It’s been nearly two weeks since most of the U.S. “sprang forward” into daylight saving time (DST), and no matter how many times we go through the biannual time changes, it always seems to take this long for everyone to fully adjust. Some people may even still need to update…
Something you may not know about me is that I have two homes. My first abode is a one-story home that was built to fit my needs almost 20 years ago. It’s in a quiet neighborhood with broken-down streets that make going out for a walk difficult in my wheelchair.
My hands are shaking as I look at my crowdfunding page and type. My mouth is dry and my heart is pounding. I feel like an overheated device running too many apps at once, except the apps are emotions. Anxiety tops the list. For half a year, I’ve known…
If it’s not my mom rocking out to “The Final Countdown” by Europe, it’s my dad reminiscing about all the cartoons we used to watch. Shows like “Arthur” and “Dragon Tales” were mainstays in the Albers household. But my favorite was “Cyberchase,” an after-school program about a bunch of kids…
“OK, SMA. You win,” I thought after signing off from a virtual meeting. I didn’t know how it was possible to feel so defeated yet relieved about finding a solution for one of my recent health woes. But there I was, staring up at my ceiling and arguing with…
I know I talk a big game when it comes to advocacy and setting goals for myself. The great results I achieve may lead some people to think that my efforts are effortless, but of course they never are. Surprisingly, though, some things in my life with SMA…
As I tallied the sea of tiny numbers on my tax spreadsheets, I decided to search for some background music on my computer. I love my computer — a gift from my generous family in 2020 — but it doesn’t have a CD drive. Almost all of the…
A common tendency among women and girls is to feel like we’re not enough. This insecurity is threaded throughout the media we consume. Netflix’s “One Day at a Time,” a sitcom featuring three generations of Cuban American women, comes to mind, as does the 2004 high school film “Mean…
“A hero — not the hero we deserved, but the hero we needed.” This line from a Batman movie aptly describes the life and legacy of Judy Heumann. The prominent disability rights activist, who died March 4 at the age of 75, remains a hero in every…
If there’s one thing my dad and I can agree on, it’s that mornings are the worst. My mom, on the other hand, is a veritable morning person. She wakes up energized and ready to conquer the world. By the time I drag my sorry butt out of bed,…