Sep 30, 2015 | caregivers, compassion, empowering language, Helping people with disabilities, how to help, Independence, overcoming challenges |
Joshua Gorenflo is one of my current caregivers. He doesn’t fit the mold of who I usually hire. He is 29 years old and married to a wonderful woman named Jenny. He has a degree in Christian ministry. He is also one of the most genuinely compassionate human beings I...
Aug 21, 2015 | Get To Know Me, how to help, Making Changes, Starting Over |
When I decided to enter the Ms. Wheelchair Kansas pageant in 2007, part of the application process was to come up with a platform. If I was crowned, what did I want my message to be? What did I want people to take away from our interactions during that year?...
Jul 14, 2015 | blogging, how to help, inclusion, Kids, lessons from blogging, Walking |
Midsummer of 1990 was a transitional time for me. I had just lost a job that didn’t work out, moved home with my parents for a while and was getting ready to start a Master’s degree program a few months later. I was restless. Knowing my interests but not quite what...
Jun 3, 2015 | Ableism, communicating respect, compassion, doctors, emergency room, hospitals, how to help, medical emergencies |
Nobody likes to experience emotions that can be negative. Anger, frustration, overwhelm. I can’t think of anyone who feels those things while having a good time. But there is one emotion that I don’t like to experience more than any of the others combined. I don’t...
Nov 5, 2014 | Attitudes, changing perspectives, communicating respect, disability etiquette, Education, empowering language, how to help, Irony, Kids, negative perceptions |
I can do something most people can’t. I can be part of a magic trick. Many might think that is kind of cool, but I hate it. Well, that isn’t exactly accurate. I will paint a clearer picture. If Take my aversion to lima beans and black olives. and then...
Aug 10, 2013 | Attitudes, caregivers, changing perspectives, Dancing, Disabilitiy, Friends, Getting to know people, Helping people with disabilities, how to help, Lessons, What some people don't think about, wheelchair dancing |
It was definitely one of my “disability” days, the kind I struggle with a little more often than I would like. When I dropped something on the floor, couldn’t access something else on a high shelf in the fridge, and had an itch on my foot that I couldn’t reach to...
