Living with Cerebral Palsy and Intersectionality

“Well, when you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair Talking to some rich folk that you know Well, I hope you won't see me in my ragged company Well, you know I could never be alone” (Rolling Stones, Dead Flowers). My Dad's birthday would have been just the other day (from the time of posting), if he were still alive so this feels like a good time to understand the father-son relationship for me. The song that opens this post is what I would have played at my Dad's funeral had there been one and a whole host of other reasons.  Dead Flowers is the perfect Stones song for my dad in my memory. You see, my dad was the “ragged company”, only he didn't want the world to see that. For the number of people who looked down upon my dad and there were many (including me), I don't think it compared to his internal pain. He didn't want to be alone or alone with his pain.  I don't know why my dad became an addict, like I know the stories of being a hippie a...

I once wrote," I'm the cynic to your peace; you're the beauty to my beast.” It is incredibly difficult to have a positive view of self when for most of my life, I've been fighting internally and externally to be seen, heard, respected, and loved. Today, I explore the “brain stew” because it means so much to how I function in the world. I started talking about my life with CP because it helps to talk about it. It also helps others who feel unseen to be seen. But, on selfish days, it helps me to be seen. However, I cannot truly be seen if I only talk about living with Cerebral Palsy. I have to address growing up in an environment of addictions, growing up in a religious vortex, growing up around mental illness, and both the physical and emotional impact the journey has had on me. It seems that disability inclusion is a relatively new thing. I know in my own lifetime, I was called names for the way I walk. But, apparently, being inclusive is now a dirty word that makes yo...

“I saw you from a foreign window. Bearing down the sufferin’ road” (Van Morrison, Foreign Window). We all have stories and experiences that shape us into who we are. Some of the biggest for me, are Cerebral palsy, religion, and addiction within my family. The song above played in the background of a home movie during Christmas time when I was three years old. I discovered what the song was some thirty-eight years later. And I think the concept of a foreign window is exactly what I'm trying to do here. The human lens holds many avenues. I live with a disability, but I live with so much more than that, and I know you do too.  Many years ago, I was a student of the Bible and ministry. During an internship, I had the opportunity to go to Salt Lake City, Utah. One day on the trip, I was given the opportunity to give the sermon before the meal for the hungry and unhoused. I was volunteering with the Salvation Army and we were working with volunteers from the local Roman Catho...

You have probably heard the phrase in some context or another that life is about the little things. For me, walking with CP, this idiom couldn't be more spot on. Navigating spaces and places is the hardest thing I do, apart from vision related things every day.  As a kid, this came in the form of trip hazards and otherwise difficult obstacles. My approach at that time was to either work around or avoid certain situations and settings. But, what about when I couldn't avoid it? For instance, I grew up in a state with a lot of snow. Like many kids, I enjoyed going sledding. I had a pretty perfect spot for it, not too far from home. Now, I'd imagine it's hard enough for most people to climb up a snowy slippery hill in the middle of winter. Picture climbing up that hill when you barely have your feet under you on even ground. Navigating spaces and places, with the way I walk, has made even fun activities a chore, and that takes a lot of the fun out of it.  Fast forward to hi...

One of my biggest modifications as a person living with Cerebral Palsy is the fact that I don't drive. It's not actually the CP that prevents me from driving, but my vision from other related conditions. I don't have any depth perception and I can't see how close other objects, people, or cars are on the road. I don't want to accidentally kill somebody. That's not something I want to live with, so I accepted the advice of doctors and others to no longer get behind the wheel a long time ago.  But how does not driving affect my life? A lot of people think that that's my biggest challenge and in some ways they're right. In other ways, it's just a different way of living.  Things that a lot of us consider luxuries make my life functional. I love Amazon. Not because I support big corporate business because I don't. But, because of the ability to not have to rely on somebody else to get what I need. Before the invention of online sales and things like ...