I pulled into the work parking lot this morning with a little trepidation. Would there be a spot for me? Or would I be parking near the back and limping in? And then I saw them. One, at first. And then two others. Gloriously branded in fresh paint, three new blue-and-white disabled logos greeted me.… Continue reading Victory is ours!
Category: Advocacy
Advocacy day!
Break out the party hats and funfetti cake because it's World MS Day! OK, so maybe this isn't so much a celebratory event as it is an awareness day. But I ask, Marie Antoinette, when is it not a good time for tasty cake with festive confetti pieces in it? And I would laugh my… Continue reading Advocacy day!
MS Walk 2011
It's in the books. And thanks to my support network, Team Word Herders raised $640, surpassing the goal I set for us and putting us 16th in the top fundraisers. I had an awesome group of people with me for the walk - Nick, Crystal, Shannon, Beth, all of them I've known since college. And… Continue reading MS Walk 2011
Stepping up
I could never be a fundraiser. It's painful asking for money from others, especially in times like these. Because, if you are anything like me, there's not a whole lot of it these days. After essentials and a mortgage and gas and food and medical bills, what's left? How can I dare ask people to… Continue reading Stepping up
Getting the word out
It's harder than it seems. I shouldn't have a problem with public speaking, particularly when the topic is something I'm passionate about like multiple sclerosis. But here I was, amid fellow MSers, activists and lawmakers, at a loss for what to say. The event was a Legislative Luncheon at the state Capitol, put together by… Continue reading Getting the word out
Hot off the presses
I was fortunate enough to get to write an article in our statewide newspaper about parents with disabilities (it runs today in the FamilyStyle section). I was even more fortunate to get to talk to two fellow MSers who have been giving this disease hell for far longer than I. It's encouraging to see these comrades… Continue reading Hot off the presses
Faugh a Ballagh
I didn't realize it until I woke up this morning and got ready for the day that I really don't have much green in my wardrobe. Black in every shade? Check. A bunch of gray? Check. But no green. And no orange. Which poses a slight problem, being that this is St. Patrick's Day and… Continue reading Faugh a Ballagh
Art and advocacy
I have been so privileged in my life to be around the arts — what a supportive, embracing world it can be! I have been dancing since I could string three steps togehter, and kept going all through college. I quit after that, but through my very dear friend and mentor, Jennifer, got back into… Continue reading Art and advocacy
The last to leave, the first to try
Watching the horrors unfold in Japan, I'm struck today by the technicians at the Fukushima nuclear power plant who stayed behind. As everyone else was evacuated, these 50 or so operators crawled around in white jumpsuits with oxygen tanks strapped to their backs, trying to stave off further reactor trouble. Radiation is a given at… Continue reading The last to leave, the first to try
Around my world in 180 days
Six months ago today I was in a hospital bed. My legs were these feeble, foreign-feeling abstractions of flesh and bone not living up to their purpose. Just work, dammit! I pleaded to them over and over and over. My head was swimming from a cocktail of steroids and pain medicine. My life had been… Continue reading Around my world in 180 days
One, Wild & Precious 