Now that you know a little more about all the things I’ve been going through the past month, I didn’t want you to think it’s all a negative experience. Life doesn’t have to be like that, even when you’re chronically ill. But I know firsthand how easy it…
Having cerebral palsy is as natural to me as walking is to someone else. A common request I receive is to explain what it’s like to have cerebral palsy. While I can easily explain the bulk of the disability, the specific details might fall through the cracks. Here…
It’s confession time: one of my favorite things to do is to spend hours online watching videos about how people get ready in the morning, or tutorials about how people organize their planner or clean their bathroom. I look up organization ideas on Pinterest. I love it, I…
Dating and relationships are something many people want in life. But with a disability such as cerebral palsy, dating can seem an astronomical task. Having athetoid spastic cerebral palsy can lead to challenges, socially and romantically. However, at a young age, I set a goal of a happy marriage,…
Someone once referred to my boyfriend and I as “relationship goals,” which in the age of hashtags and going viral, sounds like the equivalent of getting a ton of likes on something you post, etc. Something told me I should have been ecstatic, but somehow I also sensed…
A month ago, just shy of my boyfriend and I celebrating our one-year anniversary, we went together to an OB-GYN appointment — this is because we’re in the process of trying to find relief for some pretty intense vaginal pain that I’m having (and have had since puberty, but that’s…
Dear Cerebral Palsy, This letter has been a long time coming. Unfortunately, the time that I’ve had to think about what I would say to you does not mean that this letter will be an easy one to write, or for you to read for the matter. But…
October is breast cancer awareness month. Many are wearing pink, and stores have a variety of pink merchandise to choose from. But what lurks behind the pink is more alarming than any cute shirt could ever convey. Women who have cerebral palsy are more at risk of not…
When I Googled the term “soul food,” I was surprised that a list of actual food items and places to eat came up; when I searched “define soul food,” I was even more surprised to find that soul food is actually defined as “traditional southern African-American food.” I…
Technology is such a huge part of everyone’s life today — we are connected from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep — and technology today is fast and ever-changing, like fashion trends, things come and go at an alarming rate. But every now…