Archive for the ‘disability’ Category
I’m planning to do a series of reflective posts about last year. It was a big year for me, primarily because it was my first full year being divorced. What that meant for me was that it was my first full year on my own, where I was financially and physically responsible for myself and [...]
When I go through the “TSA personal massage” process, the agents giving the patdown are usually skeeved when they feel my right calf and foot, which are textured to feel like real flesh and bone. I’ve been told that it gives them the “chills” to feel something so real and know that it’s not. Or, [...]
I spent this morning in the ocean with some coaches, getting tips on my long-distance swimming. I’m new at this, so I had a lot to learn, and it was incredibly generous of these folks to offer their time to help me. It was arranged via the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), for disabled athletes who [...]
This post feels a bit like a PSA rather than a typical pilgrimsteps post. But I wanted to share my experience with PPIs just in case it might be of help to some of you…. Last year I struggled to paddle because of severe back pain that was due to some problems with my prosthesis. [...]
Monday morning I found myself in Zurich, as an unexpected but pleasant detour on my Europe trip. It was the day that the full force of jet lag hit me, so I was walking around in more than a bit of a mental fog. Fortunately as I breakfasted with a local friend (@chanson), she showed [...]
Cyborg writing is about the power to survive, not on the basis of original innocence, but on the basis of seizing the tools to mark the world that marked them as other. –Donna Haraway
One of the by-products of my recent-ish divorce is that I just barely got my own health insurance policy. It’s the first time that I’ve had insurance on my own (not as the result of being a dependent of someone else), and seems a pretty big step for me in being financially and legally independent. [...]
Today at lunchtime I walked a few blocks to my favorite coffeeshop and had a quick sandwich. Then I picked up a latte “to go” and headed out the door. I wasn’t sure where I was headed, only knowing that I needed to walk for awhile. I meandered past rows of historic cottages, smelling the [...]
An excerpt from “Daisies” by Mary Oliver: …What do I know. But this: it is heaven itself to take what is given, to see what is plain; what the sun lights up willingly; for example–I think this as I reach down, not to pick but merely to touch– the suitability of the field for the [...]
If all goes well, today I’ll be getting a new socket for my prosthetic leg. This has been (too) long in coming, mostly because I’ve been traveling or living away from home for the past 6 months. Getting a new socket involves a series of ‘test socket’ fittings and numerous small adjustments to get the [...]
When John told me that he was leaving me, he revealed some pretty ugly things–most of which I won’t write here. But perhaps out of those the one that surprised me the most, was when he told me that he’d basically checked out of our marriage two years ago when I was ill with that [...]
Tonite’s post finds me snuggled in on the couch. I’m sneezy right now, and my glands are swollen. That’s probably far more than you wanted to know about me, but this post is going to have a bit more TMI than my usual, so I thought I’d just get warmed-up from the get-go…. For quite [...]
Conversation