February was a pretty exhausting month for me. I kicked it off with a two-week stint of pneumonia and a weekend in the hospital, then I got straight back to work once I felt better. To top it all off, I ended it with a 24-hour stomach virus…
Embracing My Inner Alien - a column by Kevin Schaefer
Having SMA means that strangers approach me on a regular basis. From the onlooker who’s infatuated with my service dog, to the 10,000th person who sees my wheelchair and asks me if I “have a license for that thing,” I’m quite used to comments from people that range…
Alas, after a long couple weeks of constantly spitting phlegm into a cup and spending hours attached to my Vest Airway Clearance System, I’m finally getting over this pneumonia and back to “normal.” Normalcy isn’t exactly something that factors into my life at any point, but I…
It’s been a pretty lousy week for me, to say the least. What started as a ridiculously annoying cough in the middle of the first week of February eventually resulted in a trip to the emergency room the following Saturday. “Please don’t say the P-word, please don’t say…
While spinal muscular atrophy is strictly a physical condition, it can still take a mental and emotional toll on those who have it. Between having to be dependent on others for physical needs, feeling like a burden as a result, and constantly being reminded of the things you…
The upcoming film “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” by director Gus Van Sant and starring Joaquin Phoenix is already stirring up controversy in many disabled communities. Depicting the life of the late quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan, the film is just one of many movies…
I’m often told by friends that I’m a pretty chill, go-with-the-flow kind of guy. In my podcast group, I’m the peacekeeper, if and when a dispute ensues among my co-hosts. When I was on the editorial staff of North Carolina State’s student newspaper, I was the guy who…
Since starting my full-time position here at SMA News Today, I’ve had the opportunity to take part in several multimedia projects. The podcast I do for this site is one of my favorite parts of my job, as I’m always fascinated to talk with other SMA individuals…
For the longest time, I thought New Year’s resolutions were one of the corniest, hokiest, most pointless traditions in our culture. Every year, people set unrealistic goals that they never follow through with, which only leaves everyone feeling disappointed and apathetic by the time March or April rolls…
I was maybe 4 or 5 years old the first time I saw the original “Star Wars” trilogy. It was a VHS set, and I still remember the old-fashioned covers that featured characters like Yoda and Darth Vader. For those of you ultra-millennials out there, VHS tapes are…
