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Sick days (but few days off)
It can be extremely difficult at times to deal with brain fog and other issues. I’ve been sick over the last couple of weeks. [I suspect I may have caught something from a young lady at Winter Jam 2023 who was hanging all over me convinced that she knew me from a summer camp.] So, for a little less than a week now, I’ve been dealing with cough, runny nose, sore throat and other flu/allergy like symptoms. Part of my Cerebral Palsy includes having a low tolerance for pain and lots of brain fog. Most of this week has involved sleeping in, and lots of essential oils in the diffuser…
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Traveling and balancing workload with self-care
One of the things that’s become a struggle for me lately, especially as I get older, is learning how to balance things out. This past week, I’ve been in one of my favorite places, but it hasn’t been without its challenges. Travel is the inspiration for this week’s blog, and it’s likely something I’ll touch on in more detail later. On the 11th of February, I was blessed to celebrate God’s gift of 33 years of life. To celebrate, I traveled with my parents to spend a few days in one of our favorite places: Charleston, South Carolina. As much as I love it, I think I still have a…
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Perils of Disability: Fixed incomes and attending concerts
Isn’t it interesting how sometimes, an idea for a new blog post just drops into your lap? At the time that I began working on this week’s blog, I was in the process of preparing to attend a concert in a nearby city with some friends. To someone who is able-bodied, this seems like nothing. It’s easy to forget that what may be simple for you can actually be difficult for someone who struggles with their level of physical ability. Anyone who knows me personally will tell you that the only thing I enjoy more than writing is music. I’ve been singing since I was a young child. My mother…
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Questions
Hey everyone, I just wanted to take a moment to thank the people who have liked my blog posts so far. This one’s going to be a relatively short post since I just did a longer blog on Nostalgia, but I realize there may be some people who read my blog and have further questions about me or about my disability. So, with that in mind: I plan to make another page on this blog very soon that will link you all to my social media platforms. I am currently on Facebook and Twitter, but also looking into Post as a Twitter alternative, since I don’t really care for how…
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Nostalgia: Who I used to be vs. Who I am
What makes you feel nostalgic? So, today’s writing prompt actually proves useful. As someone who struggles with disability, I long for days when I could go back to where I used to be vs. where I am now with my diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. By all accounts, I should be able to walk– I actually did walk with the assistance of a walker when I was younger. When I see someone running to get somewhere, I immediately wish I could still walk or run. Even in my walker, at least I had that freedom. It’s not common for a person with Cerebral Palsy as mild as mine to lose their…
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So, what is Cerebral Palsy, anyway?
It was always pretty easy for me to tell that I was a different kid growing up. Start with the fact that I attended kindergarten in a specialized school and that most of my classmates had special needs [though I was entirely too young to understand what that meant at the time], and you have the beginning of what sounds like a pretty boring autobiography. My “special needs” condition is Cerebral Palsy. Called CP for short, Cerebral Palsy is an umbrella term for a group of movement disorders that stem from a lack of oxygen to the brain at birth. Most people affected were also born prematurely. I have been…
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Who I am
“You can’t edit a blank page.” This is a phrase I hear so often during November when I participate in National Novel Writing Month, that it makes writing this opening page a little less daunting. After all, if there are words here, it’s easier to go back and change what doesn’t work. So, a little bit about me: I live with a condition called Cerebral Palsy, a group of movement disorders that affect my handwriting and my ability to walk. I first fell in love with the concept of writing at age 3 when my disability forced me to begin using adaptive technology and find an escape in words. I…

