Boundaries. I’ve seen this word floating around cyberspace frequently over the past several months. A litany of self-help and relationship advice blogs speaks extensively about the importance of establishing boundaries. While perusing such content, I typically feel bemused about the notion of boundaries. Although I can intellectually appreciate the…
Would he give me “the look”? During the week leading up to my first date in what felt like a lifetime, I pondered this question repeatedly. Online dating can become complicated when navigating life with a physical disability. The emphasis of potential compatibility based on physical appearance is augmented with…
Some of my favorite friends are dogs. Specifically, my dog Scout. With his soulful, bottomless chocolate orbs and patient intuition, I’ve never known a more dedicated companion. Chronic illness has secluded me to the point of being homebound. Only recently, with the appearance of an unexpected prodding to reenter…
I am not a math person. My aversion to mathematic equations dates to my earliest arithmetic memories. Given my distaste for equations, it might come as a surprise to know that my life often boils down to what feels like a continual deficit. In tandem with learning basic arithmetic…
Have your cake and eat it, too. But not me. For several years, I’ve been fruitlessly reassuring myself that when my next anniversary of living rolls around, I will be able to eat birthday cake. Along with an array of other grievances that I ruminate on around the time of…
I got to be the giver. For the first time in my life, I got to be the person on the other side of the hospital bed. Instinct had me scrambling to be in the place where my friend was, the kind of place I had nearly given my life…
Welcome to Briana Beaver’s “Wiggle Room,” a new Cerebral Palsy News Today column. Online dating. Did those words make you flinch? The awkwardness of navigating the virtual dating realm swells to overwhelming proportions when you have cerebral palsy. Communication in a visual medium that discounts imperfection and glorifies physical flawlessness…
My parents married in 1998, and one year later, I was born. My mom was given a private room in a private hospital, but shortly after that, she was transported to a public hospital. She felt me moving and told the nurse that something was wrong, but the nurse did…
My life has been a good one, despite its ups and downs. I was born in Tokyo and during my early years of living in Japan, I experienced discrimination due to my diagnoses of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy and esotropia. My parents tried to shield me from prejudice as…
I’m going to take you through a day in my life. It was a day not long ago when I was by myself in public at the University of Southern California (USC). I woke up around 8:30 a.m. as usual, and my morning caregiver got me ready. I got…