Dismantling Your Inner Ableism to Live Better with Rheumatoid Arthritis
Systemic ableism is ingrained in our society and we internalize those messages. In my new essay for CreakyJoints in Canada, I share tips on how to start dismantling your own internalized ableism to create a much better life with chronic illness: “It was productivity that got me. Or rather, yet another instance of overdoing simply everything…
10 Ways You Can Show Support for People Who Are (Still) High Risk
The pandemic isn’t over for those who could get the sickest from COVID. Here are some ways you can show up for them: “SO MANY PEOPLE have celebrated going back to normal after COVID restrictions lifted, but did you know that a lot of us are still on lockdown in many ways? As many as 7…
Made WIth RA: You’re Back to Normal: I’ve Been Left Behind
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the depth of ableism and discrimination against people with disabilities. In this column for a HealthCentral, I share the experience of being high risk and the emotional impact of being swept under the rug of pandemic ableism: ““Why should I change my life when you have to be careful anyway?”…
Vaccine rollout is excluding people with disabilities
I am not here to debate the COVID-19 vaccine — I desperately want it. As someone who takes immunosuppressant medication, have a disability, and receive attendant care, I am high risk for getting COVID-19 and to have a severe case. I qualify and am eligible for the vaccine. Yet somehow, I can’t get it. I channelled…
If I Need Help, I’ll Ask for It: An Encounter with a Self-Obsessed Ableist
Updated September 27. 2020 I was on a small excursion, among other things returning books to the library and while I was there, I picked up another one. After getting checked out, I moved over about a meter and a bit to get out of the way so the person behind me could get to…
A Very Special Victim: Why I Stopped Watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Updated April 19, 2021 I stopped watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit a long time ago, after a blogger names Twisty (who alas seems to not be publishing anymore) described it as Law & Order: Mutilated Women’s Unit and just couldn’t get that out of my head. Earlier this week, I happened to see…
Worthwhile Endeavours: A Poem about Disability Stigma
Updated November 10, 2021 There is so much stigma surrounding getting disability support. Not only do you have to prove to the syetem that you’re essentially legally dead, but others judge you for not working and treat you with suspision if you dare to enjoy your life. My poem Worthwhile Endeavours is a reaction to…
Pluck: The Myth of Overcoming Illness and Disability
Updated July 14, 2024 The other day, as I was doing preliminary research for how I’d to spend my two allotted monthly credits at Audible, I came across a new release called Strong at the Broken Places: Voices of Illness, a Chorus of Hope, which looks pretty interesting. I haven’t fully made up my mind…
Rated PG for Nudity: Diving Deeper Into My Story
Updated September 26. 2024 I’ve been thinking a lot about getting naked lately. Not the regular kind of unclothed – sorry to anyone who’d started drooling and to those of you who covered your eyes, you can read on without trepidation. I’m talking about the kind of naked that shows the real you – or…