Time for A Wonderful Escape–OR–How Would You Like to Try a Hot Dog Topped with Crushed Potato Chips?

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Desktop4It’s almost winter. This is the time in the Northern Hemisphere that we dream of wonderful escapes to warmer places–close to the equator.

In 2012, I went on my first accessible cruise with an old friend. What a wonderful experience!  Hurrah for Celebrity Cruises, Inc! Hurrah for all of the disability-conscious tour guides– especially in Costa Rica and Panama! And hurrah for my friend who convinced me to try it!

If you ever get a chance, I would highly recommend that you try going on a cruise. A cruise is a very comfortable way to see faraway lands. And if you choose the right itinerary with port cities that are directly reachable from the ship, without any need for boarding an extra transport boat, you can’t go wrong. I would love to go again, but it must be on a very new and very big ship. Rumor has it that those freshly-built giant ships are the most convenient for people who have a post-polio disability. We sailed on the Celebrity Equinox and it was extremely wheelchair-friendly.

At no extra cost the ship had accessible:

  • staterooms
  • private bathrooms
  • balconies
  • public bathrooms (with both electric entrance and stall doors!)
  • elevators
  • theaters
  • gangplanks
  • chairlifts into the pools and hot tubs
  • destination tours to sign up for

And best of all, there were 1000 friendly employees who were always smiling and ready to help you with almost anything! (Remember to take enough currency for tips.)

We traveled along the eastern coast of Central America in January for 14 days. My favorite ports were in Mexico for good shopping, then Costa Rica and Panama for comfortable day-long tours. In Costa Rica we got to see and hear howler monkeys on an accessible howlerboat cruise down a jungle river. Then we peered out of our accessible train windows at indigenous two-toed sloths napping in the dense green equatorial foliage. We also recognized ripening yellow bananas hanging high above us in huge-leafed trees, as we slowly passed them in our accessible bus. Boats, trains and buses.

It was amazing that we could do all that.

In Panama my manual wheelchair rolled right onto the ramped cable car for a slow, reverent ride through the lush jungle rain forest. We rode in a wheelchair-friendly van across the country to the Panama Canal, and in Panama City stopped for the local treat–a hot dog with first, ketchup, then crushed potato chips on top. It was a delightful, salty taste treat for anyone immersed in Panama’s dripping tropical heat. (Somehow, when I excitedly served it to friends back home a few months later, it wasn’t critiqued to be quite so sumptuous. In fact, they agreed that it was a culinary creation that Martha Stewart would definitely ignore. Wonder why? Oh well. I liked it.)

Back on the room’s balcony that night, drinks in hand, we witnessed a dramatic sunset. Orange, gold, blue, black. Then as twilight transpired, I breathlessly gazed out at all the twinkling international cargo ships that were systematically lined up for at least 30 miles. They seemed so polite. They were each waiting their turn to pass to the other side of the world through the Panama Canal. Hundreds of ships, covering the ocean waters. In my mind’s eye, they became a glittering interwoven necklace of diamonds–a floating spectacle.  More gliding vessels captivated my imagination as they silently emerged on the distant horizon. I grew increasingly enchanted. I wondered about each ship’s home nation and destination, what they were transporting; about their captain and crew members– how their language and voices sounded when they spoke.  What color and design were their ship fatigues? Who, on which ship, might be sadly suffering an intense longing for someone halfway around the world? Who was missing a distant wife…husband…sweet-faced children…a lost lover…a tenderhearted mother?

cruise collage

Ah, the world is so full of  wonderful people and places to see. And thanks to the Disability Rights Movement of  our generation, we now have opportunities to travel to distant lands where our wheelchairs and scooters, crutches and walkers never used to take us.

Now they do.

My friends, Bruce and Diane, are experienced cruisers. They especially enjoy joining folks for the annual “post-polio cruise.” It’s part of a Royal Caribbean or Celebrity get-away that embarks out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida every winter for southern destinations. To learn more,  click on the Boca Area Post Polio Group’s Newsletter.

If you are considering taking a cruise for the first time, here is what they advise:

passport 2

To print a copy, click on HAVE PASSPORT WILL TRAVEL

Yes, it’s almost winter and time for a wonderful escape.

