micaela-macdougall
Forum Replies Created
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If you can get a small group together, I’d be up for that!
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Thanks, everyone, for so many good suggestions! I’m sure I can figure out a good strategy from this list.
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I am also a huge fan of Christmas! The first Christmas of the pandemic, my mom and I had a two day extravaganza of baking cookies and watching movies. We loved the Grinch and Charlie Brown, but the Rankin & Bass specials are weird! I swear whoever wrote Rudolph was high. And the trauma of the Little Drummer Boy… Hey kids, want to hear a story about a boy whose parents are killed in front of him the same night his house burns down? Then he gets enslaved by marauders who sell his camel, and his lamb gets hit by a chariot. Merry Christmas! Yeah, I really had to cheer myself up with Elf after that.
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I’m not very experienced with advocacy, but for what it’s worth:
I don’t understand why it matters if you sound positive or like you’re complaining. You’re not navigating conflict with a loved one, you’re advocating for your basic human rights. My strategy would be to not worry too much about my tone and stick to the facts – this is what I need to live a normal life, this is what I’m getting, here’s the gap between those two. I would personally be more worried about downplaying the valid problems you’re addressing, than about having a negative tone.
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For what it’s worth, I’ve been on birth control since I was 12 (now 28), and I’ve never regretted it. The few times I’ve had a period were very difficult. I needed to be lifted by a person (not a hoyer lift), or really two people, when I needed to change my pad – that task was often beyond the abilities of my aides in public school, so my parents would end up stopping by my school once or twice a day. Maybe period underwear would have helped, but I wasn’t aware of it at the time.
I personally would recommend trying out whatever options your daughter feels up to (pads, underwear, etc.) Once she knows what those experiences are like, then talk to her about what being on the pill is like, and ask her what she would choose to do. This could be an opportunity to transition into her making her own decisions about her body – even if she doesn’t have the last word, it could be a good growing experience for her preference to be a factor in this decision. And don’t forget, she can always try the pill and stop if it’s not a good fit.
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I’ve had the privilege of traveling to Europe a few times and always found it surprisingly accessible, especially the UK. Websites are more likely to have detailed accessibility info. Attractions usually offer free entry for carers. Public transport is very accessible – on trains, wheelchair spaces are often in first class, so I get first class amenities for standard class prices. Every single black cab in London is a WAV, so it is the only city in the world where I can hail a taxi from the street. There’s just an overall attitude that accessibility is a priority, not an afterthought, at least more than the US, in my experience.
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I have had the privilege of flying in and out of London 4 times, so I’m happy to help however I can! Feel free to message me or ask me questions here.
It’s definitely possible to go to London, it’s just a question of how much time and money you want to put into it. What medical equipment exactly do you need? I’ve generally found the UK to be much more accessible and disability friendly than the US, so there are solutions out there. A few things off the top of my head:
- I’m assuming you’d bring your own wheelchair. I strongly recommend British Airways, they are the only airline that has never damaged my wheelchair.
- There are hotels in the UK that have hoyer lifts available for use. They’re rare, but they do exist – especially in London, you should be able to find one.
- You can buy a travel shower chair to bring with you, though it could get expensive depending on what kind you need. I’ve never done this, but I would guess you could also rent one or find a hotel that has one available – it’s worth researching.
Remember, it is your legal right to fly with as much medical equipment as you need, it does not count towards your baggage allowance.
Here are a few disability travel blogs that I have found immensely helpful over the years:
https://wheelchairtravel.org/
https://www.simplyemma.co.uk/
https://curbfreewithcorylee.com/Do as much research as you can ahead of time, and you will be able to enjoy yourself much more!
One last tip – London holds a special place in my heart because it is the only city in the world where I can hail a cab on the street. Every single taxi is wheelchair accessible, you don’t have to reserve a special one ahead of time.
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I loved the title of your video. I often find myself telling my parents, “Hey, I might want to be spontaneous tomorrow.” If I try to actually be spontaneous, they’re usually busy, so I give them advance notice if there’s something I’m thinking about doing spur of the moment. Even then, it’s usually not a big road trip, more often just a day out.
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It can definitely feel isolated sometimes. I’m finally feeling ready to start doing some more public activities, as long as I’m wearing a mask (like movies, concerts, and live theater). It’s definitely weird being the only person in a mask. I kind of wish the pandemic had normalized masks, instead of everyone being in such a hurry to take their masks off.
