If you’d asked me a year ago what my plans were for SMA Awareness Month, I would’ve come back with a laundry list of items, from Instagram Reels to the Minnesota Walk-n-Roll event put on by Cure SMA. This year looks a little different. Part of it is…
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To highlight SMA Awareness Month this August, I could go on and on describing the physical aspects of my life that occur every day. For example, I could talk about the aggressive respiratory care my mom and my nurses provide me to keep my lungs clear. Or I could…
In a tourist shop on the coast of Lake Michigan a few summers ago, my mom spotted a sticker depicting the town’s lighthouse in the style of my favorite painting, Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” She suggested that it’d look cool on my power wheelchair, and…
With August officially here, I feel like I’m in a competition with time, frantically trying to make the most of summer before it’s gone. In doing so, I’m putting unnecessary pressure on myself. I’m measuring my days by how much I took advantage of the warmer weather and beating myself…
“It’s just a flesh wound.” The black knight utters this famous line in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” after losing both arms in battle. He then continues to fight in a slapstick manner and taunt his opponent as blood gushes out of his sides. Ah, I love…
I was supposed to be preparing for an upcoming work trip to Austin, Texas. Instead, I was sitting in a hospital room, waiting for the doctor on call to look at the area around my gastrostomy tube (G-tube). I’d spent the past several months in a nebulous state of health.
I don’t always feel helpless, but when I do, there’s a bug in my vicinity. My house has felt like bug central this summer, and I’ve strongly considered moving out. OK, the latter half of that sentence might be an exaggeration. However, given that spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) doesn’t…
The digital age has transformed how we connect, empowering people like me to engage with the world from anywhere. My tech obsession ignited around age 14 with the thrill of my first Nintendo DSi. Despite needing creative positioning for myself and my device, I was instantly hooked, often…
We’ve lived almost 29 years in a rural area in the glorious mountains of North Carolina. Simply looking out the window is a favorite home pastime. There, both comedic wild critters and a reposeful setting beckon, and I’m never disappointed. One of my favorite treats is a full moon shining…
When my mother was 7 years old, she moved to the United States without knowing a word of English. I’ve known this all my life but had never asked her what the experience was like until recently. After questioning her about it, I learned that my grandparents had sent her…