How would you like to sail to a distant land?  Would you even consider trying a hot dog topped with ketchup and crushed potato chips? Hmmm…

It might be your time.

hot dog

 

 

 

What are YOUR thoughts on this?

Ever been on a cruise?

What was it like for you?

Thinking of trying a cruise?

What questions might you have about such sea-faring adventures?

 

 

Loneliness Is A Choice

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 Happy Halloween!

spooks!Oh dear… a rather spoooooky group… but at least they found each other!

This newest post is from my wise friend, Joyce Tepley.

If you have ever feared loneliness or know someone who seems way too lonesome, you must read it.

Joyce shines a very bright light on this issue.

Sunny

_______________

The last time I felt lonely was in college about 50 years ago. I was lonely for a boyfriend. I didn’t have one. So it is hard for me to relate to someone who says he or she is lonely.

I can understand and appreciate being lonely after someone you are particularly close to dies, like your spouse or best friend. You ache for those precious moments of heart-felt sharing that you will not have anymore. Those playful times that are inside jokes that only you and she knew about. There is only one thing to do, and that is grieve for a while.

That’s not the lonely I am writing about here. I am referring to the loneliness that comes from rejection. Not you being rejected, but by you not taking responsibility for rejecting the myriad opportunities for connection.

I was listening to a recorded question and answer session of a psychiatrist named David Hawkins . He wrote several books about human values and how we are all connected or one with the universe. Sounds esoteric but he was quite practical in his approach to living a life of integrity. Someone in the audience was brave enough to self-disclose that he could not FEEL love from others who said they loved him. Dr. Hawkins, without skipping a beat said, “So you REJECT love.” In those few words he turned it back to the man to consider taking full responsibility for CHOOSING his emotional position in life. Our feelings don’t just happen to us, we choose them. Loneliness is a choice.

Maybe you are shy and that’s your excuse for not meeting new people or cultivating, like a garden, your existing friends and family. Get over it! Gregariousness is a skill that can be learned. I was extremely shy in high school because I felt so different in my polio-ravaged body with my crooked hunch back. My classmates were kind, didn’t seem to notice that I was no different from them, and they included me in everything they did. I was fortunate not to be teased and bullied. But I also made an effort to fit in and get over my shyness. I devoured Dale Carnegie’s book, How To Win Friends and Influence People. It worked for me. I practiced what he suggested like asking people questions about themselves and starting conversations. Most people are willing to talk about themselves given half a chance. He said, LISTEN. reallyLISTEN. LISTEN. It’s an art.

After summoning the courage to ask questions of strangers I happened to be sitting next to just for practice sake, then listening to their responses, I soon got more comfortable and it actually became fun. I met some fascinating people.

Douglas LaBier, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Progressive Development and recently wrote an article on the Huffington Post called “How Positive Relationships Help You Grow and Thrive.” He reported on a study done at Carnegie Melon and UC Santa Barbara that concluded how necessary positive human connection is for our emotional and physical health. The study was about the kind of support that makes one feel understood, validated and cared for, not weak, needy and restricting of one’s self-determination. Positive support from others, not only encourages our resilience during a crisis, but helps us grow to a greater level of well-being. The article ended with, “…. accepting support when needed, and being willing and able to provide support in return, helps cultivate the types of mutually caring relationships that enable people to thrive.”

Every single one of the people I interviewed for my research on what it takes to thrive through difficult times said they couldn’t make it without the support from family, friends, paid helpers, acquaintances, people they knew through organizations they belonged to, medical personnel, people on the street who offered help, store workers they came in contact with on a regular basis, and even their pets. The list of support people goes on and on for a thriver. But then, they also told me how much they give of their time and talents to others. No matter if they had paid employment or not, all the thrivers I interviewed volunteered for other organizations. I need to sparkymention that these thrivers all had severe and long-term physical disabilities. You can read their stories and what they attribute their abilities to thrive to in my book Thriving Through It-How They Do It: What It Takes to Transform Trauma Into Triumph. Sunny has been kind enough to review it and let me write this piece on her site.

If I seem harsh or unsympathetic, please forgive me. It upsets me to see or hear of people closing themselves off from the banquet that is out there, the beauty of connection, and the nourishment of being with others who uplift us. I treasure and count on my solitude to recharge me but I gain strength from those I can laugh and cry with.

