DSC_0690

Right is not always good

Something’s been bugging me about that recent visit with the neurology team at Toronto Western.  Bugging me enough that I have spent some time reflecting on exactly what it was.  I realize now my dis-ease has nothing to do with the conversation/meeting itself, but rather the very nature of the referral and its implications.   When [...]

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random2

Underwhelmed for once

We had our appointment yesterday to discuss deep brain stimulation with the neurologists at Toronto Western Hospital.  DBS is the latest thing in the world of neurosurgery – an implant that can control impulses from certain areas of the brain.  Successfully used to treat depression, dystonia and Parkinson’s in adults, it is now finding its [...]

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Shout out to my sistah

Shout out to my sistah

I tend to blog in a fairly isolated way – I think stuff and then I write it down. Many of my fellow bloggers (who actually bother to read this blog – thank you!) are far more engaged than I am. The truth is, I do read what they write. I hop from blog to [...]

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chains

Revelations

My grandmother died recently.  I met her once or twice when I was a young girl, but only knew her through photos and rare stories through my parents.  She was elderly when she died and while her death was certainly mourned by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, I don’t believe anyone thought it a tragedy.  [...]

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oldblog

New format, new purpose

It’s been 2 years and it’s time for an overhaul! I’ve reformatted the blog to accomplish a few things: update the look to something more modern (building websites is what I do after all!); add some visual ‘breathing space’ – old layout was feeling cramped ; share images from flickr ; redesign the look of the site so it isn’t SO much about Owen himself.

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out

“Ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, or incongruous…”

Owen is a sweet, endearing boy by all accounts – which I think is the perception we all have because he smiles a lot and has a beautiful face.  But it’s not like he makes me tea or tells cute jokes at the dinner table – Owen actually doesn’t, can’t, do anything.   And not only [...]

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archeologicaldig

This is Not a Blog

When a blog topic occurs to me, I let it stew for a while.  Sometimes weeks.  Then I write it in one go, editing ruthlessly along the way.  This blog is not a day-to-day journal – more a collection of essays. So perhaps a little snapshot of our ‘real lives’ is in order.  [Photo above: [...]

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sleeping

Keep Calm and Carry On

As Owen gets bigger and more wiggly I can sense the forthcoming horrific decisions that are coming my way.  He is not that heavy yet (48 lbs) nor is he that tall (drat, I forget…  he’s short) but consider his size when he’s doing his best imitation of a greased seal and you’ll perhaps appreciate [...]

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babygrace

I must have been a Buddhist in a past life.

I have spent the past 11 years fending off misconceptions that I must hate my life and that I must be angry or depressed about my son.  Often those misconceptions come from people without direct experience with disability – sometimes I explain, but mostly I just continue to live my life as authentically as possible, [...]

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ghoul

Impolitic

(I got it!  It came to me this morning.  And it’s so very unCanadian.) I am not going to help you through your discomfort and make it all better.  I can’t.  And I don’t want to.  ‘This’ is not just happening to me – you are here too, seeing, reacting, feeling.  Something is happening to [...]

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