngLO8l5sbXjSzVvkbqxBMHai1-5jZZgo-10PWbVkHHqjo37BYu3xLqF8xLVlsiqhHonV" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A nutcracker with a tall hat and mustache states, “OK, so it’s Easter… a walnut’s a walnut. You get the idea.” A skeptical Easter bunny with a decorated egg looks on…" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNkBrs6IHMHUjA_xxalN06LS8X7msAglNkaacJgQ3wTsn0tzduTCeKDhZ134eys75nr1ZXzzeIBtYqVN25fAqEHEHHQaVoEsSWRXf4pTQYcCZQ2BBBMgBGngLO8l5sbXjSzVvkbqxBMHai1-5jZZgo-10PWbVkHHqjo37BYu3xLqF8xLVlsiqhHonV=w640-h494" title="Nutcracker with CP" width="640" /></a></b></div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">4.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->The nutcracker with CP was still working on cracking a walnut from last holiday season…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image description: A nutcracker with a tall hat and mustache states, “OK, so it’s Easter… a walnut’s a walnut. You get the idea.” A skeptical Easter bunny with a decorated egg looks on…<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 0.5in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9Ub-696jctmATxvWFQH-ygp8TxVUkGyO81iQxD39hlEk2zyhT53mipSY-SqLRnlvhpu1AuxdAyXCad7oGxVHxYkLMiN2-Qx8E7fKP3R-Um2pjf2H1F5b3wq-ak7q4m3cogaty5vl7Ecdqo3f0fYv5kLk8gPoH-ARZr_4R25wf4NVky3iFdNpfT41J" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A webpage heading reads, “Santability: Our new search feature for accessible rentals!” Available filters include, “Filter by: ‘price low to high,’ ‘location,’ and ‘wheelchair access.’” The wheelchair access filter returns zero results and a cheery “Merry Christmas!”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg9Ub-696jctmATxvWFQH-ygp8TxVUkGyO81iQxD39hlEk2zyhT53mipSY-SqLRnlvhpu1AuxdAyXCad7oGxVHxYkLMiN2-Qx8E7fKP3R-Um2pjf2H1F5b3wq-ak7q4m3cogaty5vl7Ecdqo3f0fYv5kLk8gPoH-ARZr_4R25wf4NVky3iFdNpfT41J=w640-h494" title="Gingerbread House Accessibility Filter" width="640" /></a></div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">6. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->On the sixth day of Christmas, the geese with chronic pain interpreted “a laying” quite differently than most…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image description: While music notes float by, one goose states, “ The only ‘a-laying’ I’ll be doing is a-laying in bed!” Another replies, “Agreed.” “Have you seen the Motrin?”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2iAAgqL8dAq6zEhvPPJk8UB16HaTbrGKj8FceBOtq02MvARO_TijENs8ZdpcKn5QPYQK3-t7ZL8JzHHFyIo5jkHUvYfpxzqxyaxgAJrpoXWgwbo1ePGPQQArcUYbVhQj_aPqwtvxEFZ7NvZxAJ1T4aq_23oPOPj_eJ90IsNNZd_BYceW0StDVYtf-" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Seven disabled swans are surrounded by music notes as they swim past various bills (wheelchair parts, Rx meds, physical therapy, overpriced bandages, and Miralax). One says, “I was hoping for a leisurely dip,” and another sighs, “Time to start a GooseFundMe.”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2iAAgqL8dAq6zEhvPPJk8UB16HaTbrGKj8FceBOtq02MvARO_TijENs8ZdpcKn5QPYQK3-t7ZL8JzHHFyIo5jkHUvYfpxzqxyaxgAJrpoXWgwbo1ePGPQQArcUYbVhQj_aPqwtvxEFZ7NvZxAJ1T4aq_23oPOPj_eJ90IsNNZd_BYceW0StDVYtf-=w640-h494" title="Swimming in Medical Bills" width="640" /></a></div><br /><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">7.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->On the seventh day of Christmas, the disabled swans found themselves “a-swimming” in medical bills…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image description: Seven disabled swans are surrounded by music notes as they swim past various bills (wheelchair parts, Rx meds, physical therapy, overpriced bandages, and Miralax). One says, “I was hoping for a leisurely dip,” and another sighs, “Time to start a GooseFundMe.”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiBDv0GBdqzSnhlfkWiHecPgCPZFFlEQ-huerLBPfTKRKkVzuh8As-89tJwlbGe0Eo4mZtw1vRmKf4QSUUhJM1MtRTpD5RCez94WLnBPdDpuevT7fFCD1iNnGoivWZlRaPfU8KJLPEy-obORJGs-ihCkha7l0T9MOv5KNbQ_3NU0MIzQxRqr-sEzsk" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Several ambulatory stick figures shout insults at two wheelchair user stick figure maids a milking such as “benefit scrounger!” and “Free loader.” Nearby cows awaiting milking shout, “benefit scrounger!” and “Mooooooch.” One wheelchair user says, “God, even the cows are ableist.”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiBDv0GBdqzSnhlfkWiHecPgCPZFFlEQ-huerLBPfTKRKkVzuh8As-89tJwlbGe0Eo4mZtw1vRmKf4QSUUhJM1MtRTpD5RCez94WLnBPdDpuevT7fFCD1iNnGoivWZlRaPfU8KJLPEy-obORJGs-ihCkha7l0T9MOv5KNbQ_3NU0MIzQxRqr-sEzsk=w640-h494" title="Maids A Milking?" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">8.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->On the eighth day of Christmas, the disabled maids were met with unfounded accusations of “a- milking” the benefits system…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image description: Several ambulatory stick figures shout insults at two wheelchair user stick figure maids a milking such as “benefit scrounger!” and “Free loader.” Nearby cows awaiting milking shout, “benefit scrounger!” and “Mooooooch.” One wheelchair user says, “God, even the cows are ableist.”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq6Q-dMRNg-WtVQIYUEOdrCaxJmGErRWW3cBXYQJApgTLyiSPqo2GfmqfkfTWoE_W2QtxfHDhBmf7kUkc9bqlBabksfCjczqwdiJKwCrXifNY9MNvJGnnmJ7HYd5mhmKEOGjglphXGrKLyztNPpaWOiS80P7e_RIZKd4Zmqu-VoyXFeFRv6NL_TQvq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An angel ornament lies on the floor near a Christmas tree with a gift. The angel says “Damn it! Not again…” An EMS firefighter stands nearby and says “Uh… this is awkward. I think you went to my high school…”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhq6Q-dMRNg-WtVQIYUEOdrCaxJmGErRWW3cBXYQJApgTLyiSPqo2GfmqfkfTWoE_W2QtxfHDhBmf7kUkc9bqlBabksfCjczqwdiJKwCrXifNY9MNvJGnnmJ7HYd5mhmKEOGjglphXGrKLyztNPpaWOiS80P7e_RIZKd4Zmqu-VoyXFeFRv6NL_TQvq=w640-h494" title="Life Alert Ornament" width="640" /></a></b></div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">9.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->After falling off the Christmas tree multiple times, the gimpy ornament was forced to purchase a Life Alert system…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image description: An angel ornament lies on the floor near a Christmas tree with a gift. The angel says “Damn it! Not again…” An EMS firefighter stands nearby and says “Uh… this is awkward. I think you went to my high school…”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7M4G6mL6JFTIlS6_Mc1Wom6IP5etbIoH5luRPRIsWP-JDSkvEhFTvbeu63rspFCIQOpp0cAMSW7cCjRQWEcTP4RAVFcNobja68cy80UtY9Tfa5mtle0rsutsmCV2zYdF_5YY-C3CxN2fpuzksoT-8T9y8rxtQUwQPo4TjwZW365B6QbaFGnwohMwl" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A plane from Toybox Airlines sits on the runway. Nearby, a flipped over wheelchair is surrounded by flames. A “TSA Cares” agent states, “There’s been a slight accident.” From within the plane, Barbie’s speech bubble says, “What do you mean three tires are missing?”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7M4G6mL6JFTIlS6_Mc1Wom6IP5etbIoH5luRPRIsWP-JDSkvEhFTvbeu63rspFCIQOpp0cAMSW7cCjRQWEcTP4RAVFcNobja68cy80UtY9Tfa5mtle0rsutsmCV2zYdF_5YY-C3CxN2fpuzksoT-8T9y8rxtQUwQPo4TjwZW365B6QbaFGnwohMwl=w640-h494" title="Wheelchair Barbie Plane Fail" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">10.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Wheelchair Barbie instantly regretted traveling by plane for her Christmas break trip…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b>Image description: A plane from Toybox Airlines sits on the runway. Nearby, a flipped over wheelchair is surrounded by flames. A “TSA Cares” agent states, “There’s been a slight accident.” From within the plane, Barbie’s speech bubble says, “What do you mean three tires are missing?”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYlANA8gJGfzTxk7iVGWjKEaSBGdylVCgJAsAESePcUZrj0XW5vfNG8wIVmCAMv4jq0D33NDmv3K6MNfgrcuaqkeWFx5vEhN-Ehrqrwoen0Zn1cYm8F6TNdqU9MWdXnj2mBwDoOvbgCX6FvBrk0jiW-sYMqRtfX6uFYesg5s7B6zDN2Lfs_s-SDDoX" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A group of dilapidated gingerbread people, missing limbs and using candy canes to walk stand by a sign welcoming them to the Candy Pains Support Group. The speech bubbles say respectively, “If I have to fill out one more pain scale, I’m gonna throw a gum drop,” “No, I’m not buying cinnamon incense!” and “Yes, I’ve tried yoga.”" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="576" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYlANA8gJGfzTxk7iVGWjKEaSBGdylVCgJAsAESePcUZrj0XW5vfNG8wIVmCAMv4jq0D33NDmv3K6MNfgrcuaqkeWFx5vEhN-Ehrqrwoen0Zn1cYm8F6TNdqU9MWdXnj2mBwDoOvbgCX6FvBrk0jiW-sYMqRtfX6uFYesg5s7B6zDN2Lfs_s-SDDoX=w640-h494" title="Gingerbread Chronic Pain Group" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium;"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">11.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Following a historic increase in accidents among gingerbread people, membership in the <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>North Pole chronic pain support group, Candy Pains, was at an all-time high…</span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Image description: A group of dilapidated gingerbread people, missing limbs and using candy canes to walk stand by a sign welcoming them to the Candy Pains Support Group. The speech bubbles say respectively, “If I have to fill out one more pain scale, I’m gonna throw a gum drop,” “No, I’m not buying cinnamon incense!” and “Yes, I’ve tried yoga..."<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi55vEsMJs8AQ27g5fDEwfXKd9FHsFghBKchE02CNsPHS8fnl5-b5IxNw8Z1L71Td7KkYKKse11sPTNI6imw2q51Ygb9Ba5ByYRS7ILsaKK5Vqq90AJrrlv8B891Mf5uV5jB3Vz3miz5W6LnTlcmJaOsoLVmm4fVf6px9lZNWywiqEVbr2QdUNJZq5i" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A bamboozled Mr. Potato Head with a missing arm and a teddy bear stand surrounded by beer cans, bottles of North Pole Pale Ale, spiked coca, and bottles of Jingle Juice. Mr. Potato Head says “Damn it. Already used my replacement arm when the dog ate my first one this summer.” The teddy bear replies, “Dude, what did we do last night?”" data-original-height="2544" data-original-width="3296" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi55vEsMJs8AQ27g5fDEwfXKd9FHsFghBKchE02CNsPHS8fnl5-b5IxNw8Z1L71Td7KkYKKse11sPTNI6imw2q51Ygb9Ba5ByYRS7ILsaKK5Vqq90AJrrlv8B891Mf5uV5jB3Vz3miz5W6LnTlcmJaOsoLVmm4fVf6px9lZNWywiqEVbr2QdUNJZq5i=w640-h494" title="Mr. Potato Head Missing Arm" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /><br /></b><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">12.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman"; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->After a wild night in the North Pole for the annual Christmas toy reunion, Mr. Potato Head was feeling the consequences of SantaCare’s “one limb per lifetime” policy…<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium;"><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-20184845775889761412021-12-31T13:37:00.002-06:002021-12-31T13:58:14.737-06:00New Year's Eve Makes Me Sad (But I Like the Snacks)<p> </p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><i>For Joyce Lydon, forever loved and missed.</i></span></p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">I’ve always found New Year’s Eve to be very sad. It breaks my heart and feels so strange to think about starting an entirely new year without the people we’ve lost; kind of like we’re continuing some weird journey while a bunch of people we love are waving as we look out the rear window, as if to say “I gotta stay here.” I imagine them getting smaller and smaller as I move forward, like when I would leave my grandparents house as a child. My grandparents would line up on the driveway, waving, waving as the car pulled away until they were just dots on the horizon.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There’s a cruelty to it, writing a year on a page that people you love won’t, adding to that unwanted collection of years in which they are nowhere in the world. Nowhere and everywhere and nowhere all at once. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The thought of more time and space coming between us, so formally marked by a turned page, has always stirred a certain melancholy in me and a wish that I had studied the fine details of their faces for longer, taken more pictures, been able to do that lunch date we hoped for “when things get better.” We all, I suspect, have some unfinished plans with the people we’ve lost, and no platitudes like “they lived a good long life” can truly soften the blow. Of course, there is also the brutal truth that so many lives should have been much longer. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I don’t think I will ever fully escape the New Year’s Eve feeling that I am leaving someone behind when the hands of time cross over the bridge of midnight. The folks waving as the car pulls away will never be “here” again in the way that I want or wish. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Yet I know we never truly leave or lose people we love. The way we hold onto them now is different. I won’t try to tell you it’s just as good. But the fact is that we hold them <i>still,</i> and no clock inching forward or popped champagne bottles or midnight kisses can change that.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">To all my beloveds who have “hopped out of the car” this year and each year before that, I will always grieve for you. Part of me will always look for you in the grocery store, hope it’s you when the phone rings, yearn for the feeling of your hands. But since you can’t walk with me into this new year, I will carry you. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And everywhere I go, I will share the joy that was you. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Is you. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Always will be you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> And I will shout into the wind that you were real. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">You were real and you loved me. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When I watch the night become the dawn, the first dawn of this new beginning, you will be nowhere and you will be everywhere. But mostly, you will be everywhere. I will make sure of it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxL90JFgQVcj6_3cgy0Fi2MYCIWT8Ww8DswGK4Zncgc8Wp78r9rnTW3qLA8qEqKYLgsad19xTraa8tfZ60cHHwjQ-Xt63e15EPzIZHFYge5TZ3Ly51RQMC_tq4E82ovauKBYtkBvwBHSagOIB7zG-vidm6L8mcztIMf2MDzOJAm6gT7BmoD-ETrH7P=s3648" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Me and my late friend Joyce smiling at a camp dance. I have a red t shirt and she has a green jersey and cowgirl style hat" border="0" data-original-height="2736" data-original-width="3648" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjxL90JFgQVcj6_3cgy0Fi2MYCIWT8Ww8DswGK4Zncgc8Wp78r9rnTW3qLA8qEqKYLgsad19xTraa8tfZ60cHHwjQ-Xt63e15EPzIZHFYge5TZ3Ly51RQMC_tq4E82ovauKBYtkBvwBHSagOIB7zG-vidm6L8mcztIMf2MDzOJAm6gT7BmoD-ETrH7P=w320-h240" title="Joyce & Kathleen 2012" width="320" /></a></div><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> ID: </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>Me and my late friend Joyce smiling at a camp dance. I have a red t shirt <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>and she has a green jersey and cowgirl style hat<br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-24903072521329751722021-12-13T16:07:00.002-06:002021-12-13T16:07:46.972-06:00Cripples at Christmas 2021: Annual Cartoon Series<p> <span style="font-size: large;">Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Festivus! I hope you enjoy this year's round of cartoons! Image description under each drawing. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioTxsn8XaL3njEQkzPXzEh2LhYAJADnigKX-M_gd1CTxX2jjTZPYngOm1wohxAluxNgYDj0Nox1JrJF8MPXDg5eR22UNHLLDQZtPAD9Aza47UBWJh9MgkT_Eaj9evy_VlidGWsT_esYNrYT7Ptme62ZFL9bN-3ztO9vybzWlj1Dl2MNI7c5h8lpzgJ=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="When Santa’s team diversified and hired Gimpy, Gimpy’s neurogenic bladder caused some serious Christmas Eve delays…" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioTxsn8XaL3njEQkzPXzEh2LhYAJADnigKX-M_gd1CTxX2jjTZPYngOm1wohxAluxNgYDj0Nox1JrJF8MPXDg5eR22UNHLLDQZtPAD9Aza47UBWJh9MgkT_Eaj9evy_VlidGWsT_esYNrYT7Ptme62ZFL9bN-3ztO9vybzWlj1Dl2MNI7c5h8lpzgJ=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 1" width="640" /></a></div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: large;">The adapted matching family pajamas were a lot less adorable when the price became clear…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: Three sets of pjs with a Christmas tree top and striped pants and the heading,“‘Regular’ Matching Christmas PJs: $50” beside three sets of pjs with a reindeer face top and plain pants. The second heading says, “Adapted matching Christmas PJs: $150”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY4ws2KVEjPEMXo3XX2zy8meM9dzrwVNvtYhRskQJySBy30oXj2-rxP8yrzJy52mkMnHJFkA8uiq46ndqGtT3PXdNza6yERnwQoV7EeAH8kUF2kSAS351lVzYC8u-gL2a9Yo2Fvx5oUCcNycpFtx-FRHk5iYZU_IPGqTjtOPzkULtyedxRup83V3NQ=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two standing stick figures and a wheelie stick figure near a large door and a sign reading, “Caution: door is heavy.” The wheelchair user states, “Santa’s Workshop? More like Santa’s Jerkshop! So much for the inclusion campaign!”" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhY4ws2KVEjPEMXo3XX2zy8meM9dzrwVNvtYhRskQJySBy30oXj2-rxP8yrzJy52mkMnHJFkA8uiq46ndqGtT3PXdNza6yERnwQoV7EeAH8kUF2kSAS351lVzYC8u-gL2a9Yo2Fvx5oUCcNycpFtx-FRHk5iYZU_IPGqTjtOPzkULtyedxRup83V3NQ=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 3" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Another Year and Santa’s Workshop Had No Automatic Doors<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: Two standing stick figures and a wheelie stick figure near a large door and a sign reading, “Caution: door is heavy.” The wheelchair user states, “Santa’s Workshop? More like Santa’s Jerkshop! So much for the inclusion campaign!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN3zREG3MSeQ8kzqO3mw2Cp6N0PhiBDtuBLP-7kWgpzzvIhVv6av0oxu3cTxILP2Y00llrY2j6EHPcwIpzuQrTiddBO8XskLEuYSfekj0mttnHYuX9ZSyS2OKZJE0QbjJDol6SPu47m60_aa0mPjR-JPhkzK3ZY-Zmi3H6Qr4eGgInMnR1zds1kiTi=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A calendar with 24 spaces is filled in with various doctor specialties including gynecologist, urologist, gastroenterologist, spine specialist, orthopedic, podiatrist, orthotist, dentist, opthamologist, neurologist, and psychologist. Also mentioned are blood tests, internist (flummoxed by your many issues), a urodynamics test, “urologist again,” “Botox for spazzy arm” “gastro again,” and “wheelchair clinic after 6 month wait.” A wheelchair user asks, “Where’s the candy" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN3zREG3MSeQ8kzqO3mw2Cp6N0PhiBDtuBLP-7kWgpzzvIhVv6av0oxu3cTxILP2Y00llrY2j6EHPcwIpzuQrTiddBO8XskLEuYSfekj0mttnHYuX9ZSyS2OKZJE0QbjJDol6SPu47m60_aa0mPjR-JPhkzK3ZY-Zmi3H6Qr4eGgInMnR1zds1kiTi=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 4" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The “Doctor A Day” Advent Calendar Was Markedly Less Charming Than the “Chocolate A Day” Version</span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: A calendar with 24 spaces is filled in with various doctor specialties including gynecologist, urologist, gastroenterologist, spine specialist, orthopedic, podiatrist, orthotist, dentist, opthamologist, neurologist, and psychologist. Also mentioned are blood tests, internist (flummoxed by your many issues), a urodynamics test, “urologist again,” “Botox for spazzy arm” “gastro again,” and “wheelchair clinic after 6 month wait.” A wheelchair user asks, “Where’s the candy?”</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXA8t6eu7aav8CtdnKqnlMFZ8koA2yWVA1TNqXu2Zm3eK8GRV9HJ_niTmZNOQ3JyGGiBuXRdy774_Q-wVG7XmtQgAgYUNhOa10XG23TVm6ctIoB0ay3xDq0m4Q7RDuABrGCcgBS24wiqb2n5wp2__LFMSWbNzHUbqN8C87Wo-8IDoSqAdZZRM7MTSa=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image: A stick figure in a wheelchair wearing an elf hat sits by a Boggle game represented by letters with motion lines. The person states, “This assignment really isn’t working out.”" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgXA8t6eu7aav8CtdnKqnlMFZ8koA2yWVA1TNqXu2Zm3eK8GRV9HJ_niTmZNOQ3JyGGiBuXRdy774_Q-wVG7XmtQgAgYUNhOa10XG23TVm6ctIoB0ay3xDq0m4Q7RDuABrGCcgBS24wiqb2n5wp2__LFMSWbNzHUbqN8C87Wo-8IDoSqAdZZRM7MTSa=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 5" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;">The elf with the CP Startle Reflex Went For A Vocational Rehab Consult After Years of Assembling Boggle Games Had Frayed His Nerves<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: A stick figure in a wheelchair wearing an elf hat sits by a Boggle game represented by letters with motion lines. The person states, “This assignment really isn’t working out.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style"><font size="5">
