Tag Archives: chronic illness

Mind: Talking about suicide so we decrease the number of people who die by suicide.

Suicide is not reversible. Stop before you do it….. I wanted to post on mental health in May but did not because I wanted current statistics: When I last researched mental health five or six years ago, the World Health … Continue reading

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Spirit/Essay. Of mirrors and marathons. Reflections five years after Hell came home.

It is April in New England, and the marathon has come again. Since 2013, race day is not a simple joy anymore. It is the anniversary of a bombing. It is the day we learned how strong we really were, … Continue reading

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Health Article. The 3 Ds. Disability, Differently-abled, and Disabled.

3-D. DISABILITY, DIFFERENTLY-ABLED, and DISABLED. Three terms we should understand because they may identify almost all of us at some time. Roughly 20% of people live with a disability, an impairment that significantly limits or burdens one or more life … Continue reading

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Essay. Milestones……..

I am currently planning Joseph’s 22nd birthday, when he moves from special education for autism to an adult group home. The night he was born, I hemorrhaged after he was delivered in an emergency Cesarean section. The obstetrician said we … Continue reading

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Essay. Finding gratitude when you don’t feel grateful.

This morning I paused at the foot of the stairs and looked for the mirror that hung there for 23 years. It wasn’t there, just a nail and a bare white wall. We have taught Joseph to come directly to … Continue reading

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Patient Advocacy. Disability and Public Safety II. Communicating Effectively.

Communication relies on reception of another person’s language (to hear or lipread), ability to understand the content of what is said, and two additional steps. The person expected to reply must be able to form a reply mentally and then … Continue reading

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Essay. The Table. A Child’s Memory Understood 50 years Later.

When I was little, I attended a supper served family style to people seated along three very long tables. I remember my mother and grandmother, but it must not have been for ladies only because the person I remember most … Continue reading

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Essay. The Bed-Rail Lesson.

Sometimes all that matters is inside. More often, we find strength and purpose by focusing on what is outside. I can review the last 20 years and mentally mark the years I was hospitalized at least once and the smaller … Continue reading

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Essay. My Life in Pets V. Lily and Motherhood.

I got Teddy to make my husband happy. Lily came when Teddy got lupus and I panicked at a possible dogless life. Lily lived with the fear there was a party somewhere she was missing. She never missed one. Lily … Continue reading

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Patient Advocacy. Disability and Safety in Public I. When private information needs to be taken outside the family.

I never thought about disability until I was disabled at 25. For the first two years after my head injury, I was at home or with my husband. I didn’t think about the line between my privacy in public and … Continue reading

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