Write about your first name: its meaning, significance, etymology, etc.
Means daughter of christ. Which is ironic because he made me an atheist. My mother chose it because she thought it was pretty and not for any other reason.
I really wish these prompted longer responses.
I forgot how easy this was in the 70s. I’m thinking it’s time to put my AFO brace on and give it a shot, although there’s no way I’ll be able to do it to music anytime soon. I just miss dancing so much 😢!
What’s your dream job?
My dream job is to be retired, and while I’m happy that I got there early, I’m not thrilled with the fact that paralysis was the cause.
What makes a good leader?
Leads their followers where they need to be and not where the leader wants to go, necessarily.
It’s been a while since I’ve shared a video from Gem at Wheels no heels and this one has inspired me to respond to the questions asked about wheelchair users on a Netflix show called You can’t ask that 😀.
Question 1 Why are you in a wheelchair?
Answer, because my left side is paralyzed and I can’t walk more than 30 steps without becoming exhausted.
Question 2 What are the perks of life in a wheelchair?
Answer, great parking spaces, as long as a non disabled person hasn’t parked there. Great public washrooms 🚻, as long as a non disabled person isn’t using it. Getting great treatment when at the doctor’s office or the hospital.
Question 3 Can you shower yourself?
Answer, yes and no. Because I don’t have access to both hands, I can’t wash my hair, so my husband does that for me, but I’m able to wash everything else. However, I prefer to take baths, and I use a bath lift to get into and out of the tub.
Question 4 Do you get mad when you see able bodied people being lazy?
Answer, only when they encroach into my spaces. For example, when I go to a show or concert and I’m seated in the disabled section next to someone who is obviously not disabled and who is only there because it’s better seating.
Question 5 Can you have sex?
Answer, Yes,though I don’t. And why is none of your business.
Question 6 Do you care if non disabled people use the disabled toilet?
Answer YES! It really pisses me off!
Question 7 How do you feel when someone says that you’re an inspiration?
Answer: If it’s someone I know, it’s lovely. If you don’t know me, it’s patronizing.
Thanks to Gem for the inspiration for this blog post, and I hope that answers some of your questions about being a wheelchair user.
Just remember it can happen to anyone at any time, and it’s nothing to be ashamed about.
If you could un-invent something, what would it be?
It seems to me that all of the divisiveness started with MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook. When we made it easy to post our opinions online with very little or no context at all , we made disputes happen, perhaps even encouraged them to happen. Then politics did what it always does, actively try to divide us so that they could claim power. By giving the masses a voice that everyone could see, the masses now had some power of their own but had no idea how to weild it, so they simply started fighting each other as opposed to turning their power against the real enemy, the politicians who were watching them fight with glee. The whole thing reminds me of my favorite quote from Denis Diderot, “Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.” Though perhaps it could be slightly modernized to include the last dictator.
The images are AI, and the story is giving creative writing class ,but put together, it makes a lovely video.
Happy #Caturday
Can you share a positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
My current husband and I were engaged for a couple of months when I collapsed outside of a drugstore with a massive stroke. He saw me at my absolute worst during the next 6 months while I was in hospital. He saw the 10 days of ICU when my doctors were not optimistic about whether I was going to live. He waited through the 4.5 hour heart surgery. He helped nurses change my diaper with a smile on his face. Even though I gave him every opportunity to get out of it, he married me in my hospital room .He sold his house and bought a first-floor condo because I was a wheelchair user now and couldn’t climb up the slippery staircase in his place. He’s taken care of me nearly every day for 9 and a half years. If that’s not a positive example of being loved, I don’t know what is.
In what ways do you communicate online?
And the occasional Facebook messenger message to friends I actually know.
Our veterinarian is very sweet. When one or two of their clients dies they put one of their pawprints in ceramic for the grieving owners. Boo’s arrived today. She had one paw that was caramel in color, and that is the paw that’s printed . It’s also the paw her daddy used to kiss.
