A Look Inside My Art Room

I’m not one of those typical “I work best in a mess” artists. I have too much of my father’s left brain in me for that. When everything is everywhere, it makes me to anxious to work. I like organization – everything in its place where I can always find it. I like my workspace […]

Swimming: My Best Exercise

As you can imagine, finding an effective way to exercise when you have limited mobility is tricky. It’s even harder when if you move certain ways or overwork your muscles, your bones break. Welcome to my world. My biggest problem is that my muscles are stronger than most of my bones, and so when they […]

The Comfort of Lying on Tables

As most of you know, I spend a lot of my time lying down. It’s easier for me to function in that position because my back and neck get tired quickly in my chair, and when I’m lying on my side I feel like I’m not having to fight gravity as much. It can be […]

Finding an Aide

With as many people out there looking for a job as there are, you would think that finding an aide for me would be an easy task. Let me be the first to tell you, it’s not. The ads we place when searching for a new aide for me usually go something like this: “In […]

Dieting with a Disability

Let’s just get it out there: dieting sucks. Right ladies? I mean, what is better than a hot donut first thing in the morning, a big, juicy hamburger with a buttery bun and a soda for lunch, or fresh pecan pie with ice cream after dinner (maybe with a glass of port or sherry)? I’m […]

Dealing with Pain

People are always surprised when I tell them that I’d had over 500 broken bones by the time I was ten, but that I can count the number of times I’ve taken a narcotic on one hand. They often assume that breaking bones must not be painful to me, which I will never understand. Trust […]

The Challenges of Flying with a 400 Pound Wheelchair

My blog this week was supposed to tell you guys about the amazing art teachers I’ve had throughout my career, but the experiences I had with my wheelchair over the weekend flying to Maine and back inspired me to switch it up a bit. Don’t worry, art teachers are soon to come. A couple of […]

Being Sick and Having Osteogenesis Imperfecta

It’s summertime, and you know what that means-everyone seems to be sick with that miserable upper respiratory cold that goes around without fail at this time every year. You know, the one you have tried desperately not to catch? The one where you tell yourself it’s just a sore throat, and then before you know […]

“Looking Up” Excerpt: Caged? Child Abuse?

Parents of children with Osteogenesis Imperfecta are often charged with child abuse, simply because their kids always turn up with broken bones. My muscles can break my bones when they contract, making it seem like my bones break at random. You can see where, especially if a child has a lower severity of OI, parents […]