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</font></style></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTrj8F6EIvw9alUzfxVjfcfzYlqH83YzTFIXkvEsKMCJLyRw_ry-trwmSFv19fTUKs5uWr4rHWKi7LnNZVRKf58qPX8OhUc_QSNSxiECo7qOvDlp3o2QhwK6XC5SE9uRFDKzJ1b0RA00NXk8ufSrjySziomkZtYxXPbFIuLTJXWdKVhCLvfqpKxe0u=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two ambulatory figures in elf outfits sit on a mantle beside an elf in a wheelchair. Various speech bubbles are shown drifting from “The Land of Unsolicited Opinions” such as “Cinnamon yoga!” “Cinnamon works wonders! And it’s natural!” “I sell cinnamon smoothies!” and “My cousin is a cinnamon spiritual healer!” The wheelchair user muses aloud: “Does Stacey seriously think my devastating, lifelong joint pain can be solved with cinnamon?” *In Elf on the Shelf lore, cinnamon is considered like vitamins for elves" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTrj8F6EIvw9alUzfxVjfcfzYlqH83YzTFIXkvEsKMCJLyRw_ry-trwmSFv19fTUKs5uWr4rHWKi7LnNZVRKf58qPX8OhUc_QSNSxiECo7qOvDlp3o2QhwK6XC5SE9uRFDKzJ1b0RA00NXk8ufSrjySziomkZtYxXPbFIuLTJXWdKVhCLvfqpKxe0u=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 6" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: Two ambulatory figures in elf outfits sit on a mantle beside an elf in a wheelchair. Various speech bubbles are shown drifting from “The Land of Unsolicited Opinions” such as “Cinnamon yoga!” “Cinnamon works wonders! And it’s natural!” “I sell cinnamon smoothies!” and “My cousin is a cinnamon spiritual healer!” The wheelchair user muses aloud: “Does Stacey seriously think my devastating, lifelong joint pain can be solved with cinnamon?” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">*In Elf on the Shelf lore, cinnamon is considered like vitamins for elves</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr7M5ClNfw5X3a6A9OlhOAfdfpoI1cKEZhiPuH97MJ-2uZnu62xuMIqHlwkz7cqQdqCDWGRETBGXKgjbKf738G6XOT-2-cBoYJpmpIDynFGbuRZqG5Gglft3YAA7wxuRjELp5WCZWOy15-ckCWmerzz3wDhMiyDnFF4iEdB0bRKkbmLjSOpc3MfhvI=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An Operation board game box with the text “Now featuring: Fucked Up Spine, Weirdly Deformed Hip, Arthritic Knee, Dislocated Shoulder, Spastic Foot, and Neurogenic Bladder”" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjr7M5ClNfw5X3a6A9OlhOAfdfpoI1cKEZhiPuH97MJ-2uZnu62xuMIqHlwkz7cqQdqCDWGRETBGXKgjbKf738G6XOT-2-cBoYJpmpIDynFGbuRZqG5Gglft3YAA7wxuRjELp5WCZWOy15-ckCWmerzz3wDhMiyDnFF4iEdB0bRKkbmLjSOpc3MfhvI=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 7" width="640" /></a></div><br /><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Eager to Get In On the Pressure Sore Prevention Market, Santa’s Workshop Put A Festive Spin On Wheelchair Cushions<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: A sign that says “Introducing…the RoHoHoHo<u>! </u>‘Superior Pressure Relief From the Folks Who Brought You Christmas!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYCUEDIXwASM84M41_Vhte5XbTJmqHfaz22Li0jFfDM9FK8YNSa6Zab_n7kP0O-UIk-tRvf4NtHEPOpm0SgiCe4bd-xsoYP8aYpxTvMsvJNY5EmQDoyWnSHZIkQiYyjSWviM3Pxguzotisl4ha7kgTSUhpfgadb-5IW9BFG3L_x9AUY-ccK_JCb1V8=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image: A drawing of Santa saying “Tell the accessible media department we had lots of assholes this year.”" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYCUEDIXwASM84M41_Vhte5XbTJmqHfaz22Li0jFfDM9FK8YNSa6Zab_n7kP0O-UIk-tRvf4NtHEPOpm0SgiCe4bd-xsoYP8aYpxTvMsvJNY5EmQDoyWnSHZIkQiYyjSWviM3Pxguzotisl4ha7kgTSUhpfgadb-5IW9BFG3L_x9AUY-ccK_JCb1V8=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 10" width="640" /></a></div><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: large;">A request for a large print naughty list had Santa’s paper budget stretched thin…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: A drawing of Santa saying “Tell the accessible media department we had lots of assholes this year.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj4zAqVeLg90a7yJ5YTW3yQpg0SbEc0nsFutuMVKKihsLS3zCIMFYUscJKs6kd0g57smQwT20ECE5FuftOZ1KDGVyxMlUOCutIXgLoEEq6RUub-dEx5-yRpxy3_wOBeNhdm1BN3Ve1v-DapGLlusJo4LdNTx9j876BC3FFc7psnuDZv6iqXBouIIFu=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A paratransit bus with the sign: “ETA: No fucking clue”" border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgj4zAqVeLg90a7yJ5YTW3yQpg0SbEc0nsFutuMVKKihsLS3zCIMFYUscJKs6kd0g57smQwT20ECE5FuftOZ1KDGVyxMlUOCutIXgLoEEq6RUub-dEx5-yRpxy3_wOBeNhdm1BN3Ve1v-DapGLlusJo4LdNTx9j876BC3FFc7psnuDZv6iqXBouIIFu=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 11" width="640" /></a></div><br /><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The Night Before the Night Before The Night Before Christmas” Told the Tale of Disabled People Boarding Paratransit A Few Days Early, Hoping to Make Christmas Dinner on Time<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: A paratransit bus with the sign: “ETA: No fucking clue”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij3Em3DbgJWGfyP8INUoY3fXxdMfB1L9FVxrR8J3nlH8NrElAz6uK4fjyW0Zz95cgoukSdYPOxeSOswsWOjTZmz-iE_2yitIwkVASAri5S4g7Ly4K1EefS0dCGxE1F_MqYn1rCMm1jhvmfgKYnpbm8eUySQQ71IP0vfq_s_wQux30k0HG6BAqfBHcm=s3300" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image: A line of wheelchair users in Santa hats under a lit marquee advertising a sold out concert." border="0" data-original-height="2550" data-original-width="3300" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEij3Em3DbgJWGfyP8INUoY3fXxdMfB1L9FVxrR8J3nlH8NrElAz6uK4fjyW0Zz95cgoukSdYPOxeSOswsWOjTZmz-iE_2yitIwkVASAri5S4g7Ly4K1EefS0dCGxE1F_MqYn1rCMm1jhvmfgKYnpbm8eUySQQ71IP0vfq_s_wQux30k0HG6BAqfBHcm=w640-h494" title="Cartoon 12" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></span><p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Disabled Christmas Choir Performed Their Smash Hit, “O, Rolly Night”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-size: large;">Image: A line of wheelchair users in Santa hats under a lit marquee advertising a sold out concert.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-25313408550647708932021-09-11T12:30:00.003-05:002021-09-11T12:31:20.548-05:00My Letter to Disabled Folks for Suicide Prevention Month<p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Content Warning: Mention of suicide, ableism, mental health conditions</span></p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">September is Suicide Prevention Month. Mental health is of particular concern for disabled people, who face additional obstacles like systemic ableism, increased risk of poverty and isolation, and higher rates of chronic pain. Because of these factors, people with disabilities also struggle to access mental health services as easily as their peers without disabilities. Even with a bright, vibrant disabled community, even on the days I feel proudest to live in my disabled body, navigating the world with a disability is</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">hard</i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">. I’ve learned over many years of advocacy that disability pride is not a perfect science. You can sincerely find joy in this life, you can refuse to have your disabled being marked inferior by the world, and still, some days will feel impossible.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 2018, as part of a project inspired by the <a href="http://www.thesqueakywheelchairblog.com/2017/09/spotlight-on-liveon-movement.html" style="color: #954f72;">LiveOn Movement</a>, I wrote a letter to my fellow disabled folks struggling with their mental health. Today, in 2021, I’m sitting down to write to them again because I have learned so much in the three years that have passed. I hope you will read along and remember how much the world needs you, exactly as you are.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Dear Disabled Friend Who Feels Depressed, Anxious, and Hopeless:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have been in the place where you are. It’s a scary feeling to be there and you probably feel so alone. It’s not easy to be disabled, especially in a world that constantly tells us we don’t fit anywhere. Non-disabled people easily underestimate the toll of discrimination, of fighting for basic needs, of searching for a competent personal care worker so you can do something as simple as change your clothes. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some days, it all feels like it will crush you. Disability pride, on those days, feels like a faraway concept. Like maybe it can only belong to the lucky ones. When I developed a new spinal condition in the fall of 2018 that left me with debilitating nerve pain, it was a major gut check: <i>could </i>I be proud in this body, the one I thought I knew, that now felt like it was burning me from the inside out? How many more gloved hands and clinical gazes could I bear on my skin, especially when most of those doctors implied that the chronic pain ruling my life wasn’t real? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sure, I’d spent my whole adult life rallying for pride and acceptance, but on those mornings that I welled up with tears from nerve pain caused by my once innocuous pajama pants, I felt like a fraud.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It grew harder and harder not to compare my life to what I saw on Instagram, where former classmates posted photos of marriages and babies, while I tested the fabric on washcloths to see which kind wouldn’t feel like I’d poured acid on my skin. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Amid all this, when it felt like the whole world should be frozen and weeping with me, the pull of regular life still yanked at me. Phone calls, training home care aides about how to shower me, paperwork, paperwork, what to eat for breakfast. One of the hardest parts of being disabled, chronically ill, or some combination thereof is the loneliness. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh, the loneliness. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The feeling that you are a pit stop that other people will make only when they have some time out from their <i>real </i>social lives. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Several surgeries and many months of reflection later, I know that anxiety and depression are liars and thieves. I still struggle with loneliness from time to time and I know the stress of ableism will never fully dissipate. But I am here. That in itself is an accomplishment, although a society obsessed with productivity will try to tell you otherwise. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you are reading this, you are still here too, and my god, I feel honored to be with you. I don’t care if all of your quarantine plants died, if you didn’t learn a new language this year, or if your sourdough bread attempt was a dumpster fire. The grades you earned in school, the job you have or don’t have… all of those things are so small. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in the time since my last letter is this: if we stopped celebrating people for what they do, and instead celebrated who they are, the whole world would feel so much healing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My dear disabled friend, I’ve loved you from the beginning. Even if we never meet, my love for you remains. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because despite our varied lives, you share with me a sense of knowing. Knowing what it feels like to be the one who stands out in every room. Knowing the stares. The questions. The bureaucratic chokehold of systems that are supposed to help us but hold us back instead. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With that shared knowing is a sacred kinship between you and me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you don’t feel proud in every moment, you are not a fraud. You are a human being who understands that joy and grief live together. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You are a person who matters… and I’m proud of you…even in the moments you don’t feel proud of yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stay.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Love, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Kathleen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></o:p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-71095005316937203482021-08-16T18:54:00.003-05:002021-08-16T18:54:58.043-05:00To the Disabled Students Heading Back to School, I See You<p> <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Today I came across my 7</span><sup style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">th</sup><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">grade ID photo, in which I am a tiny 12-year-old girl in an aqua tank top, smiling and trying to convince myself that junior high seems like a good idea. The anxiety I felt when the picture was taken is still so real to me that it’s hard to believe 16 years have gone by. I occasionally ask myself why I saved the long-expired ID card, and I still can’t settle upon an answer, considering that it is a relic of one of the hardest, most awkward times of my life. The best answer I can come up with is that perhaps I need to see how far I’ve come. To have evidence that I really did make it.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">As the back-to-school Walmart commercials flash across the television and first day of school photos are posted, it’s so easy to be transported back to what those first days felt like. As a disabled student in a school system still trying to catch up decades after <a href="https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/" style="color: #954f72;">IDEA</a>, the first day of school was often akin to being dropped in the jungle. Among the color-coded binders and sticky, creaky lockers hung heavier questions: <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Will the accessible desks be in place? <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Will the elevator work? <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Will my wheelchair fit under any of the lunch tables? <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Will the person who helps me use the bathroom treat me like a human being?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Inevitably, the answer to one of these questions, or many of them, was a resounding “no.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Navigating an educational system that frequently leaves disabled kids behind made me the advocate I am today, and I will always be proud of that. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">But a piece of my heart will always be broken knowing that disabled kids should not be burdened with fighting tooth and nail for basic accommodations. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The little girl in the ID picture couldn’t have a carefree first day of junior high because she was busy fighting dozens of little battles: ill-fitting desks, heavy doors, inaccessible lab tables, the epic search for a competent note taker. I know my story is not unique and for millions of disabled students, the same anxieties that haunted me in my school days persist. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I watch those Walmart commercials, I want to shout at the TV that for students with bodyminds outside the mold, the first day is never as simple as jauntily walking through the schoolhouse doors with a cute backpack.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> But oh, I dream of that day…when all that disabled students must worry about on day one is if their new sneakers fit. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">Until that day comes, my heart remains with the disabled kids breaking back-to-school barriers that simply should not exist. I salute the courage and grit it takes to wade through the system, to keep showing up in places and spaces that too often suggest that you don’t belong. I’m here to tell you that you <i>do </i>belong, in all your perfect wonder, and you always have. Anyone who believes otherwise has so much left to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">To those disabled students, wherever you are, the first thing I think of at “back to school” time is you. I know the feeling of waiting for a perpetually late short bus with an ancient wheelchair lift. The feeling of hoping for classrooms that you can freely navigate. Of crossing your fingers that someone, anyone read your <a href="https://www.washington.edu/accesscomputing/what-difference-between-iep-and-504-plan" style="color: #954f72;">IEP.</a> As someone who needed personal care assistance in school, I know the bravery it takes to trust new people with your body. And I pray with everything in me that the people chosen to care for you will be kind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was once where you are, my head spinning with the same galaxy of worries. You are not alone, although it may feel that way right now. On your first day of school and on every day forward, you make me proud. Get out there and show the world how worthy, beautiful, and fulfilling disabled lives can be.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">And to the non-disabled educators, classmates, and parents reading this, ask yourself what you can do to dismantle ableism in school. Ableism harms everyone and it ends when we all commit to fighting it. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;">The fight will have been worthwhile if one day, not long from now, the next little girl in a wheelchair finds herself rolling on a much smoother path.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3RzX-h-dyaC3kda3SEqS4iFJtpya59hcOPpvf3REYm7lp7CFNrMfQw10dXiBpNnc3-MeIvAyKEhvQ2AGpu8vToC0K_NyYGIn-l3s78f0ff4TTcbkPxLA9JTKxGl2KjL0HIfc_1JlniQ/s2048/IMG_0414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Old ID photo of me at age 12. I am a white young woman in a wheelchair with a blondish ponytail, glasses, and an aqua tank top." border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1535" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3RzX-h-dyaC3kda3SEqS4iFJtpya59hcOPpvf3REYm7lp7CFNrMfQw10dXiBpNnc3-MeIvAyKEhvQ2AGpu8vToC0K_NyYGIn-l3s78f0ff4TTcbkPxLA9JTKxGl2KjL0HIfc_1JlniQ/w480-h640/IMG_0414.jpg" title="Seventh Grade Photo" width="480" /></a></div><br />Image: Old ID photo of me at age 12. I am a white young woman in a wheelchair with a blondish ponytail, glasses, and an aqua tank top.<p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-47544582986354924752021-07-07T15:32:00.003-05:002021-07-07T17:04:35.648-05:00An Imperfect Miracle: Tarlov Cysts, Chronic Pain, and What I've Learned So Far<p> <span face="Calibri, sans-serif">When I was diagnosed with symptomatic <a href="https://www.tarlovcystfoundation.org">Tarlov cysts </a>in March of 2019, I was simultaneously terrified and relieved that my pain wasn’t imaginary. Those little uninvited hitchhikers on my sacral nerve roots explained the hellish invisible burn I experienced on the back of my thighs that made transfers, sitting on a toilet, and pulling down pants feel tremendously painful in a leg-shaking, breathtaking kind of way. Because of their proximity to essential nerves, they are notoriously challenging to treat. I am tremendously privileged to say that I was able to have cyst repair surgery with one of two surgeons in the U.S. willing to operate on them in October 2020.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It’s a long, ongoing recovery that is as much about the mind as the body. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I mentioned in previous writings that <a href="http://www.thesqueakywheelchairblog.com/2021/03/on-scale-of-1-to-10-tarlov-cysts.html" style="color: #954f72;">chronic pain changes you</a>. It’s hard to trust your body to move without sending out a zap of pain lightning. Hard to let go of things you may never do again. Hard to realize that your body is an example of human fragility. Hard to reconcile a body that once moved more freely with the cautious, measured movements of your current vessel. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Growing up with cerebral palsy, my movement had always been more limited. I’m tremendously proud to have CP and in so many ways I love the way it’s sculpted my body. People with CP, I always say, have beautiful hands, with fingers that twist to the side and pulse with the energy of overexcited muscles. But CP can also sculpt the body in ways that are challenging, no matter how deep my pride. With age, cerebral palsy becomes more and more physically unkind. Arthritis creeps in. Feet turn. Hips drift and gait slows. Joint pain is a familiar visitor. Needless to say, when I also developed Tarlov cysts, I felt betrayed by the universe. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Hadn’t I already paid my disability dues? Did I win some sick game of Wheelchair of Fortune? Alas, having one disability does not exempt you from all others. That was a hard lesson to accept. And even in the midst of acceptance, I’d be lying if I said a “why me?” never creeps in. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Nearly 9 months post-surgery, I’m happy to report that I’m doing well. My nerve pain is still present, but drastically improved. The gastrointestinal issues I battled have also improved and my incision is beautifully healed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> My mind has healed more slowly. Nerve pain is unpredictable and nerves that have been surgically disturbed take a while to calm down. Waking up every morning not knowing what my pain level will be is probably the hardest part. When you have that kind of chronic pain, the brain is always on defense, screaming “Oh no! What if it’s a 10!” even though you think the 1-10 pain scale should be replaced by 1 to flame thrower on your leg. Even in places that no longer hurt as they once did, the ghosts of old pains remain imprinted in the mind, as does the anxiety that they will sneak up behind you and come to life again. It’s like the height of your pain won’t let you forget what it felt like. But the monsters in our heads scream as they’re dying, and I know that one day, I will chase out their last shudders.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Unfortunately, the S1 cyst could not be fully removed due to its location. Luckily though, it is prevented from growing and has even shrunk some. On my higher pain days, its hard not to fantasize about ripping the remaining piece of cyst out of my back and harder not to fantasize about the body I once had before this tiny cyst that no one has heard of stole so much from me. But as I’ve said before, I am in awe that my body continues to fight for me. Proud of the storms we have weathered together. I do my best to focus on how far I’ve come instead of how far there is to go. I am a human being and sometimes I fail in that effort.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I was talking to a friend recently, explaining that my remaining nerve pain goes up and down like some kind of unenjoyable log flume. There are days that are “better” and “worse” for no apparent reason and sometimes, I joke that breathing the wrong way upsets my “tenant” at the S1 nerve root. My friend said she was sorry and that she had hoped I would be pain-free, that the surgery would deliver a miracle. If I’m honest, I want that too. I want it so much it’s hard to fathom, unless you have also stood among the broken pieces of a once pain free body, digging through the wreckage for the parts of you that are survivors in the rubble.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But then I thought for a moment, and I wrote back: “I’m trying to think of it as maybe I already got my miracle. That I’m still here.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> It’s tremendously hard not to want more, not to want the magic wand version of a miracle that pops up in Disney movies. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But my conversation with that friend revealed something to me: the miracle has already been delivered and I am standing in its midst.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> I am still here. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The pain ghosts didn’t snatch me in the night, though they try. I scoot to the side of my bed every morning, at times with a little boost from an anti-inflammatory and get up. I laugh a lot and my latest burst of dark humor is an idea for a spin off of Michelle Obama’s cooking show, <i>Waffles and Mochi… </i>a show where people eat while complaining about chronic pain called <i>Waffles and Motrin.</i> I am thankful to have no additional nerve damage. Gratitude is not a salve for loss, and it does not invalidate the very real pain that is unfortunately a part of being human. Pain too, deserves to be felt, without being slapped down by a “just be thankful.” But gratitude sure makes a lovely friend to keep “this sucks” in check.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’ve learned from this odyssey that healing doesn’t always look exactly like we want it to. Healing is slow and its messy, but I can feel its presence. While shouting at the horizon line for an “As Seen on TV” miracle, I nearly missed the one that has already arrived. It’s a little more dilapidated than I pictured. A lot more. It likes super soft comfy pants that don’t provoke angry nerves. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The miracle I seek is here, imperfect but present. May my eyes be open to see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOrNzCkkionGfP77DuA0ueL0Q3IbvhXR_EknoLk7LleuE8eDlNyG6GyEnQpFdaTeM2LED5ZJjRU4YQ88JFj0OEKylv1xMF1_WaLsjYN8-Iz0hha2jRoSVA5RU_LURAsEYbCBlVFNgPPw/s640/IMG_2201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="MRI image of a large cyst on my spine" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOrNzCkkionGfP77DuA0ueL0Q3IbvhXR_EknoLk7LleuE8eDlNyG6GyEnQpFdaTeM2LED5ZJjRU4YQ88JFj0OEKylv1xMF1_WaLsjYN8-Iz0hha2jRoSVA5RU_LURAsEYbCBlVFNgPPw/w240-h320/IMG_2201.jpg" title="Tarlov cyst" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Image: MRI image of a large cyst on my spine</div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-49739907162650828692021-05-30T16:46:00.005-05:002021-05-30T19:55:03.763-05:00Uber's Lack of Accessible Vehicles Leaves Disabled People Seeking "Free Vaccine Rides" Behind<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">On May 24, 2021, I was excited to receive an email stating that Uber will be offering free rides to COVID vaccination sites from May 24 to July 4. The email cheerily announces, “Your free vaccine ride is waiting!” I think this is an excellent promotion, especially given that lack of transportation is a huge barrier to vaccine access. But… pun totally intended; the email got my wheels turning. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">What about people with mobility disabilities?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Anyone who has met me for more than a millisecond knows that I get around in a 450-pound power wheelchair. I have lost my ability to safely and comfortably transfer into a typical vehicle and cars without modifications can’t accommodate a heavy non-folding wheelchair like mine. And finding a wheelchair accessible Uber, especially in the suburbs, is about as easy as finding a unicorn. Most areas, especially those outside of major cities, don’t yet have access to wheelchair friendly Ubers. At home on Long Island, I have never been able to call an accessible Uber; thus, the idea of riding in one still feels like some fantastical urban legend. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">That’s right—I have committed a millennial mortal sin. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I, Kathleen Downes, have never been in an Uber. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">For this country to address the vaccine transportation issue with a largely inaccessible fleet of vehicles is disappointing, to put it mildly. I am fortunate to have my own accessible van and parents who could drive me to the vaccination site when I was vaccinated this winter. I am aware of how wildly privileged I am to have such support. And I am thinking of the millions of mobility-impaired Americans who deserve the same opportunity. The Uber promotion fails them, given that Uber Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV) are only available in <a href="https://wheelchairtravel.org/cities-wheelchair-accessible-uber-lyft/" style="color: #954f72;">select cities nationally</a>. Lyft's accessibility record is <a href="https://help.lyft.com/hc/ko/articles/115013081668-wav-rides#regions">similarly dismal.</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">According to my search, WAVs through Uber are only available in New York City, Austin, Boston, Chicago, a small part of Houston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Phoenix, Portland, OR; and San Francisco. Even within these cities, locating an accessible Uber is not as easy as finding a typical Uber ride. Folks often <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-lyft-wheelchair-accesible-ride-wait-times-double-report-2019-5" style="color: #954f72;">report a longer wait time</a> and a significantly more <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/23/17384600/uber-lyft-wheelchair-accessible-fail-nyc-report" style="color: #954f72;">difficult experience</a> when searching for an accessible vehicle.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Never far from the front of my mind is that if my parents or an aide were not around to drive me, I too, would have extremely limited transportation options to get a vaccine or to go anywhere. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Amid a pandemic that has disproportionately claimed the lives of disabled Americans, a “free vaccine ride” promotion without a guarantee of accessible Ubers in every place across this country leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Considering that people with disabilities and chronic illnesses <a href="https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2020/11/16/mounting-evidence-points-to-serious-covid-19-risk-for-those-with-idd/29084/" style="color: #954f72;">have an elevated risk of COVID infection</a>, it simply makes sense to facilitate our access to vaccination sites. To do otherwise, when the virus has uniquely devastated our community, is exceptionally cruel. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The vaccination process in general has already been rife with challenges for disabled people and we certainly don’t need any more stumbling blocks. For those who are multiply marginalized, such as BIPOC or low-income wheelchair users, the barriers are even greater. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It’s easy for those who are non-disabled to casually suggest mass transit as a solution if accessible Uber is not available. But many folks remain unaware that public transportation may not exist outside of major cities. Further, the public transit systems in most major cities are only “sort of” accessible. In New York City today, <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/infographic-how-much-nyc-subway-accessible" style="color: #954f72;">approximately 25% of MTA stations are accessible.</a> Navigating them is a labyrinth of broken elevators, janky ramps, and trying not to gag from the scent of mass transit’s signature fragrance: urine infused garbage on a hot summer day. For disabled people with spatial impairments or those unable to travel without an aide, mass transit is often out of reach. Paratransit, the door-to-door accessible bus service for disabled riders, is notoriously unreliable and highly likely to take a detour to the seventh layer of hell.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Mass transit discussion aside, if people without mobility impairments can easily get a free Uber to a vaccine site, disabled people should get the same chance. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Uber’s lack of accessible vehicles makes their attempt to provide equity through free vaccine rides feel incredibly ironic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">If Uber truly wants to promote equity, it won’t do so by leaving a whole group of vulnerable people behind.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXievop6UM0ffKXJb7SKqa6OT9D69f2ZCOd-siiGdljca8Ssp6e0SSvdFD9L_5_dPK9mGWCpdXrecnGpIi11tK6DVUcfamNH8OgVs6FHgR_svWvlFL4-_pcvqGo4No3KTOwsIDdc9uqGo/s1010/842E78D3-A48F-4B89-9572-60C803938135.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Biden tweet" border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="1010" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXievop6UM0ffKXJb7SKqa6OT9D69f2ZCOd-siiGdljca8Ssp6e0SSvdFD9L_5_dPK9mGWCpdXrecnGpIi11tK6DVUcfamNH8OgVs6FHgR_svWvlFL4-_pcvqGo4No3KTOwsIDdc9uqGo/w320-h172/842E78D3-A48F-4B89-9572-60C803938135.png" title="Tweet from Joe Biden says "Help spread the word: From May 24 to July 4, Uber and Lyft will offer everyone in America free rides to and from COVID vaccination sites." width="320" /></a></div><b>Image: Tweet from Joe Biden says "Help spread the word: From May 24 to July 4, Uber and Lyft will offer everyone in America free rides to and from COVID vaccination sites.<br /></b><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-63136507036506446022021-03-28T14:02:00.012-05:002021-03-28T14:38:37.475-05:00Spotlight on "Social Fitness:" A film by Anna Pakman <p> <span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Written by Kathleen Downes</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">March 25, 2021<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Over the past year, we’ve all had to adjust to “the quarantine life.” The snacks we left in our now abandoned offices are on their way to becoming ancient ruins. We’ve nearly forgotten about this strange concept called “pants.” We’ve adapted to acting like we are allergic to other humans. Quite simply, since COVID-19 changed everything last March, we are in an alternate…Zoomiverse. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">With our lives changed beyond comprehension and our hands raw from Purell, this situation has brought to mind an old saying for when things get absurd—“we may as well laugh or we’d cry.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">New York City based filmmaker and digital marketing executive, Anna Pakman, is choosing to laugh. Her upcoming film “Social Fitness” puts a humorous spin on the prospect of adjusting back to “normal” life as the pandemic begins to show signs of easing and explores the hallmarks of pandemic culture, from awkward Zoom weddings to the widespread abandonment of concern about our outfits, through an uplifting and witty comedic lens. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">“<a>Social Fitness” was created </a>as part of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge. Founded by disabled actor Nic Novicki in 2014, the challenge provides a platform for new voices in the film industry and strives to amplify diverse narratives around disability. Pakman is excited and thankful that Easterseals is paving the way for her and other disabled professionals.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The film features internationally renowned comedienne Maysoon Zayid, known for her viral Ted Talk “I got 99 problems…palsy is just one,” in addition to appearances on <i>General Hospital </i>and Adam Sandler’s <i>You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. </i>Joining her in the star-studded cast are Bree Klauser (Audible Original <i>Phreaks,</i>Apple TV’s <i>SEE</i>), Anita Hollander (National Chair, SAG-AFTRA Performers with Disabilities Committee, <i>Law & Order, FBI: Most Wanted</i>), Liz Simons (<i>Broad City</i>), Eric Stafford (<i>The Blacklist, Alpha House</i>), BJ Lange (<i>Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!</i>), Shashi Bangera (<i>Sesame Street, Kelly & Cal</i>), Mary von Aue, Josey Miller, Sylvia Longmire. On production are JD Michaels of michaels.adams, Liz Pritchard (A & E’s <i>The Employables</i>) and Stefanie Parish. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Both Zayid and Pakman have cerebral palsy and they are joined by a talented and diverse cast including performers with a range of disabilities such as autism, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, osteogenesis imperfecta, and ADHD, among others. Seven of ten people you see in the film have disabilities, while the rest are non-disabled allies.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">For Pakman, the inclusion of people with disabilities in front of and behind the camera is personal. When asked why disability representation matters so much in her work, she recalls growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s, wondering why no one on TV or in movies “looked like her.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">On the rare occasion that people with disabilities were referenced, she told me, the stories told fell into stereotypes, either “super tragic stories of some poor cripple in the news or some super heroic feat that the average person can’t achieve.” Through her work, she seeks to tell authentic stories of people with disabilities leading ordinary lives. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">However, make no mistake, Pakman is emphatic in reminding audiences that performers with disabilities should not only be featured in media about disability, but instead, in all types of media, in all capacities. She states, “People with disabilities can play any role, in front of or behind the camera.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">However, the industry has been slow to recognize the talent of the disability community. Pakman spoke of a recent study by the Ruderman Family Foundation which found that despite being about 20% of the population, only about 2% of primetime characters are disabled, and of those, only 5% are played by disabled actors. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The practice of casting non-disabled actors in roles written for a disabled character, sometimes called “cripping up” has caused controversy in the community, most recently with the casting of the non-autistic actress Maddie Ziegler in the title role of Sia’s <i>Music</i>, about a young autistic woman, a casting decision Pakman calls “so offensive.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">So-called cripping up has real consequences for performers with disabilities looking to enter the notoriously competitive industry. Pakman says, “when someone who is not disabled is cast in one of the very very few roles actually written for people with disabilities, you deny the opportunity of employment to an actor with a disability.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> Pakman points to the markedly lower employment rate of people with disabilities, which stands at about 31% and has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Real representation, however, has industry-wide benefits beyond providing jobs to disabled employers. More importantly, Pakman asserts, the casting of disabled performers creates more authentic material that is more enjoyable for all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When naysayers challenge that notion, claiming that disabled actors won’t be marketable, Pakman, no pun intended, doesn’t buy it. She stresses that audiences gravitate towards authentic portrayals and those who don’t believe that they will sell tickets are underestimating the public’s appreciation for real, human stories. She cites the accomplishments of Oscar-winning Marlee Matlin in <i>Children of a Lesser God</i>, a film she argues would not have been nearly as successful if Matlin’s role had not been played by a Deaf woman. Given a pipeline, she says, performers with disabilities are more than capable of working among Hollywood greats. Also coming to mind, she says, is actress Ali Stroker, who won a Tony award for her 2019 performance in <i>Oklahoma! </i>and has since become a household name.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Although Pakman and her team are passionate about disability in film, “Social Fitness,” she says, is not just a “disability film.” The project is meant to highlight the universal struggles of the pandemic, and was created with the hope that all people can find a relatable moment in this tale of… wait for it…these unprecedented times. Of her characters, she says, “they are just regular people, who happen to have disabilities, dealing with regular things” from cat obsessions to our collective hesitation to wear anything but sweatpants ever again. “Social Fitness” defies the trope of disabled folks being inspirational for leaving the house. However, Pakman jokes, in these corona times, anyone leaving the house, especially in (gasp) jeans, “kind of <i>is </i>an inspiration.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Although Pakman and her powerhouse cast hope to bring some levity to the situation, she acknowledges that not everything about the pandemic has been sunshine and roses. She describes her own moments of depression, as well as her own fears about medical rationing endangering people with disabilities in a system that does not value our lives. She is “grateful to have the basics: a home, food to eat,” knowing that many have “suffered much more” in the past year. Given the many immensely painful aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the quirky, spirited, and delightfully snarky “Social Fitness” aims to deliver the laugh ‘til you snort break so many are craving.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">While it can be difficult to imagine anything positive about this challenging era, the cast and crew felt excited about the ways in which the pandemic allowed them to try new filmmaking techniques. The film was largely shot on cellphones, which Pakman states now deliver “cinematic quality footage” in a handheld device. The learning curve of making a film in quarantine forced new levels of creativity and highlighted just how essential strong communication is in making a successful project. Quick thinking— and you guessed it—Zoom, enabled collaboration between folks from New York to Los Angeles and Florida. In many ways, a cast and crew of majority disabled people was uniquely prepared for this moment. For people with disabilities, adaptability and innovation are inherent given the constant need to problem-solve and to navigate a less than accessible world.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">With light-hearted quips about emerging from our Zoom caves, “Social Fitness” hints at the end of corona captivity. However, Pakman warns, the pandemic is still very real and she hopes audiences will come away understanding the importance of mitigation measures like masks and social distancing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">She also hopes that the project will encourage the inclusion of disabled folks in the industry and provide more opportunities for her actors. Says Anna, “I’m hoping that when people see someone with a disability, they judge them solely based on their talent and what they say they are capable of.’”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">To those who are hesitant to welcome performers with disabilities on the stage and the screen, she has a warning: “You will miss out on a lot of talent!”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">“Social Fitness” is available to stream on the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="https://youtube.com/c/TheDisabilityFilmChallenge"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt;">YouTube</span></a></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/disabilityfilmchallenge/">Facebook</a> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;">pages now!</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Don’t worry; your cat, your homegrown basil, and your sourdough bread are all cordially invited.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKX_6OcjM1Zq5h58HobFm6IbCLuxAOJtBn8XVNnY-74_TZ8OI3kPm96B85Tv7O1z5zqn31vVb8K0JC_CLiQutza5IKEZpDzh3hO7UFX2Qea4j2jmupSZC05zfDDu6fhkjCMjV6DNFN_I/s960/socialfitnessposter.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Social Fitness Movie Poster" border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="666" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWKX_6OcjM1Zq5h58HobFm6IbCLuxAOJtBn8XVNnY-74_TZ8OI3kPm96B85Tv7O1z5zqn31vVb8K0JC_CLiQutza5IKEZpDzh3hO7UFX2Qea4j2jmupSZC05zfDDu6fhkjCMjV6DNFN_I/w444-h640/socialfitnessposter.jpg" title=""Social Fitness: A film by Anna Pakman. An image of a bandage and the text "It's time to rip the bandage of comfort off the hairy back of complacency." Featuring Maysoon Zayid, Shashi Bangera, Anita Hollander, Bree Klauser, Liz Simons, Mary Von Aue. #SocialFitnessMovie" width="444" /></a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Image: Social Fitness: A film by Anna Pakman. An image of a bandage and the text "It's time to rip the bandage of comfort off the hairy back of complacency." Featuring Maysoon Zayid, Shashi Bangera, Anita Hollander, Bree Klauser, Liz Simons, Mary Von Aue. #SocialFitnessMovie</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div><p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-50890512686388013822021-03-19T20:18:00.003-05:002021-03-22T16:43:38.242-05:00"On A Scale of 1 to 10": Tarlov Cysts, Chronic Pain, and Me<p> <span face="Calibri, sans-serif">It started with a dress.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In the fall of 2018, while trying on a dress for a wedding, I remember feeling like the fabric was pressing on a bad sunburn on the back of my legs. Thinking I had a rash, I went to a dermatologist who found nothing. The weeks passed. The months passed. The odyssey began. Seeing as I already have cerebral palsy (CP), complaining of leg pain in my case seemed fairly unremarkable to most doctors. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">“Muscle tension”. “Tight hamstrings”. “Pinched nerve”. “Bursitis”. “You sit a lot”, they mused. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Slowly, casually, it was implied that perhaps it was all in my mind. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I knew this wasn’t just CP. The doctor list grew. The frustration grew. The pain ripped through my skin, to the point where putting on a pair of pants felt like fire. Every transition between sitting and standing became taxing, like an awful pain lightning. Getting on the toilet and off the toilet became a chore. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And harder still, the fact that this “invisible sunburn” gripping my body had no name, but cast itself over everything at once. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Chronic pain changes you. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It rewires you, a silent puppeteer that dictates your movements, if there are any movements at all. It makes the place that has always housed your soul feel unfamiliar, strange. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The body I now lived in felt like it no longer belonged to me. At the same time, the steady beat of my heart reminded me that I was still here, still me, and if getting out of bed was all I could do, that was enough. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">With every failed appointment, every “never seen this before…” I grew more and more dejected, uncertain if I should even believe myself about this nameless fury dancing through my nerves. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Rate your pain</i>, they’d say, offering a corny chart of cartoon faces that progressed from looking “vaguely annoyed” to “fully despairing.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And I’d choose one, knowing full well that none of them represent the feeling of being burned from the inside out. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Knowing full well that squishing my untamed pain under one of these cookie-cutter labels is one of the rules. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Chronic pain is quick to teach you the rules.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Perform your pain clearly enough that men in white coats see you as worthy of their help.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> Show your pain, but not too much, or they will call you “hysterical,” “dramatic,” even if they only use those words inside their own heads. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The rules require a sweet smile, to ward off the “just think positive!” folks. But don’t smile so much that the men in white coats can decide you “don’t look like a person in pain!” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I wish I could tell them that a person in pain may look like themselves, sound like themselves, “have such a pretty smile!” and still want to curl into ball amid what feels like the wreckage of a former self. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The truth is, the pain storm is constant, but you learn its choreography. Because there are still dogs to be walked. Emails to be answered. Texts to be sent. The cruel reality and the splendid miracle of it all is that life ticks forward even when it feels like the pain may consume you. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When I neared two years since the onset of the mystery pain, I finally convinced a doctor to look at my spine.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When the MRI came back, there it was. March 9, 2020. On my sacral nerve roots were a series of neural cysts… that no one had ever heard of.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> My initial thought, like many others, was <i>what the ever-loving f*ck is a Tarlov cyst? <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Put simply, a Tarlov cyst is a sac of fluid that presses on a nerve root and makes it scream. Some folks with Tarlov cysts have no symptoms at all. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Others have <a href="https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/tarlov-cysts/" style="color: #954f72;">debilitating symptoms</a> ranging from burning, stinging, and limb weakness to pelvic pain, urinary and bowel issues. I fell in the latter category and was just beginning to understand the magnitude of my challenge with a devastating disorder that isn’t even on most people’s medical radar.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I quickly learned that many surgeons don’t believe that Tarlov cysts can be symptomatic, if they acknowledge the cysts at all. It was vindicating and validating to have a name for the “invisible sunburn” after nearly two full years of insisting that something was very wrong. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">At the same time, it was terrifying to ask “what next?” in the face of a poorly understood disorder that sent lightning through my legs and was evidently unrelated to my CP.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> All the while, I couldn’t shake the feeling that if I were a super athlete who suddenly doubled over in pain, my symptoms would have been taken seriously. Instead, I had been too often dismissed, as if my pain as a disabled woman were just a matter of course.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> It seems that disabled folks, especially women, are expected to simply accept their physical pain, because “well, you’re in a wheelchair anyway.” That unspoken but ever-present sentiment hurt nearly as much as the zips of fire that pinged off my skin like the signal off an overzealous cell tower.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I was fortunate enough to have surgery last October in Sacramento, CA with one of the two surgeons in the United States trained in Tarlov cyst removal. I am fully aware of my tremendous privilege and dream of a world where others who suffer from this disorder can quickly get help.