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It’s funny, I wish I was more open, but I end up not asking for help a lot of the time. I’m not ashamed, it’s just too much trouble to explain what I need. So if I have someone who knows how to feed me, I don’t mind being fed in front of friends – but if someone offers me food or drink and I don’t have anyone ready to help me, I’ll just decline instead of asking them to help me.
I actually had a moment last week where I was showing off photos of my new bathroom to a friend and I started explaining how my hoyer lift works. I realized later that was the first time I have ever talked about my lift (other than training someone how to use it). People never ask, “What’s that?”, they don’t want to intrude. It’s on me to bring it up. But it felt good to talk about something that’s such a big part of my life, especially since this was a close friend who was really interested and curious.
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Thanks! I was actually looking for the rss feed specifically, but I found it myself. Just in case it’s helpful for anyone else: https://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:337265504/sounds.rss
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Same here! I haven’t started it because I didn’t know when the book club would be. I’m in the middle of a few other books right now, so I’m not sure when I’ll get to it.
I love the idea of a book club, but I would personally find it really helpful to have a set date, so I can give myself a deadline for reading the book. I think it would also help get a little more of a back and forth conversation going if we’re all reading at roughly the same time.
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Hi Mark! Yes, Matter is a new system that connects devices to most major smart home systems, including Alexa and Smartthings. I think you would install the blinds on the Eve app, then upgrade to Matter, and from there you can add them to your existing system. That said, the instructions say that you need a Thread Border Router capable Home Hub (like a HomePod (2nd gen.), HomePod mini or Apple TV 4K) and an iPhone or iPad in order to upgrade to Matter. I would recommend contacting support to make sure it will work for your setup – I found them to be very responsive and helpful.
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Sorry, I can’t find the model I got.
I use a smart plug so I can turn it on and off with my phone – really easy to set up!
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I got a towel warmer when I remodeled my bathroom last year. The one I have doesn’t make my towels noticeably hot (they don’t feel like they’re out of the dryer) – but it does stop them from feeling cold, which they used to. I really like it!
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I don’t really know Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, but I do like laughing at A Year Without a Santa Claus. Especially since my uncle looks like the Heat Miser. 😆
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So many great suggestions, thanks! I don’t think my chair has a usb plug, but I’ll check.
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Good idea, thanks!
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We tried a bunch, but it’s the snickerdoodles (https://cookiesandcups.com/perfect-snickerdoodles) and sugar cookies with buttercream icing (my grandma’s recipe) that we still make every year.
cookiesandcups.com
Soft and Chewy Snickerdoodles - The Best Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipe!
This is the BEST snickerdoodle recipe ever. Soft and chewy cookies loaded with cinnamon sugar are made in just 15 minutes - it's so easy!
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It’s going pretty well so far, but I think we’re starting to hit the slow season. I haven’t had enough guests to figure out the impact of advertising accessibility features. My guess is that since so few hosts list those features, being one of the only places marked as step-free is bound to attract more guests. But only time will tell.
My pragmatic side is happy to get a booking no matter who it is. But then, I do understand the frustration of finding an accessible place, only for it to not be available. For the business, it’s not really feasible for us to lose customers on the off chance that someone else might have more accessibility needs. I think it’s better to focus on increasing the supply of available accessible places, instead of fighting over who gets what’s already there.
I would love to renovate the bathroom one day, make more room around the toilet and install a wall hanging sink.
Sancho is the friendlier of our two havanese mini poodles. He wishes he could play with all of our guests. 🐶
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I just sailed with CRAB for the first time a couple months ago! I’m not usually an outdoorsy person, but the setup worked really well for me. I now have them in my Airbnb guidebook.
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Thank you! We bought the house from a family friend whose parents originally built it. Even though we didn’t design it, it’s the perfect layout, built into a hill so there are direct entrances into the upper and lower floors. We live on the upper floor and airbnb the lower level, and the two spaces are totally separate.
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Most of them are pretty good, especially the further north you go. Most
places in the UK are fantastic. Paris has a great bus system. Rome
and Florence were a little trickier with all the cobblestones, but I
ended up rolling in the street and the drivers there are so used to not
following rules that they were totally cool with it. -
Or threaten to call the media (newspaper, tv, etc). I’ve had occasional luck when insurance wants to avoid bad press.
