Monday Shoutout: The Capable Disabled

[w-hoh]

This capable disabled individual is a physician who became disabled due to a spinal cord injury in the US Army Medical Corps during the global war on terror (GWOT)… specifically Iraq military engagement.

When I had recovered enough; my wife and I decided to have children. Our first child was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis early in life. (We decided not to have anymore children after that.)

My son was also diagnosed with moderate to severe autism at age 3 with some level of mental impairment, formally called mental retardation.

It’s been a serious challenge, being a father to a child with CF and autism while struggling with my own life changing injury.

I’m not telling my story to gain sympathy for myself or my son. I’m doing it because I know that others have similar experiences and may be other just starting their journey as a disabled parent of a CFer , or have traveled many more miles down this road. And of course CFers can have children with CF or other disabling conditions.

I know my story is not unique. My wife has an autoimmune disease that is slowly destroying her joints and her ability to care for our son. She can relate to what I’m going through.

I also know of a blogger at CF news today, Bailey Vincent, who has shared that she has both CF & deafness.

I would appreciate knowing how the two interact in Ms. Vincent’s life, making her struggle with CF more difficult. (She had discussed how deafness makes CF procedures more challenging and I know it takes courage to talk about personal things like that publicly.) I know she is also a dancer, and that has to be a challenging career choice for her.

And anyone else that wants to share, I would be more than happy to listen. Thank you.