The drop off for disabled people at the Royal Ontario Museum is a fair piece from the front door. We were there right at ten when it opened so the side door, which opens an hour later, was locked. That’s the door that’s closest. I have made this push several times, it’s hard. To get […]
I was in a mood. Grumpy. Unhappy. Depressed. I think if Joe were describing it he may have used the word ‘Unhinged.’ He’d be right. Things that would have annoyed me simply enraged me. I felt put upon. I felt the world was against me. Me, a vegetarian, bit Joe’s head off – that’s how […]
After work yesterday we parked at the grocery store and went in. It was time to do Valentines Day. This is a day that Joe and I used to call “Heterosexual Pride Day” as we watched commercial after commercial about men and women and love and adoration. “Nothing says love like a diamond,” we were […]
Photo description: a bright red welt on the inner forearm I am waiting to be assessed. I desperately need a new wheelchair. I no longer feel safe in this one. But who will the assessor be? I’ve seen the wheelchair I really want. I’ve tried it out and felt like I was floating. It […]
If we are all on the same side, why aren’t we kinder to each other? When I first became disabled, I knew of the disability community. From a distance it looked like a supportive community where it was safe to be different and safe to share struggles and safe to participate in the advancement of […]
An Open Letter to Benj Pasekand Justin Paul, song writers; Keala Settle and Hugh Jackman, actors and singers; Lawrence Mark, Jenno Topping, Peter Chernin, producers. Hello, I went to see The Greatest Showman not knowing what the story was really about. We went because we had two children to take to a movie and this […]
Lessons learned. There is a fully accepted cultural myth about people with disabilities who live within service systems. That myth shows itself most clearly after an inquest or a newspaper report or a splash on social media about the often violent abuse or the deadly neglect experienced by people with disabilities by the people who […]
He was standing on a street corner waiting for the light to change. It was very cold. It was snowing. Walking on foot, or rolling in a chair, was dangerous for everyone. I had regretted taking the power chair out the moment I slid down the driveway. But, in true Canadian fashion, I just motored, […]
Yesterday morning, buck naked in my bathroom, I attempted to do an exercise that I had been shown the day before by a work colleague. It involved balance. I’m not good at balance. But she had made it look easy, forget the fact that she’s been doing it for a year, and I wanted to […]
I don’t want to offend anyone, and I’m not pointing out any specific person. I want to comment on comments that I’ve received about yesterday’s post. Comments made to me personally by readers, comments made in written form and, as per usually, a pretty strong set of comments sent through email. I had written about […]