Don’t limit yourself. If you are depressed, get help. True clinical depression does alter our brain and body chemistry and short term use of medications can be of great benefit in ‘jump starting’ our brains to feel better. If you are afraid, push yourself to take one baby step at a time, like first monitoring your self-talk. If you hear in your head words like ‘I can’t,’ ‘who cares,’ ‘I don’t know where to start,’ change those words to ‘Yes, I can. I just need to learn how.’ ‘I care. And I don’t live in anyone else’s brain or body to know if they care or not.’ ‘I’ll start by smiling more, reading inspiring stories, stop complaining, stop watching bad news that I can’t do anything about, learn to be the kind of person I enjoy being around. I’ll start a conversation in line at the grocery store. I won’t make a big deal out of it. I’ll just do it.’  Nowadays we don’t even have to leave the comfort of our own homes to meet people and have meaningful conversations or just chit-chat. Sometimes these cyber relationships become more. One of my best friends, who also had polio, met her husband online. They’ve been happily married over 10 years now, believe it or not.

I could go on and on and I haven’t even covered social media sources. We’ll save that for the next time. I just heard about these Meet Up groups online that are loosely organized networking groups around topics of mutual interest, like knitting, the small house movement, tea, cooking. You name it, there is one. Check them out. Google ‘Meet Up Groups.’ You do know how to Google, don’t you?

Joyce Ann Tepley

Author of…

Click on this picture to find it.

 

info@thriverlivingcommunity.com

www.thriverlivingcommunity.com
www.thrivingthroughit.wordpress.com

_____________________________________________________________________

P.S. If you’ve never read How to Win Friends and Influence People, there is no time like the present!  It’s a MUST for people who need people.

–Sunny

Read Dale Carnegie’s classic book. Click here!

_______________________________________________

It would be great to hear from you about this topic.  Does having a post-polio disability set you apart from others?

Do you think loneliness could actually be a choice?

Let’s chat.

You first…

friendly roses

“Walk ‘n Roll!”

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grafitti and us

“Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child.” ~Joan Almon

When I first got a three-wheel electric scooter (an Amigo) for long distances 28 years ago, it made me really nervous. I was used to walking. What would people think? Then I called several friends and asked them how having a friend on a scooter would be for them.  They said stuff like, “Hey, we can go more places; we can move faster: and you’re still sexy!” Then we started to test it out and go places. When we saw a buddy’s mom at the art museum, I was self-conscious. She was simply happy to see me. When we went Christmas shopping at the mall, I realized that I could have made big bucks selling rides on my scooter to enthralled kids whose eyes suddenly lit up, faces beamed, and fingers pointed when I zoomed by! Some children even delightedly ran after me with their embarrassed parents charging behind, swept into the vacuum of their kid’s sudden crazy surge of energy! (Oh, if I had only worn a Santa hat!)

I have learned that an electric scooter has a social image akin to that of a golf cart. It’s positive and related to having fun. It’s part of living with polio. People don’t feel sad when they see a scooter. They feel curious and playful. They want it to go fast. They smile at me more quickly. Now when I go out, I depend on my scooter full time. Actually, it would make me more nervous NOT to have one, because I not only critically need it to fully function, I go everywhere in it. It’s an essential part of my freedom as a disabled, but quite healthy person. (Actually it keeps me very healthy, but that’s another post!)

As my perspective has changed over the years, one thought that I now have about scooter-benefits is that having a scooter can help bring back the joys of childhood. Even more important– those joys can be shared with the special kids in our lives. It’s easy to play on a scooter. Kids understand and can immediately relate to scooters. And if, by chance or by design, you can have one ready for each of you –often Ebay sells used ones at very low prices– that’s even better. As Ward Cleaver said years ago,”You’re never too old to do goofy stuff!”

scooter collage

“Kids love watching adults act like children. It’s that spirit they can relate to.” –James Roday

I have been lucky enough to have two great young people in my life during the last decade. They are the children of an old friend. We have been so many places together with me on a scooter. We “walk ‘n roll” side by side. We’ve spent summer days romping at Cedar Point Amusement Park, gazing at downtown Ann Arbor’s street art, sightseeing on the shores of Lake Michigan, and being water-sprayed at the base of Niagara Falls. Back at my house, we’ve pulled out my old spare scooter and two of us on scooters have raced around the condo development, chased each other a quarter of a mile up to the corner for ice cream, or lightheartedly blown soap bubbles at each other then whooshed the elusive orbs high into the March winds. We frolic!  And that is a wonderful way for our hearts and spirits to sparkle and soar.

