I had to be my own sexual health advocate. I know I am not alone. Sexual health education for people with disabilities is a topic that is so needed but rarely discussed. I am Angela, a 42-year-old woman with spina bifida. I am a widow. I lost my husband to cardiomyopathy (an enlarged heart) when I was 39. I now live with my boyfriend and my two cats. I have been very fortunate as I found two incredible men in this lifetime. (Angela with her late husband at their wedding) I m

I was invited on vacation to Okaboji. My boyfriend and I plus a guy friend as well as his girlfriend. Before we had left we had found out I was pregnant. We had such a romantic time on our vacation. I started spotting and I was worried so I was going to head back to Des Moines and go to the doctors meeting where as he would stay with his best friend for the trips they do every year. At the last minute he decided to go with me. On our trip home just 50 minutes away. I starte

Dear family members and friends of brain injury survivors. I write this letter to you as a survivor who has experienced the raw pain of watching several of my own family members walk away and my supporters who cared for me began to shrink. A year before, after my open heart surgery my support system was huge. Through daily phone calls, meals made for my husband and I and friends stopping by to check on me regularly, You can understand why after three months of intense thera

January 20th was International Day of Acceptance. It got me thinking about what I first learned at the age of four, the person I am and where I want to be in the future. When I was growing up, my family didn’t treat me any different than anyone else. I had more doctor’s appointments than others, but I didn’t realize that at the time. I never really even knew that I was different until I started going to nursery school (at the age of four) and the other children in school po

I was born on Feb 25, 1992 healthy and full of life . Everything was fine. That was until an outbreak of Meningitis came in my state. Back in the day we didn't have a shot to prevent it at the time. I was fine, then I fell sick on December of 1992. I got worse over time. I was taken back and forth to hospital. The doctors said to my family “ It’s just the flu “. Well, it wasn't just the flu. I kept getting worse and worse. I was so sick that I was having fever convulsions an

On December 21 2014, I was ran off the road by some kids on purpose.They were never caught. There wasn't enough proof to show it was a hit and run. I was given the whole blame for the accident. Even though I know they hit me I was given the blame. My car flipped 3 times. I was ejected out on the 2nd flip and my car came down and landed on top of me in the ditch, I was pinned under the front passenger tire. I fractured my c7 & t6 and crushed and severed my t10 & 11. I broke

The first article I wrote for Disability Horizons lists my choice of the top ten apps for disabled people. No matter what your disability, there’s an app out there that can assist you in some way. With the help of such technology, we the disabled community can make our lives that little bit easier. My recommendations : Dragon Speech Recognition Software app This app enables you to turn your tablet or phone into a wireless microphone. By simply speaking into the device y

Hey Everyone! My name is Sarah-Dawn Jacoba Tinordi. I am 21 years of age and I have Myelomeningocele Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus . I grew up in a split up home, but had the privilege of going to see my father every weekend and spent lots of time between both houses. I primarily lived with my mom. I spent the majority of my childhood at the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary Alberta. Since I turned 15 I have dealt with anxiety and depression but have learned ways to ove

Hey Everyone ! My name is Clearisa Denay Gallegos ! I’m 26 years old . I was born with a birth defect called Myelomeningocele Spina Bifida. I recent just had my 39th surgery! I’ve had my head, spine , feet and bladder operated on. I have had a surgery called a bladder augmentation and my recent one was bladder stone removal surgery. I am still recovering! I grew up pretty well. I was not really raised to look at myself as a person with a disability. I was raised to be

Two years ago about this time, I had just received word from my Rehab Doctor at Craig Hospital in Denver that in a couple of weeks they planned to discharge me; about three weeks early. I had learned everything that they thought I was ready to learn and it was time to fly on my own. This would become the next step on a journey that had started a couple months before on a ranch in northeastern Montana. My name is DuWayne and our family ranches in a pretty remote area of Montan