3 Good Things

I'm doing physical therapy and this baby is crying. This is a familiar scene at Easter Seals as it is a pediatric therapy center. It's familiar until the little baby is walking towards me. I mean this kid is coming for me with a fierce determination. I'm sitting on a mat table and she is standing there crying. So, I start rubbing her back. Her nanny comes over and asks if she can sit down with her. Of course! My physical therapist is surrendering to the fact that we're not going to stretch until this little girl has had her fill of me.  This baby will not stop wanting to be close to me. It was one of the most tender things. Unfortunately, the little girl would not stop crying and the nanny had to take her outside. I did not know this baby but she sure made a bee line for me. 

My roommate's graduation was yesterday; she graduated from Elmhurst College. I was a very proud friend. It was nostalgic to think I graduated 7 years ago with a bachelor's degree and I will have my master's in a year. 

I've had so much drama with my assistants that I elected to come home for a night. I was mentally and physically exhausted from people quitting and having to train new people. I got some TLC. 

What are three good things that happened to you? 

A Simple Update

Nothing quite measures up to the adventure I had last month. I'm quite glad! 

I am unfortunately having to hire a new main caregiver. Stacia who was in a car accident last summer; her injuries are catching up with her and it's a much better situation if she works one day a week rather than five. This is difficult but I can see it's for the best. 
 
I did get an internship at Misericordia. I'll be doing ministry and advocacy. This will start in the fall. I'm really excited. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity. I wish I knew more but I got the internship this week. There will be more updates to come. 

I'm done with the semester. I'll take a course over the summer, take two classes in the fall, and then have my internship in the spring on a full-time basis. Next spring, I will write a thirty page paper which will explain how my education and internship intersect. It's a big project but it will be broken up into small assignments. It's ridiculous to think I will have my master's degree at this time next year. Time flies!

I really do hope and pray that all of you are well. For all of you in Chicago, the weather will get better. I'm ready for 70 degrees and sunny! 

Love and Peace, 
Hannah! 

There Are More Planes Than Wheelchairs

Ready to fight the good fight!

We had completed another successful trip to D.C. I had my entire family with me which was such a blessing and so much fun.

The fun ended with the plane ride back. We had protected my wheelchair as best we could. We get on the plane, we settle in, and a flight attendant gets my dad and tells him they cannot get my wheelchair into the belly of the plane. This is not his first rodeo. He walks down with a crew member and Mom and I are waiting for dad to come back. When he came back, Dad tells us my wheelchair broke the plane. Even for the Thompson family, this is a new experience. Dad says, "I think your wheelchair is broken because the back looked too far forward". This is a brand-new wheelchair. Both Dad and I had agreed the old wheelchair would break if I we took it on one more flight. Of course, Mom is saying we are idiots for bringing the new wheelchair. No, we should be able to trust a new wheelchair. I looked Mom in the eyes and said, "the three of us should be able to trust a new wheelchair". We were working ourselves up over something we had no control over. All of us did our best to relax after that.

Clearly, I wasn't too worried about the plane. There are millions of planes but only one wheelchair. OK, my old wheelchair was waiting at home, but you get the point. We had to wait two hours to have the plane get approved for takeoff. Other passengers were quite aware of the reason why. Most people were kind while others expressed their annoyance. If I had driven on the plane, broken the plane on purpose, you would have a right to get mad. That did not happen. The crew is so incredibly ignorant about how to handle wheelchairs; it makes me angry. I really felt like getting on the intercom and saying this is life with a disability; all of you can deal with it for two hours. Nobody was unkind to me, they directed it at my parents. I hate that because if you can't express yourself to my face then don't say it to anyone affiliated with me.

I was extremely anxious about seeing my wheelchair; it had been five hours of nerves. Dad and I were walking off the jet way and we fall flat on our faces. I mean flat on our faces! This is the crew's worst nightmare. Dad and I get up and I need a minute to collect myself. I really fell hard. I was okay but definitely shaken up. Mom was in front of us, so Dad had to tell her we fell. She checks us both out and my nose is definitely bruised but we were okay.