Kids are so good for adults. They help us stay young.  And in turn, we are good for them. Youngsters these days are “absolutely starved for positive adult contact.”  Remember how that felt?  Didn’t you just adore the adults in your life who were positive and who sincerely wanted to be with you, play with you and listen to you? Electric scooters can serve as one great tool for connecting with and loving the kids in our lives. And as we break with our mundane adult routines, stop, shift gears, then enter into our favorite kids’ worlds, something happens to us. We have the opportunity to renew and be permeated by the power of our own joy, creativity, and enthusiasm.

 DSC02346

Do you have a story about how a scooter has helped you enjoy the kids in your life?

Want to share it?

Would love to hear from you.

Choose to comment below…

Amigo

My favorite scooter company

 

 

Words!

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“Words! What power they hold. Once they have rooted in your psyche, it is difficult to escape them. Words can shape the future of a child and destroy the existence of an adult. Words are powerful. Be careful how you use them because once you have pronounced them, you cannot remove the scar they leave behind.”
― Vashti Quiroz-Vega

Disability language can be like an ever-changing wilderness of words. It keeps evolving and if we don’t keep up, we can get bewildered, lost, behind and off-track.

How do we talk about our d”isability? What do we silently say to ourselves, about ourselves?

Are we “polio victims,” “polios,”  people living with polio,” “polio survivors,”  or  “people who had polio?”

Are we “wheelchair users” or “wheelchair-bound?” Strong or weak?

How do we describe ourselves? Are we each a “handicapper” or a “person who has a disability?” Aren’t we first and foremost a human being with a mind, body and spirit; rather than a beggar with a “cap in hand” (hence the word, handicapper)?

In that light, should the signs read “handicapped parking” or perhaps be changed to “accessible parking?”

Consider this…changing our hearts can change our words and changing our words can change our hearts.

Hmmm…What words do our hearts tell us to articulate to the wide-eyed world around us? To the children in our lives? The shopkeepers? The gas station attendant? The cable guy? The health care professionals? The n ews reporters? What are we teaching? They will take our lead.

When we consider and choose what to say to others, the right words will almost always emerge  if we focus on our:

  • dignity
  • strength
  • personal power and
  • positive self-acceptance.

Words! Our diction sure makes a difference.  We have the power to help shape our own, and our culture’s, worldview–just by becoming keenly aware of the words we use in daily conversation. Further, when we couple our word choice with an appropriate tone of voice, we magnify our meanings and messages to each other.  So, of course, it’s not just what we say, it’s how we say it that can be so powerful.

 

“They can be like the sun, words. 
They can do for the heart what light can for a field.” 
                                                            ― Juan de la Cruz, The Poems of St. John of the Cross

sunintrees

 

We know that speaking and hearing them… writing and reading them… the right words can be such a nourishing source of light and life to all of us who continue to trek forward through what often may feel like an unpredictable wilderness of  the latest, most socially-acceptable terminology regarding disability.

In spite of the constant changes, I want to continue to be a positive influence on this earth. I’m ready to keep up with what’s new, what’s most relevant and what’s of greatest help.  You?

Have you seen the updated list of positive and objective language that is being used to describe all things disability?

Read the latest here: Your Words, Our Image 8th Ed.

 

Agree? Disagree? Neutral? Any thoughts on this topic?

Let’s Share Our Favorite Websites

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I’ll Start…

This scooter goes everywhere!

This little travel scooter goes everywhere…

spinlife.com      Spinlife is a great place to buy travel scooters and lots of other medical equipment. I purchased my Go-Go Elite travelscooter from them and it was delivered right to my door. Been using it ever since!  The people on the phone are efficient, courteous, helpful and scooters are well-priced.
Free Shipping on orders over $50. Regain your freedom. Find scooters, wheelchairs, lift chairs and more.

