Cerebral palsy affects many things in my body. It is a neuromuscular deficit, so the muscles in my body react differently from those without a physical disability. The neurological pathways in charge of passing a message of movement from the brain to the muscles are inhibited. Most able bodied people have the ability to manipulate … More The Magical Shirt

Cerebral palsy isn’t tin. Tin is a silvery-white metal. It is a rare element often associated with a famous character from the Wizard of Oz. The Tin Man couldn’t move his extremities without the help of oil. Even with the oil, The Tin Man could experience difficulty. He needed the correct amount for his arms … More The Tin Man

We use the practice of a toast in many situations. There are toasts at a wedding or maybe on a first date. We use a toast to mark an occasion like a holiday dinner or an anniversary. It is a way people drink together in honoring a person or thing. The idea of raising a … More A Simple Toast

This week I took another step forward in accepting cerebral palsy. I played in a golf tournament helping kids and adults with CP. My hope was to interact with people who have cerebral palsy and I saw a few as part of the welcoming committee while I checked in for the golf tournament. However, my … More CP Acceptance: Post-Golf Tournament

It’s late at 35 to still have trouble accepting my cerebral palsy. I’ve struggled with not only the physical aspect, but also the emotional aspect of having the disability. This week I will take another step forward in the acceptance journey. For the first time I’m playing in a golf tournament to help children and … More CP Acceptance: Pre-Golf Tournament

One of the abilities cerebral palsy affects in me is balance. There are different types of balance, balancing my body as a whole, and balancing things using the small muscles in my wrists and hands. I spend hours strengthening my core and stability muscles to improve overall balance, but my wrists and hands still have … More A Well Placed Lemon Slice

We seem to place people in boxes, which immediately affect the way we interact with them. Another way of looking at boxing people up is passing judgment onto them. Rich, poor, black, white, north, south, handicap, retarded, lazy, go getter….. We seem to create these boxes to make sense of the world, with each box … More The Boxes