Living Life With CP — Brittney Clouse

On Friday, I wrote about how I finally accepted, positively, my physical therapy. I think I started the intensive physical therapy program two weeks ago today. On Friday, I talked about giving into the therapy program; today I want to gloat a little … About a month ago, I was…

The year is 2000, I am 5 years old. A therapist rolls me back and forth on a huge ball. My back stretches and pops. My legs ache, burn and throb with pain as she hoists my foot up onto her shoulder. “Do you feel a stretch?” She…

Every one who has a chronic illness likely has experienced days when they have not been able to get out of bed because of their pain or feeling sick. It may seem unimaginable, but it can be easy to become bored when you spend days in bed —…

I think the language we use when talking about our disability or chronic illness is very important, regardless of whether we are talking to our doctors or our friends. As people living with a chronic illness we can control, to an extent, how our lives are perceived. It is…

This month, following mountains and mountains of stress, I sat in the waiting room of the specialist I’ve seen for the past 21 years. Over the course of the month I had to medically withdraw from my senior year in college; my physical, mental, and emotional health was…

I’ve struggled for years with some pretty rough skin — acne, oily patches, dryness, acne scarring and redness, uneven skin tone, etc. I tried many store products with little or no improvement, especially in the long term. I even saw a dermatologist briefly and went the route of…

In my last post I discussed the movie Me Before You and suggested that in order to change perceptions about disabled people, more disabled people need to share their experiences. The long story shorter is this: We need more disabled bloggers sharing their lives on the internet. But…

Be warned: The following post contains spoilers.It also contains possible anxiety/stress triggers. In June the movie Me Before You was released. It was based on the 2012 book by the same name and written by author Jojo Moyes. The main character of the movie, Will, becomes disabled after being…

This month has been one of extreme ups and downs for me. It’s been hard, but like “the little engine that could,” I keep keeping on, trying to find ways to make it through. There’s still a lot of uncertainties ahead for me and I’ve got a long road ahead,…

I was officially diagnosed with anxiety at the end of August. I posted here some of my thoughts about that. The experience of being diagnosed officially on paper in black and white was validating and terrifying, a mix of relief and dread. What I was going through…

Before getting into this column, I want to say that it is as much for me as for you. This is a post documenting my experience so far. I don’t claim that anyone will have the same experience as I have, and I would love to hear from…

It’s nearly impossible to try to explain to someone what it’s like to live with a chronic illness. You will have good days and bad. Both will appear to your friends as extreme — one night you’re out at the movies, having dinner with them, laughing, having a great time;…