Category Archives: The View From Here
The View From Here (24-11)
I realize now, that in all of the tools in my toolbelt I’ve developed over 10 years of living with a disability, including learning to walk again, learning to drive using hand controls, navigating life using a mobility device; I was severely lacking in one basic tool that would assist me in a dangerous situation such as the one I was faced with last month. What do I do, as a person living with a disability, when I feel threatened?
The View From Here (24-09)
I am reflective today of the challenges I’ve faced, the tremendous obstacles I’ve overcome and the enormous opportunities that have come my way because of all of it.
The View From Here (24-05)
While sometimes a whisper can give you a loud and clear message, maybe it’s in those moments where the message actually roars, that wakes you up to listen just a little bit more. I’m beginning to see it’s those times that my disability is teaching me something. Sometimes it takes a loud cry from someone, something, or some event in our lives, to wake us up to the changes that are happening, or should be happening, right in front of us. While you may not see them as a positive at the time, there may be a lesson there, in the roar. A lesson in acceptance and leaning into that change.
The View From Here (24-02)
There is a saying, “Just because I carry it so well, doesn’t mean it isn’t heavy.” But I think this “carrying it well” goes for most of us, doesn’t it? While you may not suffer from a disability or have to deal with the types of challenges those of us who are disabled do, most of us have things in our lives that we just don’t discuss. Things that we hide away to just get through the day, so we don’t have to share it with anyone. We put the makeup on, or the business suit, we take and post the glamorous selfie, when, in fact, behind the scenes, our lives aren’t exactly what we dress them up to be. We present an image we think the world wants to see, instead of sharing the difficulties we deal with day-to-day, when it’s the sharing that may actually be the thing that helps others.
The View From Here (24-01)
So, I took a deep breath. Reminded myself that I could, actually, “Do it scared,” and I forced myself through the fear. While as a young girl on that hill years ago, I needed someone to help me get through that fear and walk back to my family, the years since and the trauma I’ve endured from my SCI have helped me now have the tools to work through the crippling fear on my own. I remembered all of the work I’d done, remembered that I actually now had the ability, and that I couldn’t let this fear keep me from moving forward. I pushed through, and I walked back to my house, by myself, using only the cane. Despite the fear trying its best to keep me from getting there.
The View From Here (23-10)
If I can go, in my wheelchair, after all of the medical issues and tests I had just been through, and get my mammogram, so can you. I know it can be scary. I know it’s a hassle. I know you have to find the time, I know you have a million things to do and you really don’t want to do it. But early detection is the key. If there is something there, you need to know now so you can take care of it and keep your life going. And, most importantly, keep on living…Just like I did!
The View From Here (23-09)
As much as I’ve progressed in my journey living with SCI, battled paralysis, fought with everything I possibly could to walk once again, and as much as I am grateful for this new life that has given me tremendous perspective and an outlook of gratitude, the likes of which I’d never known before; the memory of this day, the day I fell, the year that followed and how my life changed in an instant, brings up a lot of emotions for me. And a ton of tears.
The View From Here (23-07)
How I told my story and how I represented our community became very important to me and I wanted to get it right. For myself and for others.
The View From Here (23-06)
My frustration is not that elevators break. I understand that things happen. My frustration is that there seems to never, ever be an adequate solution or alternative offered to those of us who cannot take the stairs if an elevator is broken. So, what do we do? Just deal with it?
The View From Here (23-05)
Since my spinal cord injury in 2014, I’ve really come to admire those of us who live every day with a disability and share the struggles we face, as well as the milestones. Someone very dear to me said recently, “When you win, you always celebrate the victory, but when you don’t win, you learn from the loss.” That’s what I’ve taken from sharing my challenges, and what I’ve learned from my fellow spinal cord injury survivors who share theirs. We can often learn more from our struggles than from our triumphs. And we can certainly help others along the way, just by doing so.
The View From Here (23-02)
Balancing our work and finding time for family and friends…and, most importantly, finding time for ourselves. It doesn’t have to take a person who is recovering from a disability to experience that. We all struggle with finding a work and life balance.
The View From Here (23-01)
I bring all of this up to hopefully highlight the obstacles we, as people living with disabilities, face every single day. Not just the obstacles, or the excess costs, but the sheer frustration of having to retrofit our lives just so that we can be independent.
The View From Here (19-09)
I never realized how little I knew about Cancer until I was told I had it.
The View from Here (19-11)
I think it’s important to share my story to encourage other women to stop putting off your screenings.
The View From Here (18-11)
The fear I’m facing is not because of the actual steps I’ve started taking again or the actual act of being up on my feet. The fear is from the unknown. Just as I faced years ago in the dark. Will I fall, or will I balance? Will my body give out, like it did so many times before, or will I stand and walk safely as I did for years and years before? The fear is crippling and debilitating. It creeps in to my therapy to the point where it prevents me from standing on my own because I’m so scared of what might happen
The View From Here (18-05)
It’s amazing to think so many emotions can be tied to pieces of cloth hanging in your closet. It happens to all of us, though. Not just after a traumatic experience. We all keep the jeans we wore in college, or the pretty dress from that special first date. It’s not necessarily the article of clothing itself is that special; it is the connection that piece of cloth represents to an important moment of time in your life.
The View From Here (18-04)
So, I thought I could add my two cents to the conversation and suggest an alternative to the negative term, “wheelchair bound.” I think we can, and we should do better. The next time you find yourself describing someone like me, who rocks a chair, try this one out for size: –“Do you know Justine? Yes. I do. I heard she’s Wheelchair Strong.”
The View From Here (18-02)
Through vigorous physical therapy over the past two years I am starting to walk again. First it was just a few steps, now I am able to walk outside and close to the length of a football field. I am getting my life back, all because I have had this therapy which Medicare has provided to me. I am excited about the future now and am getting back on my feet. … This is why I ask you to please vote to repeal the Medicare cap so that those of us who truly are benefiting can continue to do so, and thousands more will be able to do so in the future. The cap is currently so limiting for those of us who need more than just a few visits. And the out of pocket cost would be astronomical for patients who are making progress getting back on their feet again.
The View From Here (18-01)
By: Justine Chichester “Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.” – Michael Josephson I’ve decided to take a new approach to my New Year’s resolutions this year. In the past, I’ve done what most of us do, swear up and down to lose weight, exercise more,… Read More »
The View From Here (17-11)
By Justine Chichester I’ve been reading Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Option B. In it, she writes about facing adversity, building resilience and finding joy. Sandberg writes, “You are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. Like a muscle, you can build it up; draw on it when you need it. In that process… Read More »
