Website Up and Running!

Check out The Graceful Art of Falling website!

I like to think of it as the hub of all Graceful activities :). 

Disability Awareness Day

I have had the privilege over the past month and a half to work with a student group on UNM campus.  The A.C.C.E.S.S. group (Accessible Campus Communities Equals Student Success) planned the Disability Awareness Day Event going on tomorrow, October 28th, on the University of NM Campus.  

I am a little embarrassed to say that I did not know this group existed while I was attending graduate school at UNM. I don't know that I would have been a part of the group at that time, but I'm so glad that I was able to participate in this event planning.  The members of the group are incredibly strong and capable individuals who promote access for EVERYONE: those with physical, mental, and learning disabilities, LGBT, and other underrepresented groups are a part of this advocacy.  

We will have several workshops at the event put on by organizations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.  Tim Harris, of Tim's Place, will be the keynote speaker.  The theme of the event is: "Accessibility is for EVERYONE: Understanding 'Ableism,' Redefining Disability." 

This will also be the first event to promote The Graceful Art of Falling! Bookmarks will be handed out, and I will be participating in a student panel discussion about barriers and access for students with disabilities on campus.  Come join us!

Book Review

Below is a recent review of The Graceful Art of Falling:

"This book will bring you comfort, tears, and hope. Without having to know the author, you can hear her voice as she recounts her experiences with MD, good and bad. There are parts of this book that make you root for L. White while you are silently cheering for her as you feverishly read through the chapter. There are parts that make you hold your breath and say a prayer for her. There are parts that make you feel like you are right there next to her and wish you could reach out and offer her a steady hand. Then there are parts that make you envious at the amount of strength and bravery this woman goes through everyday. You wish you had half of what L. White has. This book makes you hope for a future where MD has as much publicity and awareness as some of the more popular foundations. It makes you hope that there will one day be a cure for this disease. L. White is truly a brave woman and should be admired among all who read this book for giving us a look inside her head and what everyday life is like with this disease."


Have you had a chance to read the book?

Consider writing a review on Amazon and/or the AuthorHouse page.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Preface

...Very few people are fully content in their lives all the time.  Everyone has negative thoughts; many feel as if they can’t make it through at some point or another, and I think it would be a disgrace to my experience not to share my most shocking and shameful thoughts... I believe a book solely about my positive thoughts on my good days would not be truthful, and would not resonate with those who struggle from time to time. And we all struggle; we all have our problems.

To read more, buy the book here.

So Many Muscle Disorders

The main reason I wrote The Graceful Art of Falling was to bring awareness to the many muscle disorders.  I recently learned the local MDA provides services for 40 different muscle diseases- and there are many more.  Check out the amazing blogs below which have been written about experiences with several types of muscular dystrophy.

Limb Girdle MD

Becker MD

Duchenne MD

Nothing is impossible

So amazing! Maickel Melamed finishes the Chicago Marathon!

http://news.yahoo.com/video/chicago-marathon-final-runner-maickel-112325532.html

Support Group Meeting

On Monday night, I attended another support group meeting.  The group meets once a month, and depending on the day there can be anywhere from 3-10 people there.  Individuals who have a muscle disorder, those who are care takers, or those who have family members with a muscle disorder often attend the meetings.  At this meeting we had a very good discussion about the challenges we face as individuals who have muscle disorders.  One main concern mentioned was, that doctors don’t tell us what’s going to happen to us.  This is not a concern of mine- as you will read in my book- I am quite certain that I have been better off and had more will to keep pushing forward because I ignore what is “supposed to happen.”  I will continue to do this for as long as possible.  Additionally, doctors can’t always tell us what to expect.  The disorders vary so greatly, and even within a specific muscular dystrophy the symptoms can range significantly.

The other major concern noted was, not knowing how much we should exercise.  It is true that vigorous exercise can damage muscles which, in our case, may not recover.  Several types of exercise were encouraged from other group members.   Some of these included: working out with a personal trainer/physical therapist, doing aquatics therapy, and practicing hot or warm yoga (this is a favorite of mine!).  One gentleman shared that when he was first told he had MD, he was afraid to exercise- he thought he would damage his muscles.  Because of this fear, he developed illnesses like diabetes and high cholesterol.  The body is meant to be in motion, it’s meant to move.  For those of us with muscle disorders, loss of strength, and loss of coordination, this can be a serious challenge.  To the extent that we can, though, we should all try to do some physical activity.  

One important point we kept coming back to at the support group meeting: even though we all have different muscle disorders, our experiences are so similar.  We experience challenges in daily functioning, we often experience depression, anxiety, and there’s always worry… even if we can keep the thoughts it the background most of the time.  The future is the hardest thing to think about because we really can’t know what to expect.  We don’t know what our lives might be like, we don’t know what other functions might be lost, and we don’t know how bad it will get. 

Disability Awareness Month

Many places, including New Mexico, have declared the month of October Disability Awareness Month.

See if there is anything going on in your community to celebrate, or learn something new about a physical or mental disability...

The book is available!

The Graceful Art of Falling is available for purchase!  Buy it here.

Woohoo Healthcare Reform!

The Top 5 reasons I'm stoked about Healthcare Reform:

5. Individuals who have NEVER had health insurance in their lives, will be able to access health care.

4. Insurers can't spend more than 20% of premiums on their administrative costs; 80% needs to be spent on my healthcare.

3. Healthcare plans have to cover preventative services like cancer screenings and annual flu shots at no cost to me.

2. Insurers can't charge me more for an individual insurance policy simply because I'm a woman.

AND the number 1 Reason:: Starting January 1, 2014 insurers can no longer deny coverage or raise premiums because an individual has a pre-existing condition. It's about time!