How have your political views changed over time?

I remember when I was a little girl, maybe 6 or 7,my parents were following election results on television. I’ve always had a love of words, the bigger the better and at that age, a love of showing off my newly learned vocabulary. The race had 2 parties vying for the prime minister, and political control over Canada. The two parties were the liberals and the Progressive Conservative. Iwas watching along intent on learning more words that adults were using. When my dad asked me who I wanted to win,I happily responded by saying Progressive Conservative!  My parents were not on that team at the time, and they started laughing. Immediately, I thought I’d said it incorrectly and became embarrassed. They explained what both parties wanted for the country and asked again. This time, I answered, the Liberals. They then told me that they laughed because they knew that I would say the one that had the biggest words.

In response to the query above, not since then.

Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?

For me, it’s gotta be pretzels and not the kind that come in a bag at the grocery store. When I say pretzels, this is what I mean…

Write about your first crush.

The very first boy I ever developed feelings for was black, and he had the most gorgeous green eyes I’ve ever seen. We used to pretend to get married every week, and I taught him to dance with me. His name was Softy, and he was a shiny and beautiful short haired cat that I loved with my whole heart. There have been many other cats in my life, but Softy was my first love, and you don’t forget your first.

Describe your dream chocolate bar.

Takes off fat

Puts on muscle

Makes your heart healthy

Reverses paralysis

Instantly, you become physically and permanently 25 while mentally and emotionally, you have the experience of a 65 year old and the bank account to match.

What fears have you overcome and how?

I’ve always been afraid of going to the hospital. Then, 10 years ago, my heart forced me into a 6-month hospital stay. You can read every detail of it here starting in late 2015. There are still moments that I wish I’d died in ICU instead of having to live with paralysis and brain aneurysms, but those moments are fleeting. Having gone through it made the fear go away. I’m not going to lie. I still don’t enjoy having to go to the hospital ,but it doesn’t fill me with dread anymore. Once you have to deal with your fear, it’s not so scary anymore, it’s still not pleasant, but it isn’t scary.

Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.

Pet my cats as often as possible.  Just look at them, wouldn’t you?

What quality do you value most in a friend?

They’re both covered in fur and love to purr when petted.

Do you practice religion?

HELL NO!

Do you remember life before the internet?

I was 28 years old when the internet was invented, and 32 by the time I logged on for the first time. I’m nearly 60 now, and I can’t imagine my life without the internet, but I know that I could survive without it if I had to. It wouldn’t be as easy as it used to be before I was paralyzed.

What are you good at?

Almost a decade ago, if you asked me this question, I would have written you a nice long post, extolling my ability to dance and drive well. Along with my great work ethic and ability to sell things. Perhaps I would have included the fact that I’m a good stylist and decent at makeup application and hair styling.

Unfortunately, after a decade of paralysis because I had a massive stroke and lost access to my left arm and ankle, the only thing that I have left to brag about is that I write well. When you become permanently paralyzed because of brain damage, it’s shocking what you go from being good at to being bad at because you can’t remember how to do it, or simply because you’d need two hands, or your entire body to do it. You lose confidence and identity. It’s really a tough thing to get through, and I wouldn’t wish the torture of it on my worst enemy or even Donald Trump.

You need to have a tremendous amount of inner strength and determination to adapt to the nightmare scenario. You need to have the ability to let go of the possibility of a full recovery and settle into life as a wheelchair user with all that entails. The frustration, the anger, the stigma,the mourning of your past life. I did all of that.  There were many moments that I wanted to die, but I kept going . I’ll keep going. Hopefully, I’ll inspire someone who needs to keep going along the way.