Tag: change/adjustment after disability

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Views From My Chariot: A Wheelchair Oddity IS HERE!

Annually, around 11,000 SCIs occur in the United States. Fifty years ago, the life expectancy for people living with a SCI was only a couple of years. Now, it is next to anyone else’s with the same number one cause of death: heart attack.

Celebrities, like Christopher Reeve, have helped raise awareness of living with SCI, as well as money for research. But, there are the rest of us, with limited funds, who continue to beat the odds by living healthy, happy, productive lives. I am one of those among you living triumphantly from a wheelchair. Let me tell you how I’ve done it.

That’s me!

My book, Views From My Chariot: A Wheelchair Oddity, recounts snippets of who I was before my car wreck—living an adventurous, enviable life among movie stars and musicians—and snippets during my adjustment on my chariot ride that changed me into the whole person I have become. It is a two-part book.

The first part is a fun, humorous, yet pithy vignette Memoir. When my flight of fancy was interrupted by disability, a journey of self-discovery ensued, revealing a secret, even I was incognizant of: I was a fearful, detached person. This revelation allowed me to break through the crippling chrysalis that had bound and paralyzed me before my wreck, into an emotional freedom and physical independence I had never known when walking.
Yoga and meditation are useful in managing emotional browse around now order cheap levitra issues.

The second part, Appendix: Let’s talk, is a self-help/reference guide for gaining this emotional freedom and physical independence. It is chock-full of humorous, personal anecdotes in dealing with and alleviating daily vexations (mischievous pets included), as well as descriptions, prices, and sources for purchasing helpful assistive aides, products, and equipment I have found to be essential, or just because I like them. They range from pain patches and health care, home renovation and decoration, kitchen gizmos with recipes included, to exercise equipment, and much more. All these are referenced in the Notes at the end of my book—a wealth of information for anyone adjusting to an interruption of disability, disease, or illness; also, a must for family, friends, caretakers, and professionals on the journey with us.

If you are accomplished at reading-between-the-lines, you will glean extra credit on your life journey toward peace and productivity.

TODAY, I AM ANNOUCING: Views From My Chariot: A Wheelchair Oddity IS NOW AVAILABE! Click http://booklocker.com/books/6235.html  to get on its page, and you’ll be on your way to have it conveniently delivered to you. I’ve offered a FREE excerpt for your preview.

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Wheelchair Exercise in Optimism

In a recent article “Disability’s Truth,” my intent was to defuse the seeming tension and uncertainty for the able-bodied person in being around a disabled individual; then I wondered, “Are we, the disabled, fostering the discomfort?”

It sounds trite to say that we are more alike than we are different, but it’s true. We are all living life with the cards we have been dealt, often shuffling and reshuffling—seeking better.

My introduction to the world of disability was my own rehabilitation. I was always optimistic, but in rehab I met some really negative, sour sojourners. Their negative energy was too heavy for me. After awhile, I began avoiding their space. They were still angry and blaming the world for their situation, expecting others to do everything for them. (I lingered a little long in the denial stage myself. Catch the five stages of grief in my “Wheelchair Derailment” article.) They completely missed the point of rehab; we were learning a new way of life in order to become as independent as possible.

Yes, it was hard. After struggling an-hour-and-a-half to dress each morning, I wanted to rest, but I was too hungry to miss breakfast. Creeping down the hall to the cafeteria took me another fifteen minutes. After breakfast, our OT and PT classes began. I took full advantage of our rest period after lunch; I took a recuperative nap! I am so thankful that I learned how to wheel a wheelchair (without ever breaking a toe from running into walls, furniture, and other people), dress and feed myself, and put on my own make-up. I wouldn’t be living independently and triumphantly now if I hadn’t.

So today, I am speaking to us: the disabled. Do we greet the world (and our loved ones) with a frown, assuming that “they” should make things easier for us, or with an optimistic smile believing that we can improve our lives? These facial muscles determine how we are perceived?”

Spending some quality with the partner- When a man suffers from ED, his purchase cialis online http://downtownsault.org/events-2/specials/ partner is erectile dysfunction.
Think about it: Our body also responds to our frame of mind. No one is responsible for our well-being but oneself. Making excuses for our bad health and habits, low energy level, being disliked and avoided by family and estranged friends, or for a poor prognosis from our doctors, is not an option. Only we can change the stigma of “poor, pitiful, paralytic.” We must let go of the illusion of normalcy. (There is no such thing anyway; and forget convention.)

I understand pain and discomfort, and the precariousness of each outing. But, I don’t expect my friends, family, and community to change just because I experienced change. I bought a portable, extendable ramp for inaccessible terrain, call ahead to verify accessibility, plan outings and appointments around the weather, humbly request help prior to doctor and dentist appointments, wear earrings and dress stylishly when I go out, and greet others with a smile.

If I feel down, I call someone that might need encouragement or may just need to hear a friendly voice; BUT NOT TO COMPLAIN. That doesn’t mean that I don’t experience occasional insecurity; I just nip the doubt into do!

Let’s go for it—our potential, our purpose, our passion. We’re worth it! Optimism is contagious.