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Six months onward, healing is not a linear process. It’s more of a dizzying zig zag. The physical scars of the surgery run through my flesh—but more difficult are the unseen wounds from medical trauma, gaslighting, and the feeling of being a stranger inside myself. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">My old spastic, but fairly free movements are gone, replaced with careful, measured steps. Getting out of bed is a lengthy and cautious routine of moving a once unified being part by part as not to perturb my still-frazzled nerves. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I live with the ghosts of past pain episodes; they show up uninvited in the form of involuntary gasps when I move in a way that once hurt. I equally live with the fear that old pain ghosts will come back to life and snatch my hard-won healing. That they will sneak up behind me and show me a true “10” on that infamous pain scale.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I feel tremendously better, stronger, and more grateful each day for the opportunity to learn my body’s new rhythm.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Still, I am grieving and I think a part of me always will be. Living with a disability, I’ve learned, is a series of rebirths, as wear and tear and achy joints and funny- named cysts no one knows about make irrevocable marks on my earthly dwelling. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>Hiraeth </i>is a Welsh concept of “longing for a home to which you cannot return.” I find myself filled with a kind of body <i>hiraeth</i>, a longing to return to a body that takes springier steps, one that doesn’t wince while swinging into bed, one that doesn’t have 6 plates and 12 screws coursing through a fixer- upper spine.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I wrestle daily with the struggle to reconcile two contradicting truths. I feel both betrayed by a deteriorated body and utterly in awe of its strength. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">No platitudes can lessen the sting of what I’ve lost, but no loss can diminish the wonder of this body’s resilience.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Grief and joy can live in the same house. And most times, they do. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I long for a body, a home, to which I can never return…and yet, I listen to the beat of my heart and I know that I never left that body at all. It is changed… but it is still here… and so am I.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> One day, it will feel like home again.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVBx8TA79pEDwNfytg4s2zKiECB9-Dwdx-Fov74wD5Zf03VyBli8iqXhtlnFvHSf6cXVz1cw9JasMRfO9vrnraKeppQj4BHJCLMyTT8BrAMjm-zllyj-SfsFGPqVs8MpfxURMrQXMEJE/s2048/7EDECA8F-59BE-4A34-9B0A-33347FF47C12.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Image: Me smiling in a mask and hospital gown, seated in a wheelchair" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVBx8TA79pEDwNfytg4s2zKiECB9-Dwdx-Fov74wD5Zf03VyBli8iqXhtlnFvHSf6cXVz1cw9JasMRfO9vrnraKeppQj4BHJCLMyTT8BrAMjm-zllyj-SfsFGPqVs8MpfxURMrQXMEJE/w240-h320/7EDECA8F-59BE-4A34-9B0A-33347FF47C12.jpeg" title="Photo of me" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span><span><span>Image: Me smiling in a mask and hospital gown, seated in a wheelchair</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-90331998648570807822021-01-02T17:52:00.005-06:002021-01-02T17:54:08.409-06:00A Poem About 2020... Because What On Earth Was That?!<p> </p><p>As 2021 begins, rather than subject you to a blow by blow summary post on social media, I offer you this poem about 2020, a year that was a collective "WTF?" In the spirit of "womp womp womp," the poem is accompanied by a photo of the seeds I planted during quarantine that.... grew into thriving sunflowers, a metaphor for our resilience and strength amid the pandemic. Er... just kidding. Most failed to sprout and the ones that did quickly withered and died.</p><p>Happy New Year! For the love of God, may this one be better.</p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><i>New Year’s Eve<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">2020 wasn’t great<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In fact, not good at all<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">For most, the year was just a string<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Of bummers big and small<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">We made our vision boards<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">But they soon came crashing down<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Our to do lists were upended <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When corona came to town<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The brand-new year before us<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Didn’t match up with our plans<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The universe called out to us<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">“Shut up and wash your hands!”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In March we made some #Goals<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Grew plants, baked homemade bread<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">By May, we barely brushed our teeth<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And all the plants were dead<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Our Pinterest boards<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Once full of clever projects<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Soon went stale<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Our “recipe a day” collections <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Deemed an epic fail<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Now we Google “what are days?” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Is time even a thing?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And thank the Lord that Taylor Swift<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Still felt like she could sing<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The news shows are a mess<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">But the memes just keep improving<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Our pets are glued upon our laps<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And swear they’re never moving<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">We’ve taught our elders how to Zoom<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">At least, we’ve bravely tried<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">We’ve worn our crusty sweatsuits<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Watched old TV and cried<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Spent too much time on WebMD<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Had acne from our masks<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"> Felt wildly accomplished for doing basic tasks<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Refreshed our browsers many times<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And realized, with despair<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">That the same five Apple news alerts <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And emails are still there<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And somehow, here we sit<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Another New Year’s Eve<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">No platitudes can change the fact<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">That there’s a lot to grieve<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">But maybe we’ll come through this<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">With a little more compassion<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">With fewer judgey comments<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">On one another’s fashion<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">…I truly think that you look hot<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In gray from head to toe<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And I still think you’re awesome<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">If your basil didn't grow<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">If you didn’t do Zoom yoga<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Pick up French or learn to skate<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">If all you did was cry and eat<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I still think that you’re great<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">It’s a legendary feat<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">To make it through the day<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Can we all agree that Pinterest <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Is bullshit anyway?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">One day we’ll look back <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And we won’t think about our hair<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Our neighbor Karen’s sourdough<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Or pictures in neat squares<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">We’ll remember all the loved ones<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Who helped carry us through<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">All the folks who lent a hand<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And all the hearts that grew<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And all the healthcare heroes<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Who gave their very best<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Whose brilliant minds and gentle hands<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Helped conquer this great test<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Here’s to 2021<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">With better days ahead<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">We’ve all had our fill<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Of existential dread<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">So, let’s make room for joy<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Push this shitshow out the door<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And think about a future<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Full of hugs galore!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I have a bunch of hugs <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">That are sorely overdue<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">And you can rest assured <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">That one is meant for you.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p><span face="-webkit-standard"><b>Stay safe. Wear a mask. Thank you healthcare workers.</b></span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwUUYONnsJsbJBe769OQhzDVZO1l4zEzJKM7CNkJqy8q9ZrcIig6gpfh7KKAxmlXLIVFkd-t82-yydmffTz6bgUVUnTrveyHLy3OXb2wi4U1ocjyqBpxrf5bMqWVc9DUH9UGgK-n8Pe4/s1440/F41475D5-3EFD-442A-B20D-E3EA192A5CB9.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An egg carton full of dirt, containing seeds that never grew" border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwwUUYONnsJsbJBe769OQhzDVZO1l4zEzJKM7CNkJqy8q9ZrcIig6gpfh7KKAxmlXLIVFkd-t82-yydmffTz6bgUVUnTrveyHLy3OXb2wi4U1ocjyqBpxrf5bMqWVc9DUH9UGgK-n8Pe4/w320-h320/F41475D5-3EFD-442A-B20D-E3EA192A5CB9.jpeg" title="Failed seeds" width="320" /></a></div><b>Image: An egg carton full of dirt, containing seeds that never grew. Next to it is a spray bottle of disinfectant that I almost squirted on them instead of water, which is in the other spray bottle.</b><p></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-78516705931082908982020-12-13T19:49:00.002-06:002020-12-13T20:45:51.239-06:00Cripples at Christmas cartoons 2020<p> <span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">It’s that time of year. 2020 was epically weird, painful, and disappointing for so many… hope I can make a few folks laugh with my Cripples at Christmas cartoons 2020 edition.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Image description below images. Click to enlarge.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpf2MATE3NP-EC9Urdy9__xO1MNQHw4Y06juRUkyazOvO8Ig9M-dQWuYVM0hSNYycTdSPg_AmA8z-SwhHRII6-e2stbYehvqvwjRkBiS1KXiOjCJK1bLZzYCU2osTiGtrT7JH3S7OC78k/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+UTI.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="When the wheelie said “all I want for Christmas is you,” she was not, in fact asking for another UTI. Image of a wheelchair user in a Santa hat saying “Well, I guess I’ll be having Figgy pudding with a side of Cephalexin. Fu*k!”" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpf2MATE3NP-EC9Urdy9__xO1MNQHw4Y06juRUkyazOvO8Ig9M-dQWuYVM0hSNYycTdSPg_AmA8z-SwhHRII6-e2stbYehvqvwjRkBiS1KXiOjCJK1bLZzYCU2osTiGtrT7JH3S7OC78k/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+UTI.jpg" title="The Christmas UTi" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The first day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When the wheelie said “all I want for Christmas is you,” she was not, in fact asking for another UTI. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image of a wheelchair user in a Santa hat saying “Well, I guess I’ll be having Figgy pudding with a side of Cephalexin. Fu*k!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpak5_7pwrKGvHJypaDS_VFdCtovqTfjQzPrY0MOvYCaUFWKFAo2tCuDrJsgBj05sR2IyLhyphenhyphenM-Vvs_lvepFQoLMb7AXzlTtR2HFmLiDlDhSiQ2f924FWvotiGd9KX3IqMyRTCSyTUAm0/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+last+Christmas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The wait for a new powerchair inspired a new rendition of “Last Christmas” Image of wheelchair user singing “Last Christmas, I ordered my chair… but the vendor insists, it still isn’t there…" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpak5_7pwrKGvHJypaDS_VFdCtovqTfjQzPrY0MOvYCaUFWKFAo2tCuDrJsgBj05sR2IyLhyphenhyphenM-Vvs_lvepFQoLMb7AXzlTtR2HFmLiDlDhSiQ2f924FWvotiGd9KX3IqMyRTCSyTUAm0/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+last+Christmas.jpg" title="The wait for a new chair" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The second day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The wait for a new powerchair inspired a new rendition of “Last Christmas”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image of wheelchair user singing “Last Christmas, I ordered my chair… but the vendor insists, it still isn’t there…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjvcNQH0Hx_CnyIvQ13sn8nIZ362HaYHP9JFi1Rar0XfhcgjqYi0Sll8SgSlyuOq2nfbZyi1REYrp8AsFKruj9mA9HT3qqKy83P64sNnmzetKToKmqDAmk21F-gqsbPiWC7kVG-JkmiE/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+therapy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Misfit Toys in therapy" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrjvcNQH0Hx_CnyIvQ13sn8nIZ362HaYHP9JFi1Rar0XfhcgjqYi0Sll8SgSlyuOq2nfbZyi1REYrp8AsFKruj9mA9HT3qqKy83P64sNnmzetKToKmqDAmk21F-gqsbPiWC7kVG-JkmiE/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+therapy.jpg" title="With therapy now available on Zoom, the Misfit Toys could finally vent about a lifetime of discrimination. Image of a split Zoom window with the spotted plush elephant from the Island of Misfit Toys and a therapist, Dr. Holly Noel. The elephant says “Maybe I don’t need Santa’s validation after all.”" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The third day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With therapy now available on Zoom, the Misfit Toys could finally vent about a lifetime of discrimination.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image of a split Zoom window with the spotted plush elephant from the Island of Misfit Toys and a therapist, Dr. Holly Noel. The elephant says “Maybe I don’t need Santa’s validation after all.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOikHe81eOEWVYtKj09Larw4dlcJ-NVfJgaEYVnYuRGzNQCaMzsbVbjqyORGTVHGPJjc37vSip5K3GwPqzn3KNxhC66tcHcnPZOJkat15KNhREnnsL9JQUoaU5rGHNScaOngiZ93Bedo/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+sweaters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Empowered ugly sweaters" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOOikHe81eOEWVYtKj09Larw4dlcJ-NVfJgaEYVnYuRGzNQCaMzsbVbjqyORGTVHGPJjc37vSip5K3GwPqzn3KNxhC66tcHcnPZOJkat15KNhREnnsL9JQUoaU5rGHNScaOngiZ93Bedo/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+sweaters.jpg" title="nspired by the disability empowerment movement, the “ugly sweaters” declared themselves “sweaters deemed ugly by an ignorant society.” Image of three sweaters with polka dots and wayward stripes. One has just one sleeve. A speech bubble says “Some of us only have one sleeve. Deal with it!”" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The fourth day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Inspired by the disability empowerment movement, the “ugly sweaters” declared themselves “sweaters deemed ugly by an ignorant society.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image of three sweaters with polka dots and wayward stripes. One has just one sleeve. A speech bubble says “Some of us only have one sleeve. Deal with it!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6kA0II153Baq1_cGZH4dosnFQe_cHgqmUqVT49G_nHZ6x9HfZNqPacDR8EU52NDgHG9hV0OYGhWG3H4LD66jpAT_KfbcfPo9dNCIjthwNN2JdGzHxdjll09GiPUAU4yrnqv4tI673_U/s1154/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+catheters.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The large box on the porch was not a romantic Christmas surprise, but instead a huge shipment of catheters. Image is a box and it has the message “Merry Christmas! Pee on Earth and goodwill to men. Love, 180 Medical.”" border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1154" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT6kA0II153Baq1_cGZH4dosnFQe_cHgqmUqVT49G_nHZ6x9HfZNqPacDR8EU52NDgHG9hV0OYGhWG3H4LD66jpAT_KfbcfPo9dNCIjthwNN2JdGzHxdjll09GiPUAU4yrnqv4tI673_U/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+catheters.jpg" title="CHristmas catheters" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The fifth day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The large box on the porch was not a romantic Christmas surprise, but instead a huge shipment of catheters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image is a box and it has the message “Merry Christmas! Pee on Earth and goodwill to men. Love, 180 Medical.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1PQh1l0oxBncx5K9LYutROJStHuo0e0xTpWlVefDiiGc4s9ogTFLX1dWg9J6mg3S2Bd5YCTU-UqQyY6K948QjGKMVNXfh37mY1ZXCKhGvlQ7eJGmWnUO_ZdCiwUP-hTM24sOZjudzxQ/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+Elf+on+the+Floor.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Elf on the Floor" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI1PQh1l0oxBncx5K9LYutROJStHuo0e0xTpWlVefDiiGc4s9ogTFLX1dWg9J6mg3S2Bd5YCTU-UqQyY6K948QjGKMVNXfh37mY1ZXCKhGvlQ7eJGmWnUO_ZdCiwUP-hTM24sOZjudzxQ/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+Elf+on+the+Floor.jpg" title="After an embarrassing fall from the shelf, the disabled Elf on the Shelf was afraid to use life alert. What if it summoned a rescue squad of high school classmates? Image is a fireplace decorated with stockings. An elf lies on the floor splayed out with a speech bubble reading “I guess I’m Elf on the Floor” now." width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The sixth day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">After an embarrassing fall from the shelf, the disabled Elf on the Shelf was afraid to use life alert. What if it summoned a rescue squad of high school classmates?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image is a fireplace decorated with stockings. An elf lies on the floor splayed out with a speech bubble reading “I guess I’m Elf on the Floor” now.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6n7lL78rHum2j5JaosCJy90ASkTAvOQuJg3A2uEVJVkyuAGsmqHhpW8L1u794A4UyF0GE1mVh8ulfPc-ludILJoFF-tUAX_DeFtAuFI3-pb8IFOgVc7mfo1us3Q5CqB3WfPxGoiZXWtM/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+shoehorn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Santa's shoehorn" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6n7lL78rHum2j5JaosCJy90ASkTAvOQuJg3A2uEVJVkyuAGsmqHhpW8L1u794A4UyF0GE1mVh8ulfPc-ludILJoFF-tUAX_DeFtAuFI3-pb8IFOgVc7mfo1us3Q5CqB3WfPxGoiZXWtM/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+shoehorn.jpg" title="If one more OT told Santa to use a long handled shoehorn in his old age, he would lose his mind. Image is Santa saying “The shoehorn obsession is some bullshit.”" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The seventh day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">If one more OT told Santa to use a long handled shoehorn in his old age, he would lose his mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image is Santa saying “The shoehorn obsession is some bullshit.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FVkGflsKFUKWjJD-UiqEPp7_s9e4xW6-5sk7i5qqWVMEeRc0uKpu0vvpAptEsnuhombJS9IjxhSNsZsCFlQjVbK5LvRIW4CuvIdgJbA1GC9vZhKZ89prFNxkTdbuczWIrDSDGXDK5tI/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+Becky.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="With the holiday party gone virtual, Barbie could no longer use her wheelchair inaccessible dream house as an excuse to exclude the Misfit Toys. Image is a Zoom window featuring Spotted Elephant, Jelly Gun, Train with Square Wheels, Crying Doll, Socially Awkward Stuffed Animal (camera off), 1990s Token Wheelchair Friend Barbie (Becky), Lion with Wings, and Car with 3 Wheels. The chat box has a message from Becky: “Barbie really thought she was off the hook when they discontinued me for not fitting in her house. And then she has the nerve to befriend that new bitch in the sporty chair who can bump up stairs.”" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6FVkGflsKFUKWjJD-UiqEPp7_s9e4xW6-5sk7i5qqWVMEeRc0uKpu0vvpAptEsnuhombJS9IjxhSNsZsCFlQjVbK5LvRIW4CuvIdgJbA1GC9vZhKZ89prFNxkTdbuczWIrDSDGXDK5tI/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+Becky.jpg" title="Zoom Christmas party" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The eighth day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With the holiday party gone virtual, Barbie could no longer use her wheelchair inaccessible dream house as an excuse to exclude the Misfit Toys.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image is a Zoom window featuring Spotted Elephant, Jelly Gun, Train with Square Wheels, Crying Doll, Socially Awkward Stuffed Animal (camera off), <a href="http://www.thesqueakywheelchairblog.com/2014/04/access-denied-curious-case-of-becky.html" target="_blank">1990s Token Wheelchair Friend Barbie</a> (Becky), Lion with Wings, and Car with 3 Wheels. The chat box has a message from Becky: “Barbie really thought she was off the hook when they discontinued me for not fitting in her house. And then she has the nerve to befriend that new bitch in the sporty chair who can bump up stairs.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iCDOwt1xi7Rk_72gOCUk4nlB52itWQtFuSLG8XPlYAfFdSXbtXoESMJUxnnV3yQuMYQgjYemulaOmkocc-5CK5DxhjCQxMOT6YADrXxgkn-_ZUVFOMXRaBcNBF8NGuXGdzBTTIwtQo4/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+reindeer+pains.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The disabled reindeer hosted their own event alongside the Reindeer Games to vent about their aching bodies. Image is three reindeer under a banner that says “Reindeer Pains: the event for the rest of us.” Their respective speech bubbles say “My nerve pain is through the roof!”, “My arthritis gets worse each year!” and “Have you tried smoking mistletoe?”" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="495" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9iCDOwt1xi7Rk_72gOCUk4nlB52itWQtFuSLG8XPlYAfFdSXbtXoESMJUxnnV3yQuMYQgjYemulaOmkocc-5CK5DxhjCQxMOT6YADrXxgkn-_ZUVFOMXRaBcNBF8NGuXGdzBTTIwtQo4/w640-h495/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+reindeer+pains.jpg" title="Reindeer pains" width="640" /></a></b></div><b><br /> </b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The ninth day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The disabled reindeer hosted their own event alongside the Reindeer Games to vent about their aching bodies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image is three reindeer under a banner that says “Reindeer Pains: the event for the rest of us.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Their respective speech bubbles say “My nerve pain is through the roof!”, “My arthritis gets worse each year!” and “Have you tried smoking mistletoe?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFVupKY2H_pPGhIpIVJjY8B7AcLjv__-vDbNuiJIFpPl2MnW91gXA67NiBLHKtOJzfGF45th08j_hqnnCJjHxqxO-39aZoqvs2LjLXDM7Bn4r04BHZfqz3TiQf0NipOou1TVweU4wE5Y/s1154/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+Secret+Santa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pandemic Secret Santa" border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1154" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOFVupKY2H_pPGhIpIVJjY8B7AcLjv__-vDbNuiJIFpPl2MnW91gXA67NiBLHKtOJzfGF45th08j_hqnnCJjHxqxO-39aZoqvs2LjLXDM7Bn4r04BHZfqz3TiQf0NipOou1TVweU4wE5Y/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+Secret+Santa.jpg" title="The disabled co-worker’s Secret Santa gift of healthcare gloves was no longer mocked amid the pandemic. Image is a Zoom window of a virtual holiday party, featuring a wheelchair using figure and several upright stick figures." width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The tenth day of Christmas <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The disabled co-worker’s Secret Santa gift of healthcare gloves was no longer mocked amid the pandemic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image is a Zoom window of a virtual holiday party, featuring a wheelchair using figure and several upright stick figures.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBY-IkC0bdGNdmo8a_dd84c7I63s6fekKcXS2vwXxSDCwlBrFIS3s_4NVgsUwpRo_h0-rJU5ReV2Pk73B4-W0D3D_KuYnwvI2Vts5VFUKt_VR5LYDZkzvHzOp3Rrv6fSyx7Ta8hMEuiOU/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+gimpy+reindeer+squad.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="With the all-star squad in quarantine, the gimpy reindeer team had its moment to shine… Image is Santa pulled in a sleigh with reindeer, Gimpy, Achy, Limpy, and Wobbly. Santa says “Am I actually relying on CP spatial skills?”" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBY-IkC0bdGNdmo8a_dd84c7I63s6fekKcXS2vwXxSDCwlBrFIS3s_4NVgsUwpRo_h0-rJU5ReV2Pk73B4-W0D3D_KuYnwvI2Vts5VFUKt_VR5LYDZkzvHzOp3Rrv6fSyx7Ta8hMEuiOU/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+gimpy+reindeer+squad.jpg" title="Gimpy reindeer squad" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The eleventh day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">With the all-star squad in quarantine, the gimpy reindeer team had its moment to shine…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Image is Santa pulled in a sleigh with reindeer, Gimpy, Achy, Limpy, and Wobbly. Santa says “Am I actually relying on CP spatial skills?”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FdoB1R06C98EE6ThbiVwcORpmgGjaVH4wVWZGWHDnETBbNnqoySOY5xYfSWf1MU83OoioUA9fImMNa223QBvGVMfzpMoolhgP6DpyDj-R4Kd_5EFZ4_KybELZfnI9RhPTHAxv0kIpa8/s1650/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+adapted+toy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The overpriced adapted toy stirred some jealousy among the other gifts beneath the tree. Three wrapped gifts, two labeled “toy” and one labeled “fancy $100 adapted toy” sit beneath a tree. A speech bubble above one toy box says “She really thinks she’s hot shit.”" border="0" data-original-height="1275" data-original-width="1650" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1FdoB1R06C98EE6ThbiVwcORpmgGjaVH4wVWZGWHDnETBbNnqoySOY5xYfSWf1MU83OoioUA9fImMNa223QBvGVMfzpMoolhgP6DpyDj-R4Kd_5EFZ4_KybELZfnI9RhPTHAxv0kIpa8/w640-h494/Cripples+at+Christmas+2020+adapted+toy.jpg" title="Overpriced adapted toy" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The twelfth day of Christmas<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The overpriced adapted toy stirred some jealousy among the other gifts beneath the tree.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Three wrapped gifts, two labeled “toy” and one labeled “fancy $100 adapted toy” sit beneath a tree. A speech bubble above one toy box says “She really thinks she’s hot shit.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-42134835566761729252020-09-22T12:05:00.000-05:002020-09-22T12:05:02.136-05:00As a Disabled Woman and a Healthcare Consumer, I Beg You to Vote<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Today, September 22, 2020 is National Voter Registration Day. The upcoming election on November 3, 2020 is really important for many reasons, especially for me as a disabled voter. It can be tempting to feel like there is no purpose in voting or like it is impossible to change “the system.” But now is not the time for hopelessness—you matter, as does your right to vote, an opportunity for which our ancestors were willing to give their lives.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">As I cast my ballot this fall, healthcare will be at the forefront of my mind. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">This election will affect the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which expanded access to home and community- based services for people with disabilities like me through a provision called the <a href="https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/community-first-choice.html" style="color: #954f72;">Community First Choice Option</a> (CFCO). CFCO is a dense piece of policy but in summary, it makes it easier for states to offer assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) like bathing, dressing, and eating by prohibiting wait lists and requiring that eligibility criteria be the same for all diagnosis groups. The federal government gives more money to CFCO compliant states—in turn, these states have increased funding to keep folks like me out of nursing homes. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The ACA also <a href="https://www.kff.org/health-reform/state-indicator/state-activity-around-expanding-medicaid-under-the-affordable-care-act/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D" style="color: #954f72;">expands Medicaid in participating states to non-disabled adults</a>, many of whom have impairments, but still don’t meet the requirements to get Medicaid through government benefits like <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-11000.pdf" style="color: #954f72;">SSI.</a> The Medicaid expansion also helps non-disabled low-income adults whose jobs don’t provide insurance, those between jobs, and non-disabled adults who may not have access to employer coverage for other reasons (think people who stay home to care for a medically complex family member).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Finally, if you have been able to stay on parental insurance through age 26, you can thank the ACA. The fate of these policies could be on the line very soon—this is just one reason I vote!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Anyone who has read my work knows I am passionate about Medicaid advocacy. It doesn’t make me a lot of friends at parties (shocking, I know!), but my constant babble about Medicaid is warranted. For people with disabilities who need personal care assistance (hi! It’s me!) and for the increasing number of elders in need, Medicaid is a lifeline. Medicaid is the payer for long-term care expenses, which out of pocket would cost more than the average annual salary. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Three years ago, when I appeared in a video about Medicaid, internet trolls literally told me I deserved to die if I couldn’t pay for an aide. Others said if they were in a wheelchair, they would take a lethal injection and that knowing the expense of my disability, my parents should have aborted me. The truth that people think this way shook me to my core. But I would appear in the video again and bear the wounds inflicted by those comments again—because Medicaid matters that much to me and because this fight is bigger than my personal needs.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">In addition to long term care, did you know that <a href="https://www.frontlineeducation.com/blog/medicaid-special-education/" style="color: #954f72;">Medicaid provides funding for some special education services?</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Among Medicaid eligible students, <a href="https://khn.org/news/how-medicaid-became-a-go-to-funder-for-schools/" style="color: #954f72;">Medicaid provides funding for support services such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, counseling, and nursing.</a> Some districts use this funding to provide <a href="https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/parenting/a30520693/school-nurse-shortage/" style="color: #954f72;">school nurses</a>, which outrageously are not required! In total, Medicaid allocates about 4 billion dollars for special education services. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Clearly, there are dozens of issues in this election, but healthcare hits the closest to home for me. My point is that this election is about more than just a president. When you vote, you make choices about the future of a myriad of programs that affect real lives. And when you don’t vote, I hear that you don’t care. That really hurts.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">To find more information about voting in your state, including mail-in ballots due to COVID-19, check out this helpful guide: <a href="https://www.rockthevote.org/how-to-vote/" style="color: #954f72;">Rock the Vote! Voter Guide</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The polling place doesn’t have an accessible voting machine!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The accessible door is locked!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The poll worker is trying to pressure you not to use the accessible machine!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">The poll worker condescendingly suggests that your mom just push the buttons for you!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">If you’re having an accessibility issue, what should you do?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Know your rights: <a href="https://www.usa.gov/disability-rights#item-212487" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.usa.gov/disability-rights - item-212487</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Contact your local board of elections as soon as possible to report the problem: <a href="https://www.usa.gov/election-office" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.usa.gov/election-office</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Some states offer early voting, which is especially helpful to disabled voters who rely on services like paratransit. You can find out here if you can vote early: <a href="https://www.vote.org/early-voting-calendar/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.vote.org/early-voting-calendar/</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">There is so much at stake on November 3! If not for yourself, participate for me and for millions of Americans for whom these issues are not abstract. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Naming America’s injustices and demanding positive change does not mean you hate your country. It means you love her so much that you call on her to grow and you believe in her potential to become better. Most importantly, it means you love her enough to help her do so.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">VOTE.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">**For old times sake, here's 2017 me talking about Medicaid. Come at me, trolls... I'm stronger than you.**</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/DREDF.org/posts/video-with-captions-kathleen-downes-who-lives-with-cerebral-palsy-explains-what-/10155458498324099/" target="_blank">Kathleen Downes- Medicaid interview for Mic</a><br /></p>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-77622119258967039852020-07-09T19:22:00.002-05:002020-11-21T12:26:07.523-06:00What I'm Thinking About This Disability Pride Month<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
During this Disability Pride Month, I have spent many quiet hours thinking about what disability pride means to me. I wish I had a perfectly neat, simple, eloquent answer, but I don’t… because I don’t think disability is a neat, simple experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I used to feel pressured to hide the painful parts of my disabled existence, for fear that the non-disabled world would <i>only </i>see those painful experiences and assume that being disabled was full-stop miserable. But I’ve learned to acknowledge those painful, messy parts of my living in this body, because they are real and we as a community do ourselves a great disservice when we push away our pain. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, here goes. I am 27 years old and my body hurts every single day without exception. Cerebral palsy is literally in my bones. I imagine there’s some wacky calculation, like dog years (OK, I’m kidding!) to figure out the true age of my hips, which seem like they moved to the retirement community for chronically achy joints long ago. I carry both the physical scars of multiple surgeries and the invisible scars ground into the deepest parts of me by ableism.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can still see seventh grade me, the little girl in the red wheelchair who hid in the elevator before school rather than get stepped around, stepped over, or awkwardly placed at the only accessible lunch table that was otherwise used for detention.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can see the nurse’s aide, who when asked to help me to an inaccessible hospital bathroom replied that “this floor is for people who walk.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can see my middle school self, refusing to drink anything in the hopes that I could get home without peeing. My refusal was mostly about avoiding an abusive caregiver, but also about the fact that finding an accessible bathroom that fit a real powerchair, not an imaginary stick wheelchair, was basically impossible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can see that high school girl who felt invisible when she wasn’t invited to hang out with a non-disabled schoolmate after sixth grade until college.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And with me always is the reality of our collective disabled grief. Too many of my disabled friends, comrades, and community members have died, and while they leave behind incredible legacies, the brutal hurt of losing them from medical complications, from disease progression, or from the failure of care systems never ever fades. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Nor does the hurt of wrestling with the strange contradiction that sometimes the same disability that bonded us, that helped create a wildly beautiful human being also snatched that person from me too soon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All I know is that when non-disabled society marks their deaths by imagining them springing up from their wheelchairs and walking in the afterlife, I want to scream that they were perfect as they were. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s the constant fear that the long-term care system will fail me, that the patchwork “system” society has cobbled together to support us will no longer be enough and I will be taken from my community to an institution where I cannot make my own choices. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s the guilt in knowing that the above scenario is already the truth for too many people just like me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, where’s the pride in this? Being disabled sounds pretty hard. Well, it is. But we don’t talk enough about joy. The joy that’s specific to being disabled, the joy I wouldn’t know had I been given another reality. <o:p></o:p></div>
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To my disability, here are some of the things I love about you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love the community you gave me, the way I can spot a fellow wheelchair user and connect us in seconds, usually with fewer than six degrees of separation. My mom and I have a tongue-in-cheek (but only kind of!) routine where we see another wheelie in which we say, “OK, do we know them? Camp, PT, or doctor’s office…we must!” It’s a stereotype that we all know each other, but the secret’s out, we kind of do!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love the way you’ve taught me to embrace interdependence. You helped me realize early on that independence is the biggest lie ever told. We all need each other in some way and when the rest of the world can understand that, we will heal some of society’s most broken parts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love the way you’ve taught me to call bullshit when a well-meaning person declares that they “don’t see me as disabled.” Because anyone who doesn’t see me as disabled flat out doesn’t <i>see </i>me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I love that you’ve given me the privilege of laughing with “crip siblings” who lovingly accept my CP squeals and occasional accidental kicks when I’m very excited…the same people who make my tighter hand fly around wildly when I have a burst of emotion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I love the way you’ve helped me to know God. No, not in the corny “disabled children are special angels of Jesus just for existing” way. The God you’ve revealed to me is a hodge- podge God, too big to fit neatly into a strict set of religious rules. A loving God who already calls this disabled body glorified. A God who builds ramps to Heaven.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope that when people think of me they will call to mind my disabled joy and not just my struggles.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I accepted long ago that some people will always think less of me because I am disabled.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I do not have to think less of myself. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I am human and I do not love myself perfectly in every moment of the day. But still, the love is there, thriving inside of me in a society determined to make me hate myself. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That is what I’m proud of today, this month, and every day I am alive. That the joy of being disabled exists in me, alongside and wrapped together with the painful parts of living in a body deemed disposable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That joy is mine and no one can have it.<o:p></o:p></div>
The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-82496939726734108782020-03-18T15:38:00.000-05:002020-03-26T13:58:50.741-05:00In This Time of Quarantine, We Are Finding New Ways to End Social Isolation. When We Beat COVID-19, The Fight to End Social Isolation Must Continue<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
In these #Quarantimes, since the outbreak of COVID-19, I have been thinking a lot about the harms of social isolation. Since long before the outbreak, the consequences of isolation have been well-documented. Social isolation has been linked to health problems from depression to heart disease<a href="applewebdata://A363BC9E-9FC6-4B5B-8DB3-0013DBD6D225#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="color: #954f72;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a>. About 20% of U.S. adults report feeling isolated on a regular basis<a href="applewebdata://A363BC9E-9FC6-4B5B-8DB3-0013DBD6D225#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="color: #954f72;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></span></a>. One of the Grand Challenges of Social Work is to <a href="https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/eradicate-social-isolation/" style="color: #954f72;">eradicate social isolation</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The quarantine represents an especially intense version of isolation and we cannot downplay that fact, but some degree of separation from society is sadly, business as usual for too many people. For disabled folks and others living on the margins of society, social isolation is an ever-present reality. In other words, feeling left out and left behind, for us, is nothing new. A report by the organization Scope found 85% of disabled adults report feeling lonely<a href="applewebdata://A363BC9E-9FC6-4B5B-8DB3-0013DBD6D225#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="color: #954f72;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></span></span></a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As a person with cerebral palsy, I can certainly relate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Rigid care schedules make spontaneous meetups nearly impossible. Public transit is still off-limits for many wheelchair users faced with access barriers as well as for those with spatial and processing impairments that make trains and buses disorienting. For people who can’t go out without assistance, opportunities to leave the home may be restricted to the few hours of care covered by Medicaid. By the time routine tasks are completed, there may be no time in the shift left to go anywhere. Too many disabled people can’t find affordable, accessible housing and are literally trapped in inaccessible homes. The income restrictions placed on disabled recipients of benefit payments and Medicaid leave little extra cash for any “fun” social outings. We are old pros at self-entertaining and our non-disabled peers ought to take note.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am well-aware of my privilege within the disabled community. As a white, cisgender, straight woman with a stay-at-home parent who has devoted herself to making sure I’m part of the community, I am very fortunate. My father earns enough money to give us a comfortable life. I live in a safe, accessible house. I have an accessible van that I can use if someone drives it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And still, social isolation weighs heavily on my spirit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beginning in junior high, as my peers became able to go out without assistance, I got left behind. I don’t believe there was any malice, but rather a sense of being inconvenienced, as other kids (and other adults, for the matter) had little interest in seeking accessible spaces to hang out or in navigating my care needs. Most of my high school and junior high friends were others with disabilities who attended different schools, and the peak of socialization for me was my coveted session at summer camp and Friday night phone calls with friends in other schools about whose bus had the most notable screw up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was “lucky” that very few people outwardly bullied me in those days, but there was something nearly as horrible about feeling like I wasn’t even there. Often, remote socialization tools, like the phone and the now memorialized AIM chatroom, sustained me and reminded me who I am on days when I felt invisible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, at age 27, I still consider isolation to be the most difficult part of my disability. Too many people still can’t be bothered to get to know me. Grown adults, even those in social justice circles, frequently don’t seek accessible spaces or don’t invite me rather than make accommodations for my care needs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t expect everyone to create perfect disability access on the first shot, but I wish more folks would make a real effort. I can count on one hand the number of others’ homes I am able to visit because most homes are not built to be accessible and the government offers no financial support or incentives to make them so. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Paratransit is a notoriously good way to miss an event, mass transit in my area is largely inaccessible, and traveling is not logistically or financially possible at times because I must travel with a personal care assistant. I was very fortunate to live away at my university through a unique support program, but even there, the societal barriers that lend themselves to isolation were numerous. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Since I’ve moved back home, four surgeries in an 18- month period have caused me to joke to friends that I’m becoming a houseplant, climbing towards the light and occasionally sipping water. When it’s tough to get out and the world keeps moving around you, it’s amazing how quickly the texts dwindle, the calls stop, and you start to feel like a vague afterthought to some people. That said, the people who continually check in, send silly GIFs, and make a point to include me in their day mean more to me than they can possibly fathom. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As a disabled person, “virtual” connection is a lifeline. Facetime, snail mail, social media, and texting are the meat of my ability to be with others. This is especially true given that many of my friends are scattered around the state and the country, a large percentage of them also struggling to get out because of care schedules, finances, or failing health. Other than the glaringly obvious fact that everything is closed and we are all worried about the virus, my interactions with my friends are largely the same amid the pandemic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The difference? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Right now, people in mainstream society are collectively, actively looking for ways to break isolation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Facetime, texting, Snapchat filters that make me snort, and phone calls are suddenly the stars of everyone’s show. If anything positive is coming of this, it is that society is finally embracing more than one definition of togetherness… and making joyful, wonderful, much needed outlets for people who can’t leave their homes. I’m wondering what those who called my insistence on a virtual conference option in grad school “distracting” and “a lower quality form of engagement” are thinking now. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Do they realize that their dismissal of virtual interaction was rooted in ableism, classism, and privilege?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Think of the distance forms of connection made mainstream, made precious, in a matter of days.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have seen virtual concerts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Classes are popping up to <a href="https://www.gazettenet.com/online-resources-for-kids-33374119" style="color: #954f72;">learn a new skill online</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Broadway shows are being <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/pbs-offers-broadway-shows-as-theaters-close-over-coronavirus.html" style="color: #954f72;">streamed.<o:p></o:p></a></div>
