DISCOVERY: Health & Stigma
I am a Hostile Witness to the barriers to treatment for mental, chronic, physical, and community health. If a trained advocate like me has this much trouble navigating the opaque system, the rest of you are fucked. Let’s unfuck the barriers together.
Let’s Count Compliments Not Insults
Why do we hang on to the slights from other people but forget the compliments? For no reason today, I remembered the words of a friend of mine when we were in college. She called me on the phone about nine o’clock one forgettable night and started the conversation by saying, “Man, there is just […]
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Summer Loving, had me a blast…
Summer Loving Happened So Fast Seriously, where does the time go? My kids go back to school in eight days. EIGHT! I feel like I should have more to show for myself as to how we spent the summer. True, I did take the kids on a whirlwind tour of the east coast, but that […]
MoreAm I a Helicopter Parent?
I Hate Bubble Wrap: Could I Still Be a Helicopter Parent? There’s something clearly wrong with me. I don’t like going to the swimming pool. I capitulated and bought a summer membership to the Shaw Park Pool near where we live because what kind of a selfish mother would I be to deprive my children […]
MoreLearning To Ride a Bike
When your child has a hard time learning to ride a bike This is the first year my son Devlin has been old enough to attend MO-FEAT’s Lose the Training Wheels Bicycle Camp. MO-FEAT stands for Missouri Families for the Effective Autism Treatment. It kicks ass. A dozen families and their Special Needs Kid met in a high […]
MoreI’m Waiting For the Cancer Call
Waiting for the Cancer Call First off, I have had A LOT of caffeine, so hold on. Also, it’s my birthday. It is also Prince’s birthday and Tom Jones’ birthday. We’re all going for Sundowners later. It’s Tom’s turn to pay. I’m one of those annoying people who loves everyone else’s birthday and likes to skulk […]
MoreAutism Obsessions: They’re Gr-r-eat!
Autism Obsessions: They’re Not Just For Breakfast Those of you with children under the age of four think you know what it’s like to have a child torment you with inane and incessant information and questions. Multiply this times ten for a child On The Autism Spectrum. They can be like a dog with a […]
MoreDiscipline Does Not Cure Autism
It was a bit tense to get Devlin’s hair cut over the weekend. VVegaz Salon is about a half mile from my house. The sun was shining so the twins and I decided to walk to The Loop for his appointment. The entrance to our neighborhood abuts a moderately busy street which was unusually congested […]
MoreYou Are An Autism Obsession
Autism Obsession I am the object of someone’s obsession. To be exact, a nine year old boy (not related to me) with autism. My son and I see him on Saturdays for a social skills group in which he and my son learn to connect with other boys on the autism spectrum. I am not […]
MoreDon’t Call Me Brave: Last Day of Radiation
Don’t Call Me Brave. I don’t know why I feel drawn to Quentin Tarantino movies on this day, my last day of radiation. I’ve spent the last twenty minutes trying to find an appropriate quote from a Quentin Tarantino movie to commemorate my last day of radiation but I got bogged down by all the killing and maiming dialogue. I’ve […]
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Dilemma: Which Line Will Move Faster?
Which Line Will Move Faster? I once managed a lawsuit in North Carolina which necessitated me to be there dozens of times a year. I knew that I was overstaying my welcome in my home away from home when some citizen asked me for directions and I was able to direct him accurately on his […]
MoreYou Are Doing It Wrong: The Green Bean Pan
You Are Doing It Wrong A few days ago I was summoned back to the radiation oncology wing by an unfamiliar technician. The tech explained that I would be using a different radiation suite than the one in which I’ve had twenty-one radiation treatments already with a completely different crew. The room was in the exact same […]
MoreOncology Waiting Rooms: What’s Your Cancer?
Oncology Waiting Rooms I had an appointment to talk to my ENT about my sinuses following radiation therapy today. It wasn’t until the receptionist called me up after I sat down in the waiting room for fifteen minutes that I realized I was actually in my dermatologist’s office. Yeah, I feel like I keep pulling boner […]
MoreHalfway Through Radiation Therapy
Halfway through radiation therapy We are half way through radiation, bitches! Even into my third week of treatment, the oddness of the whole experience washes over me every once in a while. Take today, for instance. Only one of my familiar crew was there for my treatment. Four or five other technicians were milling around […]
MoreCancer Treatment Superstitions: It’s Not Me, It’s You
Cancer Treatment Superstitions Our radiation captors were down a radiation machine today (apparently it doesn’t just happen to office copiers and fax machines) so I spent more time in the inner waiting room and consequently with fellow radiation inmates today. Guess what? WE ALL HAVE FAVORITE LOCKERS! Vinnie’s lucky locker number is 7. Caroline puts […]
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