Brianna Albers (she/her) is a crip-cyborg storyteller living in Minneapolis-St. Paul. She was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 2 in 1996 and lives with co-occurring physical and mental health conditions. By day she works as an advocate, bridging disability and mental health awareness to empower people to live their best lives; by night, she dabbles in imagination, and is currently writing “An Angel in the Garden,” an adult space fantasy with #OwnVoices disability representation. Find her online at briannahopealbers.com and on social media @briehalbers.
If you have SMA or care for someone with the disease, you’ll know what I mean when I say we get sweaty. At first I thought it was just me, but then I read…
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First in a series. “What was your support system like growing up?” I was on the phone with a researcher from Augustana University in South Dakota. We were discussing my transition from pediatric to…
Growing up, my pediatrician was more than a doctor; she was part of the family. She supported me through all of life’s transitions, from puberty and menstruation to my transition to adult care when…
I’d just survived a car accident in Phoenix while road tripping with my parents from our home in Minnesota to the 2022 Cure SMA conference in Anaheim, California. (Long story short, my…
In another world, I am my mother’s daughter, waking with the sunrise and heading to bed no later than 9 p.m. But in reality, I take after my father, who sees early risers as…
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Evrysdi (risdiplam). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. On our way home…
I didn’t even know about the “Barbie” movie until I saw people talking about it on social media. I watched the trailer and thought, “That looks like a funky little movie.” But…
The older I get, the more easily I cry. It never used to be that way. I didn’t cry at movies. I definitely didn’t cry when I was happy. Crying was terrible, and I…
It didn’t take long for my mom — who, in her own words, is not “retired” but “reliving” — to take advantage of her surplus of free time. Days after settling into the…
As hopeful as I was when starting naturopathy, I didn’t actually expect anything to come of it. Desperate for relief and having tried everything else, I decided it was worth a shot. At…
I woke up to a text from my friend Sherry: “Babe, you should try this new accessibility tool that just came out. It might help you game!” When it comes to video games,…
Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Evrysdi. Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. I was expecting my insurance to…
My dad and I have a long-standing tradition of rewatching old TV series. We’ve binged everything, including “Merlin,” “Stargate SG-1,” and “Star Wars Rebels,” over the years. Right now, we’re savoring every single episode…
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