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People are checking in “just because.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cheesy and beautiful <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8125003/Shut-neighbours-lift-spirits-singing-Carol-Kings-Youve-Got-Friend.html" style="color: #954f72;">mass sing -a-longs</a> are happening.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are finding new, inclusive ways to say <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/man-holds-sign-wife-nursing-home-67th-anniversary/story?id=69650869" style="color: #954f72;">“I love you”</a> to our fellow human beings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And I, a person who is regularly stuck in the house, can see quite plainly how many social and entertainment options are available to those facing isolation when each and every one of us makes a genuine effort to create them. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have ways to hang out with people that I have begged and prayed for on my loneliest days.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Why did it take a pandemic?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The point of this discussion is not to ask for your pity or set up an Olympics of who has it the worst. Nor is it to judge anyone who has overlooked people isolated on a regular basis.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Instead, it is to beg you to keep the innovation coming. When the pandemic ends, when we come out glorious survivors who have lived and loved in new ways, don’t stop fighting to bring people together.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Make virtual hangouts a regular option. Call on corporations to improve delivery services. Keep those online concerts, classes, and Facetime visits coming. Normalize virtual connection and give those tools to those who most need them the most. Check on your people. In these challenging times, we are coming together in new, meaningful ways to make sure everyone, everywhere knows that they are not alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we beat COVID-19, that doesn’t have to change.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="applewebdata://A363BC9E-9FC6-4B5B-8DB3-0013DBD6D225#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="color: #954f72;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a> National Institute on Aging (2019). Social isolation, loneliness in older people pose health risks. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/social-isolation-loneliness-older-people-pose-health-risks" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/social-isolation-loneliness-older-people-pose-health-risks</a> on 18 March 2020.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="applewebdata://A363BC9E-9FC6-4B5B-8DB3-0013DBD6D225#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="color: #954f72;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"> DiJulio, B, Hamel, L. and Brodle M. (2018). Loneliness and social isolation in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan: An international survey. Retrieved from <a href="https://www.kff.org/report-section/loneliness-and-social-isolation-in-the-united-states-the-united-kingdom-and-japan-an-international-survey-introduction/" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.kff.org/report-section/loneliness-and-social-isolation-in-the-united-states-the-united-kingdom-and-japan-an-international-survey-introduction/</a> on 18 March 2020<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<a href="applewebdata://A363BC9E-9FC6-4B5B-8DB3-0013DBD6D225#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="color: #954f72;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[3]</span></span></span></a> Bedei, C. (2019).How I deal with loneliness when my disability stops me from leaving the house. Retrieved from <i>Refinery 29 </i>at <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/loneliness-chronic-illness" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/loneliness-chronic-illness</a> on 18 March 2020.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4b-5atZn8a-hjepHUXswdoPHGLXZvTmgeNySl2HAzDdo3BYhW3eZsxkg-V-_g0zpmxBncGXTv6OTRvCa74hH5ITDpv9fQhRGD5ZaLyNwZSOSdytMmNLE5RTtzoLBFsodtGY5LBCPjOdw/s1600/E0B0ED20-7399-4A56-865F-035CE897400B.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Snapchat photo of me with a silly stretched out face and a caption that says "Meet My Work From Home Co-Worker" border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4b-5atZn8a-hjepHUXswdoPHGLXZvTmgeNySl2HAzDdo3BYhW3eZsxkg-V-_g0zpmxBncGXTv6OTRvCa74hH5ITDpv9fQhRGD5ZaLyNwZSOSdytMmNLE5RTtzoLBFsodtGY5LBCPjOdw/s320/E0B0ED20-7399-4A56-865F-035CE897400B.jpeg" title="Silly photo" width="179" /></a></div>
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Image: Snapchat photo of me with a silly stretched out face and a caption that says "Meet My Work From Home Co-Worker"</div>
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The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-73265526446600161072019-12-13T12:33:00.000-06:002019-12-19T18:32:15.655-06:00Cripples at Christmas Cartoons 2019<br />
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">The Cripples at Christmas collection 2019! I hope you enjoy and share with your friends. An image description is below each image</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 1: The wheelies asked NORAD to spend their resources tracking missing paratransit buses instead of Santa<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-YiIY2bRvljGKxbS2gYFKHETEHaOBdFGaXsWDZPt1iVsUNpngDNFk_vIMTd3j-vJW3anKpqfHgPQpNfeQCQNdL_HJknOXCWWurPRvPbnMmP7Q5coBmI8DvceuWaS7bPAtAnpsVMACDo/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+NORAD.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A letter says “Dear Santa, We know you’re coming but we can’t say the same about paratransit. Thus, we’ve asked NORAD to track them instead. Sincerely, Every Disabled Person Ever *NORAD= North American Aerospace Defense Command; they are the creators of a classic Santa tracker website" border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3-YiIY2bRvljGKxbS2gYFKHETEHaOBdFGaXsWDZPt1iVsUNpngDNFk_vIMTd3j-vJW3anKpqfHgPQpNfeQCQNdL_HJknOXCWWurPRvPbnMmP7Q5coBmI8DvceuWaS7bPAtAnpsVMACDo/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+NORAD.jpeg" title="NORAD cartoon" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">A letter says “Dear Santa, We know you’re coming but we can’t say the same about paratransit. Thus, we’ve asked NORAD to track them instead. Sincerely, Every Disabled Person Ever<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">*NORAD= North American Aerospace Defense Command; they are the creators of a classic Santa tracker website<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 2: Unlike the Christmas commercial in which a woman finds a new car waiting outside, the wheelie looked out the window to find a behemoth shipment of catheters</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaROFcN5mjSM6A8slwmd4iGeH9FlQUOKu0Z0iJUzJEWQ7SAMQzf2KNxjArCFI60jAA8QL7LbjOhYOqHOZh6JoJh6mgtsZKkLUykOTbSaj4ufhJYDyg0ywp6HnqJw-NxoPl73MeiQOKyHw/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+catheters.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A wheelchair user stick figure looks out the window by a Christmas tree and sees a large box with a bow from Coloplast, a catheter supplier. She says “OK, well, they put a bow on it at least.”" border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaROFcN5mjSM6A8slwmd4iGeH9FlQUOKu0Z0iJUzJEWQ7SAMQzf2KNxjArCFI60jAA8QL7LbjOhYOqHOZh6JoJh6mgtsZKkLUykOTbSaj4ufhJYDyg0ywp6HnqJw-NxoPl73MeiQOKyHw/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+catheters.jpeg" title="Catheter cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">A wheelchair user stick figure looks out the window by a Christmas tree and sees a large box with a bow from Coloplast, a catheter supplier. She says “OK, well, they put a bow on it at least.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 3: When he had to take Access-A-Ride to Whoville, a very late Grinch had to settle for stealing Easter…</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnrlTBOoMcJqLtAYhH_mN9h2wUVyEd-vUGgTdf3W9mo-xI2E1qyNFoQ7kFx1mHSoELTxHvMjaUEq8fjWmwJJBbj9haU9yujrLDrgfvH9QRBD0P98njrZDKshUhj1WdIIiIqKHfMWZU0Y/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Grinch.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Grinch stands near an Access-A-Ride bus and says “This has been really anti-climactic.”" border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWnrlTBOoMcJqLtAYhH_mN9h2wUVyEd-vUGgTdf3W9mo-xI2E1qyNFoQ7kFx1mHSoELTxHvMjaUEq8fjWmwJJBbj9haU9yujrLDrgfvH9QRBD0P98njrZDKshUhj1WdIIiIqKHfMWZU0Y/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Grinch.jpeg" title="Grinch cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The Grinch stands near an Access-A-Ride bus and says “This has been really anti-climactic.”</span><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 4: The “Aging with CP” grab bag was full of gifts nobody asked for…</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8_wv_EXttXYrWUJWjBkX-mFVVMfcyV8xbHb2DbkmHgO_Moxa45Ra8h2jXhwrZkbOfanpndmV_ChoRoIJYLGDDF0eqfW_l8_V0Ft6kMmGhyphenhyphenBn8Wr1O6uNHhZ_n2sW4ygmhGEFbMnWB-w/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Grab+Bag.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Three wheelie stick figures have speech bubbles. One says “I got arthritis in the grab bag!” The others say “I got scoliosis!” and “Hip dysplasia! I was hoping for a Starbucks card or at least a crappy box of candy! *CP= cerebral palsy" border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT8_wv_EXttXYrWUJWjBkX-mFVVMfcyV8xbHb2DbkmHgO_Moxa45Ra8h2jXhwrZkbOfanpndmV_ChoRoIJYLGDDF0eqfW_l8_V0Ft6kMmGhyphenhyphenBn8Wr1O6uNHhZ_n2sW4ygmhGEFbMnWB-w/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Grab+Bag.jpeg" title="Grab Bag cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Three wheelie stick figures have speech bubbles. One says “I got <a href="https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/understanding-arthritis/what-is-arthritis.php">arthritis</a> in the grab bag!” The others say “I got <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/scoliosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350716">scoliosis!</a>” and “<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hip-dysplasia/symptoms-causes/syc-20350209">Hip dysplasia!</a> I was hoping for a Starbucks card or at least a crappy box of candy!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">*CP= cerebral palsy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 5:</span><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">The chronic pain Christmas carolers serenaded the town with their hit song “Ow Christmas Tree.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsMT1zbcxE23yvs2vsAEpHxH0FzD3JdjnRFiTnt1SOx-ESs0yo5aPIj6DNa1FH3ZAyHsiLVwXA6KMfrtDp7k34pMLXluKfHJPLpmHpw_RgiKEbAZwCCl1GPKTyfTd9mdyeM25u5iQYhM/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+carolers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lyrics are surrounded by music notes, “Ow Christmas tree, ow Christmas tree, how achy are your branches!” A nearby wheelie says, “This song is a real pick me up!” " border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWsMT1zbcxE23yvs2vsAEpHxH0FzD3JdjnRFiTnt1SOx-ESs0yo5aPIj6DNa1FH3ZAyHsiLVwXA6KMfrtDp7k34pMLXluKfHJPLpmHpw_RgiKEbAZwCCl1GPKTyfTd9mdyeM25u5iQYhM/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+carolers.jpeg" title="Carolers cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Lyrics are surrounded by music notes, “<i>Ow Christmas tree, ow Christmas tree, how achy are your branches!” </i>A nearby wheelie says, “This song is a real pick me up!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Day 6: After taking a course in Disability Studies, the Misfit Toys realized they didn’t need to be rescued by Santa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNoa4G-nwEXxpzEWCJiYhFvRN1fc0QCF5vQf3Qp_xxCbge08BP1Gsr0X_chd9eJCnFqyYVA-EJRolS91Dj7hCif9RPVmSHYfgYRxXdHs3HXJqOi0B8m-b-tfJXIXkMEQGx-A4W2TIhso/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Misfit+Toys.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A train with square wheels says “The social model really rocked my world.” A spotted elephant remarks “Go ahead Santa! I already have plans for Christmas.” He holds a sign reading “Misfit and Proud!” " border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNoa4G-nwEXxpzEWCJiYhFvRN1fc0QCF5vQf3Qp_xxCbge08BP1Gsr0X_chd9eJCnFqyYVA-EJRolS91Dj7hCif9RPVmSHYfgYRxXdHs3HXJqOi0B8m-b-tfJXIXkMEQGx-A4W2TIhso/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Misfit+Toys.jpeg" title="Misfit Toys cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">A train with square wheels says “The social model really rocked my world.” A spotted elephant remarks “Go ahead Santa! I already have plans for Christmas.” He holds a sign reading “Misfit and Proud!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 7: And for another year, they argued. Were they Santa’s Elves or Santa’s People with Elfism?<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtflVh-o0kr6gS-Q4n_Ed8f4zCOT02lTR6itMigevMuxP_jx3rcsRMazWOtsuI9jl7dbRpnZFqPRgdMXauP7QaRgt7FTSXa8em4xtETAgzgh_D4k_BU8M8ePsSHbrtKKON6dz5feKB3U/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Elves.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An ambulatory elf wearing a hat stands in a group of similarly dressed figures, both ambulatory and wheeling. A wheeling elf sighs “Oh boy. Here we go again!” " border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGtflVh-o0kr6gS-Q4n_Ed8f4zCOT02lTR6itMigevMuxP_jx3rcsRMazWOtsuI9jl7dbRpnZFqPRgdMXauP7QaRgt7FTSXa8em4xtETAgzgh_D4k_BU8M8ePsSHbrtKKON6dz5feKB3U/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Elves.jpeg" title="Elf language cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">An ambulatory elf wearing a hat stands in a group of similarly dressed figures, both ambulatory and wheeling. A wheeling elf sighs “Oh boy. Here we go again!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 8: The durable medical equipment shop piece for the magical mantelpiece Christmas village didn’t sell as well as we’d hoped<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSqlmGwHgSFxlT2uT32ZYH6vLcUvZxIr6PqnAX3ghRq2tkQvYY8hA1FMHLHxP78wuuhTq-pP507PrCzK0aBrPPp1aF4iCySlk0H4BeQnh3S2lLGUeqO3iNbxqetNTPJkbcXskguH8Phs/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+DME.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A wheelchair user stick figure says “Come on! Nothing says Christmas like waiting for a backordered chair part.” They sit by a fireplace with stockings hung " border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSqlmGwHgSFxlT2uT32ZYH6vLcUvZxIr6PqnAX3ghRq2tkQvYY8hA1FMHLHxP78wuuhTq-pP507PrCzK0aBrPPp1aF4iCySlk0H4BeQnh3S2lLGUeqO3iNbxqetNTPJkbcXskguH8Phs/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+DME.jpeg" title="Christmas village cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">A wheelchair user stick figure says “Come on! Nothing says Christmas like waiting for a backordered chair part.” They sit by a fireplace with stockings hung<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 9: Eager to find a more inclusive name for the annual secret Santa exchange, the wheelies settled quickly on Gimpy Gifter<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Jmk1SzgV2JxTF4o20ivRsaDhfqn4HeszccZD_FPg-ZOmTC2sNvY7iWuDMJWBTjRUoxhLo_clcDlviSiYpfHedaOTlNSVfPpe5E1_XX2HBr93n3oRYPXjZKv8GyiI-sbkY-nAc-SGeC0/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Gimpy+Gifter.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A wheelchair user stick figure in a Santa hat holds a present. Another says excitedly “It really captures our essence! I don’t know why we waited so long to change the name.” " border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Jmk1SzgV2JxTF4o20ivRsaDhfqn4HeszccZD_FPg-ZOmTC2sNvY7iWuDMJWBTjRUoxhLo_clcDlviSiYpfHedaOTlNSVfPpe5E1_XX2HBr93n3oRYPXjZKv8GyiI-sbkY-nAc-SGeC0/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Gimpy+Gifter.jpeg" title="Gimpy Gifter cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">A wheelchair user stick figure in a Santa hat holds a present. Another says excitedly “It really captures our essence! I don’t know why we waited so long to change the name.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 10: The gingerbread man was left with a massive leg length discrepancy after the family dog bit off part of his leg…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6VL3lghAWDItgMfGCkI-VxhdoOkyyVYa1HoRCJ5Qb36MtuUVmMX-oVagbVjRmYrI4hnxCPW1S4IfEzE68CyXbS13BsnEoIy_6qXqA-I8HOfoGweCrVAwFcDv0aS9s-FMKw-a_TLZ0Y0/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Gingerbread+Man.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="One gingerbread person says “Ouch dude, we were supposed to be decorative.” A gingerbread man with a shortened leg replies “Oh well, I can get a shoe lift!”" border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6VL3lghAWDItgMfGCkI-VxhdoOkyyVYa1HoRCJ5Qb36MtuUVmMX-oVagbVjRmYrI4hnxCPW1S4IfEzE68CyXbS13BsnEoIy_6qXqA-I8HOfoGweCrVAwFcDv0aS9s-FMKw-a_TLZ0Y0/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Gingerbread+Man.jpeg" title="Leg length disprepancy cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">One gingerbread person says “Ouch dude, we were supposed to be decorative.” A gingerbread man with a shortened leg replies “Oh well, I can get a shoe lift!” A nearby chubby dog says “Yum.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 11: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Eager to get better health insurance, the Elf on the Shelf quit his job with Santa and began a new position surveilling SSI recipients<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyflIJbDIeJdavkbqZqEpHGVnD99u7M7N-IvPviMah4N54UTx9HyA6M95oCNWvn8s_JUvPxMfYV1VfCSroGSJMqq_IYrCHO7ykptjmwMsomdUo2l0tiwjqMNdM1MkX8RCBnOfjufS8o8/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Elf+on+Shelf.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt=" Two wheelchair user stick figures sit by a fireplace. A nosy Elf on the Shelf says “You made 5 cents! I’m telling!”" border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlyflIJbDIeJdavkbqZqEpHGVnD99u7M7N-IvPviMah4N54UTx9HyA6M95oCNWvn8s_JUvPxMfYV1VfCSroGSJMqq_IYrCHO7ykptjmwMsomdUo2l0tiwjqMNdM1MkX8RCBnOfjufS8o8/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+Elf+on+Shelf.jpeg" title="Elf on the Shelf cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Two wheelchair user stick figures sit by a fireplace. A nosy Elf on the Shelf says “You made 5 cents! I’m telling!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">Day 12: No one knew how to blow a New Year’s resolution quite like paratransit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIP8DLJrDXngDXlg9VSea2h0YK2wJv507lVhJG1UtjCn0aVWssU1dpEaBQGdr0vhkWC12TaYJ9wEm3oOyZmWn6_-Di3K9MLIfpAJW1RqjFHJK0moTssaZoCZnKpO8cftqnXmmh3USLFJs/s1600/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+New+Year.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A split image of 2 paratransit buses. One says “New Year’s Eve 2019” with the declaration I will be on time in the New Year. The other says “New Year’s Day 2020” with the heading Late" border="0" data-original-height="1203" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIP8DLJrDXngDXlg9VSea2h0YK2wJv507lVhJG1UtjCn0aVWssU1dpEaBQGdr0vhkWC12TaYJ9wEm3oOyZmWn6_-Di3K9MLIfpAJW1RqjFHJK0moTssaZoCZnKpO8cftqnXmmh3USLFJs/s640/Cripples+at+Christmas+2018+New+Year.jpeg" title="New Year's cartoon" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 18pt;">A split image of 2 paratransit buses. One says “New Year’s Eve 2019” with the declaration <i>I will be on time in the New Year. </i>The other says “New Year’s Day 2020” with the heading <i>Late<span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-87223312563440368352019-10-04T12:15:00.000-05:002019-10-04T12:43:01.012-05:00What Ableism Cannot Have<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"You are your own best thing."