Before any of this happened and we were boarding the plane, I made a split-second decision. I had lowered the back of my wheelchair. Call it gut instinct, woman's intuition, I just made my wheelchair as small as possible. I will say it looks very broken in this position. Guess what? My instinct paid off. The wheelchair was fine! Dad just asked me to tell him next time that I made the chair look broken. Mom said they would have broken the chair if I hadn't decided to do that. I really am incredibly grateful that the wheelchair wasn't broken. As for the plane, I don't know but there are more planes than wheelchairs.

If you are traveling, safe travels and remember to be kind.

Love,
Hannah! 

YouTube, Please Don't Silence Us

Before January of this year, I had never seen an interabled relationship. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a romantic relationship where one individual is able-bodied and one individual has a disability. I had never seen that type of relationship between two twenty year olds. If it wasn't for Special Books for Special Kids (SBSK), I never would have met people are in interabled relationships.

SBSK's YouTube channel is all about the world understanding differences. The channel features children and adults who are different. Chris and Alyssa are a married couple who started SBSK to change the perception of disability. Their channel is strictly humanitarian; no politics or religion. They want to make the world a better place and I find solace going to their channel and seeing people who are living with a disability.

YouTube has deemed this channel "dangerous". This is because predators could potentially effect the children. Due to this, YouTube took down the comment section. The whole point of SBSK is dialog and encouragement. YouTube has stripped us of having dialog which is the point of the channel. Chris and Alyssa wrote a letter explaining what YouTube said which you can find here: https://www.change.org/p/youtube-reinstate-sbsk-comment-sections-immediately If you agree, please sign the petition.

This is a link to their channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4E98HDsPXrf5kTKIgrSmtQ
They are phenomenal people who have given me inspiration like this blog does for so many people. This is why I used my platform to lift them up. I'm heartbroken that this channel is experiencing discrimination and I have benefited from seeing disability being embraced. I cried reading this letter on change.org.

Through SBSK, I "met" Shane and Hannah. I haven't actually met them but they do daily videos on YouTube. Shane has muscular atrophy and Hannah is able-bodied. They are hilarious and totally in love with each other. Shane is a motivational speaker and author. I love them as a couple. Here's their channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4E98HDsPXrf5kTKIgrSmtQ

My first narratives of a romantic relationship was my parents who are able-bodied, Barbie and Ken, Gilmore Girls, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, there is absolutely nothing wrong with these narratives. However, I didn't see myself in these couples. It feels amazing to see someone who has special needs in a healthy, romantic relationship. It's given me hope that I will find love.

I am so grateful for my readers! You give me hope and strength everyday.

Love,
Hannah!

My Shoe!

Dang it! 

My shoe fell off! It's off. Worse, it's on the floor which literally feels as far away as China. I see the shoe, the shoe sees me, but I cannot touch it. My dystonia is deciding to wreak havoc throughout my body today which is tolerable at most but now it's messing with my footwear. I'm mad but that is not helping so I analyze the situation. 

I get the arm of my wheelchair up and out of the way. I reach, I can touch the shoe. That is not enough. Going down the second time, I grasp the shoe, but I couldn't sit back up because of how awkward my body is. When I sat back up, I shifted my hips so I had enough room and could rely on core strength to sit back up. Going down, I victoriously grabbed the shoe, sat up, and had the shoe on my lap. Now it was a question of who to ask to get my shoe on.

It's 20 degrees outside but the thing was I had to walk approximately eight blocks later that night to a weekly appointment, it was only going to get colder. My assistant would pick me up, but I did not have anyone to get me to my appointment. I stopped at the jewelers, they were closed. I know the staff at Cottage Hill Diamonds very well. The staff is incredibly kind and always makes sure I have my jacket on and I would have trusted them to just help. I have to think about who’s going to see me as a human versus an insurance risk. Unfortunately, it was a Monday and they were closed. I'm halfway to Starbucks and figure why not? 

I get to Starbucks and I find the fact that nobody is noticing my shoe being off comical. When I don't need help, eight people ask if I do need help, but if I do, nobody notices. It's quite comical.

I find a barista at Starbucks that I'm comfortable with and he successfully gets my shoe on. I did follow up with a thank you card because it wasn't the easiest task. 

This is my life. I wouldn't change a thing. I have pretty big news for next month. Stay tuned! 

Love,
Hannah!