Humor, Not Stress, Saves Lives

I know I had an interesting childhood: When I was born, the doctor came out to the waiting room and said to my father “I’m very sorry. We did everything we could, but he pulled through.” My mother had morning sickness after I was born. My father carried around the picture of the kid who...

Upside Down Wheelchair

Is there any limit to abilities? Well, depends on how much you want to do something and how much you are willing to practice. Drive and determination are something we all (abled or not) possess, but few take the initiative. I first saw this young man on the show “Secret Millionaire” on Fox last...

How do you see yourself? Glee!

What’s it like to be a geek, nerd, well, any walk of life in High School? Nay, what’s it like to be different? What is it like to walk in someone else’s shoes? Glee, a fictional TV show (just wanted to put that out there first), is a show that explores many different things that teens go...

Team Sport: Bowling

I went bowling this weekend with a friend and it brought back a story I did several years ago for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. I thought I’d dust it off and share it with you all. It’s a perfect example of team work. The ball rolled down the lane sliding to one side then curving to the center...

Strength In Assistance In Woods Class

What do you get the world’s greatest mom? What do you do when you’re only in middle school and have a physical disability to make the perfect gift for the world’s greatest mom? What do you do with power tools? Shop class was one of those classes which any boy looks forward to (and some...

Hippo Inclusion In The Classroom

Walking into the room, fifty eyes were staring at me. The teacher told me to take a seat as she resumed taking roll call. All summer I had waited for this day, but when it finally arrived, I was scared to death. After my first four years of schooling in a special school, I was being mainstreamed into a...

Living With A Disability

What is it like to have a disability? This is a hard question for me to answer. I’ve had my disability, Arthrogryposis (Ar-thro-gry-posis) since birth, so I have no way of knowing what it’s like not to have a disability. The physical challenges I face every day, like trying to put on my shoes,...

Parents How To Book?

Just the other day I was looking through the library for a book. I looked under self-help, inspirational even humor. No matter where I searched, I couldn’t find The Book on raising children. There are books on almost every other subject, but when it comes to a how-to book on raising children, it...

Arthrogryposis At The Paralympics

With an unimposing walk, Luca Patuelli made his way to the center of the BC Center in Vancouver, Canada. He was on the world’s stage. He was one of many helping entertain thousands. It’s the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Paralympic Games. At first, just thought he was another entertainer. Then...

Shades And A Hat

I feel the eyes beading down on me. It’s like being hounded by the paparazzi. Yet I don’t consider myself a famous person or celebrity. At least not in the sense of having a gaggle of paparazzi following me around everywhere. But sometimes it feels like that. Having a physical disability, or any...