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>-Toni Morrison, Beloved</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am disabled and I am tired. Tired from the constant emotional, physical, and spiritual drain of ableism. I have been spending a great deal of time reflecting on the impact of ableism and what a full-time job it is to navigate a world that simply is not designed for disabled people. Ableism tries to convince people that the mere existence of our bodies is The Problem and sometimes it tries to con me in to believing that myself. But I don’t buy it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That’s not to say I am delighted 24/7 with all of my symptoms or that I never feel frustrated that my adductor muscle is trying to kill me. I have always subscribed to a nuanced combination of the <a href="http://www.artbeyondsight.org/dic/definition-of-disability-paradigm-change-and-ongoing-conversation/" style="color: #954f72;">medical model and social model</a> when it comes to disability, because some realities, like chronic pain, can’t be explained away by the environment. But ultimately, my disability is part of my life and has enriched my experiences beyond measure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism, on the other hand, is the great taker, and god, it breaks me some days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism takes away your trust that any given building will be accessible, because it allows for a world where so many aren’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism takes away your opportunity to go to the doctor and know that you will be treated with dignity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism allows institutions designed to “help” you to control your life, to think of you like an Orwellian “unperson” and worse, to make you feel like one, when you’re having a moment. And yet, you’re in their hands, because you still need your butt wiped today. I’d say you’re at their mercy, but there is no mercy there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism takes away a clear vision of your future, because you never know if the policies that hold up your life will be rearranged at the whim of a non-disabled politician.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism takes away going to an event with ease, because what if there’s a step the receptionist failed to mention? What if the elevator’s too small? What if the bathroom is the size of a closet? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes, ableism makes it feel easier to stay home. You’ll never forget the day you, as a child, gave up on field trips because the labor of making sure you could even fit through the doorway (which mostly fell on you) finally made you say “enough.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes, ableism takes friends, who suddenly fade away, lose interest when your needs are no longer convenient for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism takes away things before they were ever allowed to exist, like the certainty that you could go to a job interview and not be cast aside as an “undue burden.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like knowing that people you meet will even know how to look at you… or touch you, in a way that doesn’t involve healthcare gloves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism is greedy. Oh, it’s greedy, and there are days when it feels like it will consume you because it wants to take away so much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ableism’s final toxic victory is when it makes you hate yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I made myself a promise and I renew that promise today. Ableism may take what seems like everything, but it cannot have my sense of worth. No, that one thing is mine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If nothing else, let my life be a radical promise to love myself when you, ableism, have been relentless in your efforts to make that promise unravel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I falter, I fail, I have trying moments when my worth, that one precious thing, feels slippery in my grasp… but that, ableism, belongs to me and you cannot have it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqO30hgY8sKNjdMEPjR00sQ7SlafygkmV13UykiHV3hJNBbsfmhkcsana_i3xRUKXPNVhvjOvjiyrAstq_sEGZe29wNcTlNlfDKBVbaIL8TR4JefXcfnqS42XgB0-o0JQ2si8wCCpqtNU/s1600/20629258_10159130725155188_1665194131_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><b><img alt="Kathleen sitting in her wheelchair wearing a 3E Love shirt that says "Love" with a "wheelchair heart" as the O" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqO30hgY8sKNjdMEPjR00sQ7SlafygkmV13UykiHV3hJNBbsfmhkcsana_i3xRUKXPNVhvjOvjiyrAstq_sEGZe29wNcTlNlfDKBVbaIL8TR4JefXcfnqS42XgB0-o0JQ2si8wCCpqtNU/s400/20629258_10159130725155188_1665194131_o.jpg" title="Kathleen in her wheelchair" width="300" /></b></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Kathleen sitting in her wheelchair wearing a 3E Love shirt that says "Love" with a "wheelchair heart" as the O</b></td></tr>
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The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-86685663346238937682019-09-27T12:28:00.002-05:002023-05-31T19:52:39.099-05:00On Healing: 11 Months, 3 Surgeries, and Getting to Know My Body Again<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">I’ve said before that cerebral palsy (CP) isn’t progressive but <span><a href="http://www.thesqueakywheelchairblog.com/2017/06/cerebral-palsy-isnt-progressivebut-it.html">it kind of is</a></span>. While my experience is quite different than that of a person with a strictly degenerative disability, CP has proven to be an ever-changing experience and living in a disabled body requires quick adaptation to change. That’s something I wish had been an asterisk at the end of all the cheery paragraphs announcing that CP remains static over time. The cumulative impact of 26 years of spasticity is… noticeable. My muscles are engaged in overzealous pulling on my bones 24/7 in a series of what I call neurological drunk texts. And so,bones get pulled in weird directions, joints get creaky, and you find yourself thinking that if you went on a waterslide like you did at age 9, the remains of your aching spine would be floating somewhere in Hershey Park. CP quite simply is not the same from year to year or decade to decade. My once bendy knees now frozen at a barely right angle could tell you that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I don’t see my disability as the enemy and I know that it is deeply wrapped into who I’ve become. But living in a disabled body is exhausting. I often hesitate to admit it, for fear that a society seemingly allergic to nuance will then view my entire existence as horrible. But there, I said it. This is a tough gig. My body and I are constantly getting to know each other again. I have never seen this quite as plainly as I have this year, after having three surgeries in 11 months. Most recently, my right hip was reconstructed after trying to Houdini its way out of the socket. In order to avoid several unpleasant muscle lengthening procedures, my right femur was slightly shortened, leaving it a little more than 2 inches different in length than the left. Over the last few months, I have had to recalibrate my gait, welcome a metal plate into my bone, and begin exploring the world of shoe lifts. At present, until I finish shoe shopping, my only modified sneakers have an all-over colorful dog pattern that enthusiastically clashes with my clothes on a regular basis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All of this is to say that healing is an eye-opening, soul-opening, non-linear process that is humbling beyond words. After placing my whole self in so many clinical hands, so many gloved strangers who poke, prod, stretch, examine, and study my very being, it has been its own spiritual project to remind myself that this body still belongs to me and me alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I have lain awake for many nights, angry at my body for getting so twisty, so inflamed, so reminiscent of a grand old structure with a sign that says “closed for repairs.” I have spent just as many begging for its forgiveness. Sorry for the tubes and the IV pokes, for the dripping condescension of nurses’ aides too impatient for its slow, wobbly movements. But the miracle of this very human disabled body is it never <i>asks </i>for an apology. It shows up for work every single day, cradling my spirit and humming <i>I love you even when you don’t love me. </i>I try to pause for at least a moment each day to let the magnitude of that devotion sink in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And then I remind myself that I am not a fraud for saying I am proud of this body and simultaneously having flashes of resentment, grief, and impatience. Great love takes work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And healing continues long beyond the moment an incision settles in to a bodily constellation of scars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Adjusting to a changed disabled body is something of a rebirth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The first time we are born, we often ask later who was in the room the moment we came to be. I find myself considering that same question as I am born again, getting to know my too-short leg. My puffy stomach with the almost -magic red hole that <a href="http://www.thesqueakywheelchairblog.com/2019/03/i-can-pee-out-of-my-belly-or-my.html">lets me pee</a> on my own for the first time ever. The bulge where my infusion pump works to calm the omnipresent buzz of spasticity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The simple, literal answer is a lot of doctors and physical therapists. A lot of healthcare gloves and chuck sheets and that young man in the rehab hospital who spent the night shift scanning bladders… like the tooth fairy, but weirder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The bigger, metaphorical answer is one that leaves me full of awe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;">My rehab hospital roommate, who did not speak my language and yet, understood me and loved me. Who, as she adjusted to her own newly disabled body, taught me </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif">Baanu so a emmia</span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif">,</span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"> </span></i></span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;">“when two carry, it does not hurt.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">The friends who answered my late night texts as I sat pooping my brains out on a bedpan while watching <i>Password. </i>They assured me that this was, indeed, real life, and would one day make a good sh*t. I mean, skit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">My parents, who brought that impulse milkshake, held my hair when I barfed, and repeatedly showed me the kind of person I want to be.<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">All the people, who during a consuming existential breakdown about the ways our society treats disabled people like disposable goods, did not judge, chastise, minimize, or shame. They sat with my pain and they listened.<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">Those who answered with the right emoji when I told them I peed my sheets <i>again.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">A friend’s music that served as a kind of lullaby when I swung between crying because the world is so broken and crying because the lady who delivers the hospital brownies was just so <i>nice. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">A scrap of an Andrea Gibson poem that told me <i>there is life after survival.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">So many people and things and feelings were there, in the room. <o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
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<span face=""calibri" , sans-serif" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">And because of them, all of them, I am on my way.<o:p></o:p></span></span></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KjP2EiHp9iaQUgWG573-Cdns51pfJCTm0QSlxp5btbmDCJEmfvCxp8QvSSxph8ZGK3WaVbKMcBQmViss0X3n7A4DQg5SpXQ2iDp5-xSJd9J0S1wNgX1XA71wlLmgYCc-hKhrFd-u1xQ/s1600/IPQsplCQTsuWsn9udCJ6Vg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Image: Me smiling in my stander, fingers fanned on a tray" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5KjP2EiHp9iaQUgWG573-Cdns51pfJCTm0QSlxp5btbmDCJEmfvCxp8QvSSxph8ZGK3WaVbKMcBQmViss0X3n7A4DQg5SpXQ2iDp5-xSJd9J0S1wNgX1XA71wlLmgYCc-hKhrFd-u1xQ/s320/IPQsplCQTsuWsn9udCJ6Vg.jpg" title="Kathleen in her stander" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Me smiling in my stander, fingers fanned on a tray</td></tr>
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The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-36581850727574637002019-07-28T20:11:00.000-05:002019-07-29T07:51:12.057-05:00Happy Birthday, Americans with Disabilities Act!<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed on July 26, 1990, society changed for millions of disabled Americans. I wouldn’t even be born for 3 more years, but I like to think the many, many courageous activists and ordinary people who shared their stories in support of the ADA were smoothing out a path for me. It takes tremendous love to raise your voice and your fist for people yet unborn, for people you may never meet. That is what most moves me on this anniversary, that three years before my birth, Justin Dart, Ed Roberts, Judy Heumann, Bradley Lomax, and thousands of other lesser known but equally important fighters could already <i>see </i>me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so too, they could see a world where my wheelchair and I could get into restaurants, shops, office buildings, schools, and swimming pools. Where I could realize a once radical dream of going to a “mainstream” elementary school, high school, and eventually graduate school. Where people like us were no longer hidden away. To love someone that deeply simply because they are human is an incredible act of goodness for which I can never repay these warriors. But I will always try, with my words and with my actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the midst of the gratitude I feel for the tremendous progress of the last 29 years, it’s naïve to think that I am regarded today as a truly equal citizen. While my rights go as far back as the God that made me, on paper, they have been recognized for less than three decades. That should astound you, as it does me, knowing that disabled folks have been here since the dawn of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yet I know that a truly equitable society requires much more than a law. Structures with ramps and wide doorways and raised toilets mean so little if they are not paired with attitudes that not only accept us, but celebrate us. And I know too well that an attitude can’t be legislated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I still see people like me literally applauded for existing, because expectations for us are stunningly low. I still see the surprise when disabled folks are the best at anything, from singing, to dancing, to cooking, to <i>fill in any given activity</i>. Because “those people” are cute and all, but they’re not <i>really </i>supposed to be <i>good </i>at anything, are they? So many people want to click, “be inspired” and move on without ever really asking about (or listening to) the actual needs of disabled people. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The irony of this “post ADA” America is that a huge fraction of those “inspired” by disabled folks vote for policies that actively destroy our lives by defunding Medicaid, the only major payer of long-term care services that keep us out of nursing homes. They do little to disrupt the system of often unsanitary, unsafe nursing homes that snatch our freedom, because some of them think we belong there, whether they’ll say it out loud or not. And most probably do not know that I lie awake at night terrified that institutionalization will snatch me too. Because even with a loving family, the system is slanted towards putting us away. When bureaucrats quietly and without reason decide to grant disabled people insufficient home care services to survive, they often leave us no other choice but to be swallowed by the institutions that shape my deepest fears. I beg you to consider what it feels like to worry that I will be thrown away like those disposable straws we stubborn wheelfolk have insisted on keeping. (“Those people” don’t actually need to drink anything, do they?). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have, nearly three decades after the ADA, been told that it’s a shame that I’m disabled, because I’m very pretty. I have been told, in cheery tones, “I don’t even think of you as disabled!” as if ignoring a deep, essential part of me is a compliment. An instructor at one of the best universities in the country sneered that “people with disabilities are used to getting things on a silver platter” when I, as a lost, scared freshman asked for help finding a book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I have learned to reclaim the word <i>cripple </i>as a crisp, concise term of affection among disabled friends. It feels good to help a word used against us to evolve into one of love and power. And yet, I have also felt the sting of that word hurled as a slur out the window of a car full of fraternity brothers. That was some welcome back to campus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the time I was 13 years old, between the lack of accessible facilities and a psychologically abusive “caregiver,” I felt compelled to deny my body water, in the hope that I could just get home before I had to pee. In the cafeteria of my junior high, I’d sometimes wet my lips and spit the water back out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Do you know what that’s like to fear the very thing that makes up 60% of your being?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I still don’t see bodies that look like mine in movies and magazines. And when they do feature a person in a wheelchair, that person sits in a sporty wheelchair, has muscular arms, no sign of atrophy, no curved fingers, no sign of needing any physical help. That person does not reflect my reality. There are bigger fish to fry, yes, but frying <i>so many </i>fish, every single day, is exhausting as hell. Does the size of the fish really matter?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The architectural standards that are the meat of the ADA are frequently an afterthought, if they are a thought at all. I have never been able to ride the train at my local station. A nurse’s aide at a prestigious hospital told my mother, while stating that she didn’t lift, that the hospital floor was for “people who walk.” Except she didn’t say walk; she mimed walking, in a condescending manner I keep replaying in my head. Every time I see a character with a disability, I silently pray that the story won’t end in magic healing or suicide. I worry that one day when I die, someone will say “at least she’s walking in Heaven,” unaware that a Heaven in which I would not recognize myself is not a Heaven at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Did you know I almost wept the first time a non-disabled person asked me if I want children? It is so uncommon for anyone to see us as potential parents that I thought no one would ever ask. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And yet, I know that all of these struggles are infinitely more complex for my multiply marginalized siblings in the movement, disabled people who are black, brown, LGBTQ, undocumented.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On this 29<sup>th</sup>birthday of the ADA, we as disabled people must also consider the ways we have let each other down. To this day, within our own community, we build pointless hierarchies among ourselves, constantly debating who “has it hardest.” On at least a weekly basis, I hear physically disabled folks tout their lack of cognitive disability, as if our siblings with cognitive and psychiatric disabilities are somehow less worthy of respect. I still observe a disdain in our community for what I call “doubly disabled couples” as if having an able-bodied partner proves a superior kind of normalcy. Our community still centers disabled people that are white, heterosexual, cisgender, males, and as a person of privilege, I must do my best each day to make space for those our movement too often ignores. We split into harmful factions by disability type, forgetting that the enemy is ableism, not each other. We owe it to ourselves to have many difficult, necessary conversations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush declared, “let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” The truth is, the wall is <i>still </i>tumbling and won’t truly fall until our laws and our attitudes are truly grounded in intersectional disability justice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you’ve read this far, you perhaps think I’m “angry.” Maybe I am. Maybe we all should be. Because we are capable of so much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7Wu8J6tSwyRWrQ1sb_xYr5z_07dpllN-pUt7epWmY-bHPyEXQrEvFqgNoFGU0NHqoPsBxyatmfFwc1DWzniBbp95Q7OJL_k15DjeRDz_y42tAz-Dv7wSP8us5spl_ZKgrz9ywULE0-s/s1600/IMG_0567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb7Wu8J6tSwyRWrQ1sb_xYr5z_07dpllN-pUt7epWmY-bHPyEXQrEvFqgNoFGU0NHqoPsBxyatmfFwc1DWzniBbp95Q7OJL_k15DjeRDz_y42tAz-Dv7wSP8us5spl_ZKgrz9ywULE0-s/s320/IMG_0567.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-size: large;">Image: Kathleen wearing a blue "disability power" shirt designed by her friend Cole Anderson. She is seated in a wheelchair with a fist extended upward in front of an "I love NY" logo.</span></o:p></div>
