True Love Means Respecting My Independence
In a recent viral video called Blind Devotion, true love is described the following way: “Cecilia will never know how much I do for her and I don’t need her to know. That’s how much I love her, even though she doesn’t want me to.” And this is how the video ruins what is otherwise…
Writing with a Chronic Illness: Creating a Writing Habit
Lucy tries out for the position of Muse Writing is a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. So, how do you exercise this particular muscle when you have a chronic illness? You start with creating a writing habit, and a writing trigger. The Writing Habit Creating a writing habit starts with…
Pushing My Limits for Parapan Am Wheelchair Rugby
“It’s fun and you get to hit people.” David Wilsie, member of Team Canada wheelchair rugby team I’ve loved this sport since I first saw the movie Murderball — there’s something about the abandon and apparent recklessness with which it’s played that’s just… well, a lot of fun. When I saw that the wheelchair rugby…
Parapan Am Torch Celebrations
“I’m going to the torch relay celebration at Queen’s Park. Do you want to come?” This was an email from my friend Larry two days before the Parapan Am games torch arrived. Did I want to come? Well… It was headed towards the tail end of the first week of my (writing) vacation and it…
In Which I See an OT and Come up against a Stereotype
I have swan necks. Several of them. If you have no experience with RA, you’re probably looking like one big questionmark right now. A swan neck doesn’t just belong on a beautiful bird, but is also the name of a particular deformity common in people who having had acted, untreated RA. It looks like my…
Where the Surf Meets the Sand
The last time I was on a beach was the summer I turned 14. It was also the last time I walked Photo by Ole Andersen The doctors had given me a reprieve before I was to report at the hospital and get encased in plaster to spend a month in a body cast. My…
Ten Years Later
What am I doing with a blog? That’s what I asked myself in my very first post on The Seated View. Which was ten years ago today. I also thought (briefly) that I didn’t have much to say. Almost 1500 posts later, I think we know the answer to that one. So, what did I…
No Child of My Own
Last week’s excellent CreakyChat on family planning and rheumatic diseases brought up some memories. I remember the moment I decided not to have children of my own. My mother is pushing my manual chair through the old part of Rigshospitalet, the hospital where I spent several years waiting for hip replacements. The hospital where I…
Disability Diaspora
I only have a few days left. On April 1, this Wednesday, they will come for me. So many of the people I know have already been moved, I am one of the last. I have connections, I fight back, but still, it is inevitable. It started slowly, with some cuts to funding. With exhortations…
Longing for Out: The Itch to Travel
I caught the travel bug early. One of my first memories is of a trip to a rented cottage near the sea that happened when I was four years old. Another favourite was my first experience with flying when my dad and I went to Rhodes just after my sister Janne was born. I was…
Left out: Fashion and Disability
Thank you for writing this interesting post for The Seated View, Emma!
Refusal of Care: Disabled Women and Breast Cancer Screening
Updated March 16, 2022 I was long past the recommended age to have a mammogram the first time I had one. The reason? Lack of accessibility in cancer screening equipment and procedures. And I’m not alone. Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer among women, yet women who have a disability are…