I wiped away tears of happiness and hugged my friend Andrea. She was engaged to be married and had just asked me to be her maid of honor. Of course, I said yes with all the joy in my heart! I love both her and her fiancé, watched them grow…
Caring Together – Connie Chandler
Connie Chandler is a Christ-focused care and support specialist at the nonprofit organization Joni and Friends. She grew up in the foothills of North Carolina but now owns a home and lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was diagnosed with SMA type 2 when she was 18 months old. She believes the best way to receive great care is to give great care to those around her. Through her column, she hopes to share funny and sweet stories about her friendships with her caregivers and the ways they are growing together.
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Do you remember the summer of 1998? It’s been a while, so let me remind you. It was the season of blockbuster movies like “Saving Private Ryan” and “The Mask of Zorro.” The airwaves were filled with hits by stars like the Backstreet Boys and Shania Twain,…
July is my favorite time of year to be active, travel, and chase adventures. Like many people with SMA, cold weather is hard on my body — my muscles get tense, my fingers and toes get icy, and the heavy layers of warm clothing make it hard for me…
Over the course of three days, I recently had the joy of attending three live music concerts, each with its own distinct setting, energy, and story. I knew the performers, I loved the music, and I was grateful to be there, surrounded by the kind of shared excitement that only…
Travel has always felt like freedom to me. Some of my favorite memories were made on long road trips with friends, crisscrossing the country in my van — from Maine to Florida, the Carolinas to California, Texas to Washington, and through about a dozen national parks along the way. I…
My caregiver held the toothpaste tube in both hands, meticulously squishing it flat from the bottom all the way up to the nozzle. I laughed: “It’s OK, I have a whole new tube ready to go in the closet.” She shook her head and gritted her teeth as she forced…
When people think about exercise, they often picture movement that is visible, measurable, and easy to quantify, such as miles walked or weight lifted. But for people with SMA, staying fit can look very different. We can do quite a lot, actually! From swimming to horseback riding,…
School is out in my area, and summer has officially started! Living with SMA means that my independence is made possible through a network of practical, daily support from friends in my community, and caregiving is woven into nearly every part of my life. My volunteer caregiving schedule…
Like most humans in the world, I do not like to cry in front of other people. My life with SMA does not allow me a lot of grace to conceal my physical weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It is obvious to any random stranger that I cannot walk, and…
My aunt, who doesn’t throw anything away, recently sent me an artifact from my childhood: a pink paper pamphlet titled “Meet Connie.” I was diagnosed with SMA type 2 when I was 18 months old and started using a power wheelchair when I was in first grade. Around the…
Caregivers are an essential aspect of my life with SMA, because I need assistance to do most of my activities of daily living. But I am learning more and more that caregiving is a strange mix of the deeply practical and the deeply personal — it’s as much…
I’m not one to turn down a compliment, but as a woman living with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), I do not consider physical balance to be among my strongest skills. So, when my friend told me as we rode in the car one day that my balance was really…
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