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The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-20413909748817344672019-03-15T16:15:00.002-05:002022-01-26T16:39:29.874-06:00I Can Pee Out Of My Belly (Or, My Mitrofanoff Surgery)!<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Anyone who knows me can tell you that in my world, “let’s share a fun fact!” is roughly equivalent to “let’s take a field trip to hell on a paratransit bus!” Oh, wait. That’s redundant. Anyway, fun facts are usually shared in circles of sweaty, anxious people at an office retreat who are all silently wondering if there are free bagels at the end, playing with their cheery “Hello my name is stickers” and counting the minutes until they can release the farts they’ve been holding back for the duration of this forced bonding experience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It’s a timeless struggle that takes courage, wit and character—coming up with a tidbit about yourself that is not too dry, but not too weird. In these times of trial, you will likely identify a random woman from another department whose name you will never recall, but for reasons unknown you will always remember that her “personality animal” is a wallaby—a piece of information that does exactly nothing for your professional growth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, friends, before you die just thinking about fun fact circles, today I am sharing a fun fact about myself that I think is pretty neat: I can pee out of my belly! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">How? I recently had a bladder surgery called the <a href="http://www.columbiaurology.org/mitrofanoff-procedure" style="color: #954f72;">Mitrofanoff procedure</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Mitrofanoff procedure, in a nutshell, involves the creation of a channel between the bladder and the surface of my skin. The channel is created using an unlikely hero, the appendix, which has been repurposed from uncool, rejected vestige organ to nifty pee tunnel. I am overjoyed that my appendix finally has its moment to shine. It told the others it would be famous one day! The opening on my belly is called a stoma and looks like a tiny red circle. As I have full sensation in my body, I can feel the urge to pee and can drain my urine from the channel using a small tube called a catheter. When I feel like I need to go, I insert the catheter into the stoma and my urine flows through the tube into a small plastic bag, which is torn open and emptied into the toilet. When I’m done, I throw away the catheter and the bag and go on my merry way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let’s backtrack some. What prompted my appendix to have an overdue rise to glory? In short, due to my disability, I can’t transfer to the toilet independently. That means a lot of waiting around and wiggling while waiting for an assistant, a lot of pee anxiety, and about 43213421 people seeing me sans pants. While my struggle has supplied me with enough tragedies turned darkly hilarious stories for two lifetimes, it is tremendously difficult to depend on others for such an important task. If I wanted to go out alone, I had to dehydrate myself, carefully planning my (painfully minimal) fluid intake around literally everything. I knew that if I made one wrong move, I could wind up stranded amid what I like to call a peemergency. Even when I have an assistant, transferring is effortful and my trip to the bathroom can easily take double the time it would take a typically mobile person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, my bladder is a tough customer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have neurogenic bladder, meaning that my brain and bladder are basically drunk texting each other. Typically, when a person <a href="https://www.visiblebody.com/learn/urinary/urine-storage-and-elimination" style="color: #954f72;">pees</a>, the detrusor muscle contracts and the sphincter muscles relax. My detrusor and sphincter muscles are out of sync. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">This means that even if really need to go, the muscle will often refuse to release urine and I will be killing time on the toilet for what feels like a century.</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Between feeling tethered to other people because of pee drama and a lack of muscular cooperation, I felt like my bladder was controlling my life. The dehydration I experienced on a regular basis was endangering my health and I no longer wanted to choose between independence and having a drink with lunch. I realized how wrong it all felt last winter when drinking a full Snapple at a friend’s house seemed forbidden and foolish. Snapple fact: something had to change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In order to be a candidate for the </span><a href="https://craighospital.org/resources/mitrofanoff-procedure" style="color: #954f72;">Mitrofanoff surgery</a><span style="font-size: large;">, one’s bladder must have certain characteristics. Specifically, it must be able to hold a certain amount of urine without leaking or refluxing into the kidneys. If one’s bladder is not able to hold a sufficient amount, it can be enlarged with an additional procedure called a </span><a href="http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/urology/BladderAugmentation.pdf">bladder augmentation,</a><span style="font-size: large;"> which augments the bladder with tissue from the bowel. In my case, I did not need an augmentation, because as the urologist put so eloquently, “you have a really big bladder.” I’ll be adding this special trait to my resumé, as I’m sure it is prized by employers worldwide. The “biography of my bladder,” as I like to call it, was determined using three presurgical tests: </span><a href="https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/renal-ultrasound.html?WT.ac=ctg" style="color: #954f72;">a kidney bladder ultrasound</a><span style="font-size: large;">, </span><a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/15684-urodynamic-testing" style="color: #954f72;">a urodynamics study</a><span style="font-size: large;">, and </span><a href="https://www.urologyhealth.org/urologic-conditions/cystoscopy" style="color: #954f72;">a cystoscopy</a><span style="font-size: large;">. While not pleasant, this testing is normally fairly painless. However, due to my extreme muscle tightness (thanks, cerebral palsy!), the tests were more uncomfortable for me. Both my urologist and her urodynamics tech deserve a Nobel Pee Prize for their patience during our daunting quest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The surgery occurred on December 4<sup>th</sup>, so I am roughly 3 months healed. I spent four days in the hospital and at the beginning of the saga, there were lots of tubes up in my business, which drained my bladder and allowed it to heal. One entered my urethra, draining urine from below. The other held open the new channel, allowing it to heal sufficiently before use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For 17 days, I had both tubes in. Having a large tube shoved all up in your business is no joke. My body treated the tube like an uninvited guest and spasmed regularly as a result. Bladder spasms feel like someone is squeezing your bladder ruthlessly and pushing out little bits of pee. There’s nothing like pausing midsentence and explaining that your bladder is currently having a complete temper tantrum. When the urethral tube was removed, I rejoiced. For the next 18 days, my urine was drained from the smaller tube holding my channel open into a bag while the channel continued to heal. Healing is hard work! On January 8<sup>th</sup>, the final tube was removed and at last, my new channel was ready to use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wish I could say there was triumphant music playing, my hands were ever nimble, and the first cath through my Mitrofanoff was a first prize success…. but that would be a boring story. The truth is, when I was first de-tubed, my bladder was so unaccustomed to fullness after weeks on a bag that I expertly…leaked from below and peed my pants before I could get the catheter into my stoma. I can still pee “the old-fashioned way” on a toilet (if this is possible depends on an individual’s bladder characteristics), so if I don’t cath quickly enough, I will still pee my pants, another lifelong talent. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif">An infection meant the belly tube went in for another 7 days. On January 22, after trying 42,000 catheter types and making lots of remarks that sound like innuendos in the process (“too stiff!” “too slippery!” “too long!”) I cathed without help for the first time. In that moment, I felt like I won the lottery *envisions catheter selection show in the style of</span><span face=""calibri" , sans-serif"> </span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The Bachelor*.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Getting the hang of catheterizing myself and getting my bladder muscles back to work after being on “vacation” has been a long, sore, wild process. You find out who your people are when you’re peeing your sheets and receiving emails from the chuck sheet company encouraging you to take a quiz about which color diaper matches your personality (yes, really…and I know you were curious, so, purple!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Image of a peelightful quiz from the chuck sheet company that determines your personality diaper....yes, that's a thing. How's <i>that</i> for an icebreaker?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> I am forever grateful to all of those people. You are the real MVPees. It hasn’t been rainbows and butterflies (mostly just pee. Lots of pee), but all the tears, tubes, and WTF moments have been worth it! For the first time in my life, I can pee independently, a dream I never thought would come true. Going into a bathroom alone feels mighty weird and mighty amazing. Bathrooms remain labyrinths of accessibility fails from heavy doors like this one:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">[Video of me trying to open a door</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">transcript: "Oh look, another door I can't open! I love these!"]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">to tiny stalls and fruitless searches for a garbage can to dispose of my catheters. But it feels indescribably good to have more freedom (peedom?) and privacy as I navigate life on wheels. I still pee the “regular way” once a day or so for nostalgia’s sake and re-strengthening my muscles is a work in progress. So is telling my dog that it’s not cool to run away with used catheters from my trash can. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Image of Dolly, my white floof dog, trash diving</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But I am getting there, and enjoying lots of water along the way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">P(ee)S: The use of the word “journey” evokes images of a corny Hallmark special<i>. </i>In the interest of avoiding the accompanying cringe, let’s call this recovery my pee-venture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">I hope that by sharing my story I have helped fight stigma around bladder issues and been a resource to those exploring bladder management options. Have questions? Feel free to contact me on the message form. Please note that specific medical concerns should be directed to a urologist who can help you decide if a Mitrofanoff is right for you.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-85344567869864708822019-02-16T13:35:00.000-06:002019-03-15T16:16:15.438-05:00Disability Is Hard: On Giving Ourselves Permission to Name Our Pain<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">I’m going to throw it out there—something that almost feels impermissible as it rolls off my tongue, clacks on my keyboard…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>disability is hard</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There, I said it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That is not an invitation for others to assume that my life is worthless, to assume that “disabled” is a bad word, or to assume that I think I need to be “fixed.” I have said many times over that I am proud to be disabled and I’m not lying. My disabled identity has infused perspective in my life that shores up my being as much as my bones. The people and experiences given to me because of my disability are sacred. But in the ongoing battle to have the non-disabled world recognize our value, and to recognize that so many of our obstacles are man-made, we disabled folks often deny ourselves (and others) the right to communicate our struggles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, even the most disability positive people are allowed to have moments and days when having a disability…well…doesn’t feel awesome. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the time you have reached this sentence, some of you will have branded me with one of those dreaded adjectives: ableist, self-loathing, bitter. Maybe you will even call me the reason why so many non-disabled people see us as pity objects and not as whole people. But I <i>am </i>a whole person and that is why I am writing my whole truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am at peace with my body. Its remarkable ability to adapt, to find its own way of doing things often leaves me in awe. I don’t want to hide my surgical scars. I am fond of the way my left hand fingers fan slightly off to the side. My strange circuitry, the overzealous puppeteer of my muscles, is beautiful in its own way. But it is OK too, to lament that my joints ache far more than they should at age 26. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am allowed to wish that my hip would just cooperate, to wonder what the jaunty movements of my non-disabled peers might feel like. To believe firmly in the disability rights movement and the fight for accessibility and also, to long some mornings, for the ease of popping nonchalantly into an inconspicuous non-adapted car. And oh, would it be grand sometimes to take an easy shower that felt like a quick task and not an event. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course I have moments of envy towards people who can dress and shave and wipe their butts without the gaze of 4234652 gloved attendants. I often want to scream at those people… <i>what does real privacy feel like?<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"> Is it carefree as it seems to pass by a nursing home in your 20s and not feel like it’s just a lucky break that you don’t live there? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">What is it like for your bones to have a youth?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am every bit the person I was meant to be and every bit grateful for that. But it shouldn’t feel forbidden to have “bad disability days” or to wring my hands occasionally and say, “This just sucks.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because disability is good and bad, easy and hard, ugly and beautiful…so much like life itself. And we owe each other, as disabled folks, the space and grace to say so without judgment. Similarly, our non-disabled peers owe us the chance to acknowledge moments of pain without dismissing our lives as wholly terrible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I love my disabled self. But it is not a perfect love. It’s a love that needs work. That’s big and real and brave, but also cracked and wounded. That feels shameful to say, but one day it won’t.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am learning.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3287942833314297300.post-24630400062341982752018-12-14T16:01:00.001-06:002018-12-14T16:01:37.799-06:00Crippled At Christmas Cartoons 2018<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Happy holidays from the annual poorly drawn crew of crippled Christmas cronies! You have permission to laugh with them and at them. I won't tell. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">[An image description is below each cartoon]</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKx3yxUYkJ1QF1T7BHjvO7QW0cw0XKkc_Bh-008CN1zrExw92ktMVqWvxp3-czYAmIOLb5hwKq2T9cAVmusfssd0Z6vqHrCm6qnNoF9y302rB__CMonYHJ1zIGAjZA5Tqfgu4QsLNxFOk/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+leg+lamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKx3yxUYkJ1QF1T7BHjvO7QW0cw0XKkc_Bh-008CN1zrExw92ktMVqWvxp3-czYAmIOLb5hwKq2T9cAVmusfssd0Z6vqHrCm6qnNoF9y302rB__CMonYHJ1zIGAjZA5Tqfgu4QsLNxFOk/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+leg+lamp.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To attract disabled customers, the famed leg lamp now came with an add on leg brace for $6000 extra. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: A large box reads, “Fragile. ‘Now with overpriced leg brace!’” An ambulatory stick figure and a wheelchair using stick figure are nearby. The wheelie’s speech bubble says, “Fra-gee-lay. Must be that fancy Italian leg brace.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8idnKTZXB9AG3sswIiB-fJvmgXF8u3jFuBgyTy7tRh4CTJdETRLydRuhLvDt8BB43zBgv2vybwfFiDqSJxOGDGId9SyaUkBNyTUvpAp9p8rT1B1kxQ3-e6WtiSJPiAJMVQtr3gZpkm7I/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+polar+express.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8idnKTZXB9AG3sswIiB-fJvmgXF8u3jFuBgyTy7tRh4CTJdETRLydRuhLvDt8BB43zBgv2vybwfFiDqSJxOGDGId9SyaUkBNyTUvpAp9p8rT1B1kxQ3-e6WtiSJPiAJMVQtr3gZpkm7I/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+polar+express.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another year and the Polar Express had only one accessible stop…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: A train marked Polar Express passes by a stick figure in a wheelchair who says “I am so not feeling the magic.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTV9haZ-IUO0vCmq1q2R-OtxRs11xXmDh5SlxBjvtAfM5fcftZUCYB0f5FqAhCSynpBFZwI9sd0Rj_wU6ArlZtaOy1_4JH0-TTuEw_2qgvvWId66G2Kj39y6hv6FnC2d5v9qbBYRUW28/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+mistletoe14122018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgTV9haZ-IUO0vCmq1q2R-OtxRs11xXmDh5SlxBjvtAfM5fcftZUCYB0f5FqAhCSynpBFZwI9sd0Rj_wU6ArlZtaOy1_4JH0-TTuEw_2qgvvWId66G2Kj39y6hv6FnC2d5v9qbBYRUW28/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+mistletoe14122018.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The SSA began monitoring the mistletoe, eager to slash the benefits of any SSI beneficiaries who acted too <a href="https://ici.umn.edu/products/impact/232/22.html">married</a>… <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: Two wheelie stick figures face one another beneath a mistletoe plant. A sign above the mistletoe says, “We see you when you’re sleeping.” One figure says “Something seems creepy about this mistletoe.” The other replies “I can practically hear my check being reduced if we kiss.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">SSA= Social Security Administration SSI= Supplemental Security Income<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_o8sSgr8ZnSoJ5NurJWGB7czuRHmn7opEM3jmOQoq19Kw8kAMs1Yy5uli7SS9ga8av-Pe59sc6HxvqjOp97rIVU8DV3AUb1_W-Fi7T4xxE2MxWumLEK53nmFlCyGicq3ZOihXxFPgoWM/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+NYE+hot+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_o8sSgr8ZnSoJ5NurJWGB7czuRHmn7opEM3jmOQoq19Kw8kAMs1Yy5uli7SS9ga8av-Pe59sc6HxvqjOp97rIVU8DV3AUb1_W-Fi7T4xxE2MxWumLEK53nmFlCyGicq3ZOihXxFPgoWM/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+NYE+hot+dog.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The “cost of living” adjustment at Social Security allowed the SSI recipients to buy exactly one more pig in a blanket for the New Year’s Party…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: Three stick figure wheelies wear party hats, looking on at an extra hot dog. The extra hot dog has a caption above it reading “Generously funded by the SSA.” One figure says, “Yes, singular. Now who gets it?” Another replies, “I don’t know, dude! I mean, they said mustard counts as a resource!”</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCTChObbVHDsAj7zOGvPImXz1gobO-sUo5VNGcX6lUlYUxf8hzUrH03lHauDCeFYkOX2aGSIchO83wQsAoXlJt8ys3BXS0pGPgibql7i5iTftJRlc4He5un57QlYnjBgI4tpfgQEb6lI/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+artificial+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCTChObbVHDsAj7zOGvPImXz1gobO-sUo5VNGcX6lUlYUxf8hzUrH03lHauDCeFYkOX2aGSIchO83wQsAoXlJt8ys3BXS0pGPgibql7i5iTftJRlc4He5un57QlYnjBgI4tpfgQEb6lI/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+artificial+tree.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The artificial tree struggled to find belonging…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: An artificial Christmas tree is in the corner, as “real trees” hurl insults such as “You can’t sit with us!” and “Ew. Look at that loser from Home Depot!” The artificial tree says “Come on, girls! I was born like this! Artificial tree limbs are not as different as you think!” A nearby sign reads “This celebration welcomes trees with disabilities!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTh433lU1V1EzpVP4Z7VvDiSkybSoCCcbij6m6RKcGGHW36OdZG8E6-Bz0HwhG-a-WCg6cZvX1tVzfMqp2gf3Xh8HFX-HCZwxINPFjXwXUZDrci2PNOxzHHC2pI3QLEbb_-tTAm5XmqY/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+adjustable+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibTh433lU1V1EzpVP4Z7VvDiSkybSoCCcbij6m6RKcGGHW36OdZG8E6-Bz0HwhG-a-WCg6cZvX1tVzfMqp2gf3Xh8HFX-HCZwxINPFjXwXUZDrci2PNOxzHHC2pI3QLEbb_-tTAm5XmqY/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+adjustable+table.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Despite the <i>Enabling Elves Employment Campaign (!), </i>the wheelie elves could not work because the accessible workstation went to the South Pole on a clerical error. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: Santa says, “Sorry, boys; can I offer you a gum drop (limit 1 per elf) for your trouble?” Two stick figure wheelchair users are nearby, wearing elf hats. One exclaims, “Damn it. We ordered the table 6 months ago!” Meanwhile, a banner boasts “Santa’s Workshop-Celebrating Disability Employment!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu-W5K4Ai42w9TGb62dqp6Zt5CLH8kVgNkK0y8bxGRsmiRQ7-YPk2LSIDxEFsg-vto-mR9r7fXI8r4kKD6LTDHXiGHPhkEXVXEAMOdqkmxqKuT6RgxvQxGtnE6Bxe2R_ub_d1QG4QKeQ/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+CP+Barbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnu-W5K4Ai42w9TGb62dqp6Zt5CLH8kVgNkK0y8bxGRsmiRQ7-YPk2LSIDxEFsg-vto-mR9r7fXI8r4kKD6LTDHXiGHPhkEXVXEAMOdqkmxqKuT6RgxvQxGtnE6Bxe2R_ub_d1QG4QKeQ/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+CP+Barbie.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The marketing department was confused as to why CP Barbie wasn’t a Christmas toy craze…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: A flyer reads, “Order today! She complains about arthritis! Realistic popping in hip and knee joints! Wheelchair footplates break from high muscle tone…just like in real life!” A wheelchair user stick figure says, “Hmmm…really thought the sparkly pink Medicaid card replica would draw the kids!”</span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH13rW0qKDoCLxNyTRbscoG9v5ThikVvo1GqfAUfTy7WRJNDMvcZ277XfnmiYWRgXdm-4d3gj9MrPZgm_qtBn5pugBKiNfY4GOVEtNvytfofrWVxFZzYHRnq5SCPxXvfjod0rvqP1kDRk/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+straw+shaming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH13rW0qKDoCLxNyTRbscoG9v5ThikVvo1GqfAUfTy7WRJNDMvcZ277XfnmiYWRgXdm-4d3gj9MrPZgm_qtBn5pugBKiNfY4GOVEtNvytfofrWVxFZzYHRnq5SCPxXvfjod0rvqP1kDRk/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+straw+shaming.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Disabled Santa really loathed the rise of straw shaming…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: A stick figure in a wheelchair wearing a Santa hat sits in front of a table with cookies and a glass of milk, no straw, and a nearby Christmas tree. He exclaims, “You try drinking 52568727438 glasses of milk without a straw! I dare you!” He continues, “Damn it, Rudolph. Already told you the metal ones stab me when I startle!” Rudolph, nearby, says indignantly, “But Santa, I read it in <i>Unsolicited Straw Advice From Non-Disabled People</i>! It’s a bestseller!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82etQKnjew-LGbEZIOlEdhGEs1ljDe8U9nWqhj6AkQ1VhvoL6F0CRt1HM-Qez6R7H38vyfbkQ3upjxeelRsWHCt0uUnf-4E0hXvk7WtJhqQLqYch0_KTUCsYcQKCZ8GN6ogzLI5qrNZU/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+Virginia+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi82etQKnjew-LGbEZIOlEdhGEs1ljDe8U9nWqhj6AkQ1VhvoL6F0CRt1HM-Qez6R7H38vyfbkQ3upjxeelRsWHCt0uUnf-4E0hXvk7WtJhqQLqYch0_KTUCsYcQKCZ8GN6ogzLI5qrNZU/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+Virginia+.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After Virginia established that Santa was real, she had other questions…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: A letter reads, “Dear Santa, Is an on-time Access A Ride real?” Santa says, “Sh*t! I hate to break a kid’s heart!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">“The stockings were hung from the chimney with care, at a height friendly to St. Nick’s brand new chair.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: Pictured is a Christmas tree and a fireplace with stockings hanging. One handle on each side of the fireplace says, “pull to adjust.” Santa, drawn as a wheelie stick figure in a Santa hat, says “It’s about time they got height adjustable fireplaces! Finally, someone realizes I’m aging!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In light of declining mobility, the partridge in the pear tree set his sights on the accessible housing lottery…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: The partridge sits on a branch in his pear tree. A stick figure below says “Well, sir. Feel free to apply. The wait list for accessible units is only 67543 years long. Just make sure you meet the income limits, and be mindful that the rent will be raised should you cohabitate with the pears.” The partridge replies, “Well, f*!*” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOh2PjzsDYs71DOUhWwvCxFFG81-WGCPUaLsbujQ7UAk9DaBvMlxaYicxQyPBnMx4hqny8OT1Wry4fHmRjr5iWkog2CTFJtebzPk1ObKhHb510bZC-D3fotIwD3v07lbdxhhjfkel2mNs/s1600/Christmas+cartoon+2018+cookie+exchange.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1229" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOh2PjzsDYs71DOUhWwvCxFFG81-WGCPUaLsbujQ7UAk9DaBvMlxaYicxQyPBnMx4hqny8OT1Wry4fHmRjr5iWkog2CTFJtebzPk1ObKhHb510bZC-D3fotIwD3v07lbdxhhjfkel2mNs/s640/Christmas+cartoon+2018+cookie+exchange.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The wheelie was very confused when her cleverly themed cookies were not appreciated at the office cookie exchange…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Image: A group of ambulatory, non-disabled stick figures stands by. One says, “OK, the chocolate chip baclofen pump cookie was a little over the top. Another says, “I felt similarly awkward about the shortbread crutches.” The wheelchair user stick figure, dejected, says, “I made them myself! Thought they’d be a hit.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>The Squeaky Wheelchairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10258307435726974408noreply@blogger.com4