When my power chair and I hit 100, it felt like a significant milestone in the coming together of one soul and one motor. We'd bonded in those first 100 km, and I remember being sure that it was impossible for woman and machine to be any closer unless in a cyborg situation such as … Continue reading When 2 Become 1,000
At the end of an especially frustrating day earlier this week, I found myself struggling to accept how little I’d accomplished. All afternoon, I’d flitted from one task to another, never able to spend more than fifteen minutes on any given thing before getting lost in the news or rolling to the kitchen for a … Continue reading (Un)burdened
… I’m free! My inner drama queen had started to wonder if my period of confinement disproved that "this too shall pass" adage that rankles me when all I'm trying to do is see the glass half empty. Yesterday, for example, which was particularly bad from the “me cooped up and resentful that most people’s … Continue reading Twelve Days Later …
For the most part, things have been going as well as could be expected in a world that’s crumbling to pieces. In the few weeks that have elapsed since my husband and I got home from our latest trip, I've managed to preserve a healthy level of that relaxed vacation energy while also diving back … Continue reading Drain of Energy
Last night just after 10:00 PM EST, I wheeled through the door, had a third dinner, unpacked because I'm constitutionally incapable of neglecting a bulging suitcase for more than thirty minutes, took a long bubble bath, then slept for eight hours straight, unheard of for me. I woke up disoriented in my own bed, half-expecting … Continue reading Same Same but Different
I’m writing this (and publishing it, if I manage to finish it quickly enough) while on a plane bound for Victoria, BC. It’s been six years since I last visited the city in which I was born and grew up. The long separation hasn’t been by choice; until now, my health’s made the trip unfeasible. … Continue reading Go West, Young Wheelchair
It was an unusually long summer and fall in Toronto, a period marked by eerily comfortable temps that lingered well into November and delayed the inevitable freeze of an Ontario winter. As much as I'm alarmed by what T-shirt-in-October days might signal, I was pretty fine with leaving my parka in the closet until weeks … Continue reading Trial by Snow
It's the 500-kilometre anniversary of the fortuitous pairing of me and my power wheelchair, a match made in mobility heaven. The time and distance have flown by—too fast, sometimes (I should probably do a better job moderating the speed at which I drive). My power chair isn't a part of my identity, really, but has … Continue reading And Now We Are 500
My husband and I woke up early last Thursday morning, puttered around the apartment, and took a cab to the airport. Several smooth hours later, we landed in Boston. Next was a drive to New Hampshire, where we visited friends for the weekend, going to Maine both Saturday and Sunday. Monday we spent in Boston; … Continue reading On the Road Again (Again)
While out doing my thing, minding my own business, I field countless intrusive questions and inappropriate comments from strangers, most of them well-meaning but also misguided. Although many of these encounters leave me annoyed and, often, a little amused, I usually manage to brush them off and move on in short order. I'd rather not … Continue reading Whoa
De Morbo Sacro: Life and/with Epilepsy 