    • post-polio.org   Post-Polio Health International (PHI)  fosters education, advocacy, research, and networking regarding all post-polio topics.
    • polio place  Polio Place  is a website library collection created by PHI to showcase the past and present stories of polio survivors around the world. It is fascinating.
    • polio australia    Polio Australia  is fun to read! There are all kinds of post-polio things going on down under!
    • ncphd  The National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) is positioned to affect change in health promotion/obesity management among people with disabilities through its existing 15-year history of providing advocacy, services and programs to numerous organizations and people throughout the USA. This website has all kinds of useful information for those of us who are living with polio on how to stay active and healthy.

  • Amazon.com is such an efficient bunch for us. I discovered that I can purchase Travel Johns there. These are nifty go-anywhere disposable urinals that can be used on long road trips, camping trips, inaccessible bathrooms, or discreetly on airplanes. Check them out: Travel Johns
  • Amigo Mobility  Amigo Mobility International, Inc.  The scooter I use all day every day at home and when I’m out and about is my mid-size Amigo. Al Thieme was a young man working as a plumbing and heating contractor in Bridgeport, Mich. when a family member began to lose her mobility due to multiple sclerosis. Witnessing this loss of independence, he worked in the evenings, after his day job, to create an innovative form of mobility. Thieme went on to invent the first ever power operated vehicle/scooter – the Amigo. The rest is history. There are Amigo dealers all over the world.

…And I do mean everywhere!

 Now it’s your turn…

  • The Michigan Polio Network offers great support to polio survivors everywhere. President, Bruce Sachs invites us all to check out their website…

    Webhomegreen

    Click on this logo and link to MPN website.

 

 

 

 

  • pappsnThe Pennsylvania Polio Survivor Network has a new website: http://www.papolionetwork.org/ Check it out!  It’s comprehensive and easy to navigate.

 

 

 

 

 

A Wonderful Wheelchair-Accessible Place to Stay in the Rocky Mountains

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DSCN2317

Rooms with a view!

appenzell logo

Click on this logo to see more.

Oh my goodness! I want to share with you a great place to stay if you ever get to Estes Park, Colorado. It’s the Appenzell Inn.

I have vacationed there twice now and I love it! Was just there last month. Reminiscent of a Swiss alpine lodge, the Appenzell is conveniently located right on the paved Riverwalk in Estes Park. The Riverwalk is a meandering sidewalk (at least five miles long) that, on a scooter, walking, or using a manual wheelchair leads you right into town, to the Visitors’ Center, or around Lake Estes depending which direction you want to go. The hotel has a year-’round indoor heated pool with a chairlift. In the summertime, visitors are delighted by a host of colorful flowers at every turn and are greeted by surprise brooks, ponds and waterfalls nestled into the landscaped grounds.

DSCN2311

Those who dine on the restaurant deck enjoy the sounds of this lovely water feature.

At the Appenzell there are several wheelchair-accessible rooms, but my favorite is the Patio Room on the ground level. It has easy access from close parking spots and a cute patio right outside the room’s entrance door. There is also a nicely ramped hotel dinner-only restaurant next door and up a story that is open in the summer and provides room service.

Lunch on the patio right outside the room.

Lunch and chit chat on the patio right outside the room.

When you enter the Patio Room you’ll see that there is a small kitchenette, a comfortable king size bed at the perfect height for a wheelchair-user and an accessible bathroom. You can ask the hotel for a bath bench right now, but they plan to renovate soon adding a roll-in shower and an ADA-height toilet. I love the three windows that allow dappled mountain sunlight and fresh air to permeate the room. If you want to be cozy both at night and early in the cool mornings, the centrally located gas fireplace turns on with a timer switch. As it crackles and warms, sipping on a hot cup of room-brewed coffee or tea is a heavenly touch. The built-in dining table and desk are the right height, easy to access. If you move some furniture around a little, there is lots of floor space for wheeling. Two difficult things: the microwave and kitchen sink are high and tough to use, but the dishwasher and fridge are easy to reach. Prices for this room are seasonal and range from $110.00-$180.00 per night.

sign

There is a wheelchair-accessible campsite at Sprague Lake near Estes Park.

Estes Park, Colorado is a gorgeous place to visit. About 8,000 feet up, it is at the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. There are many paved hiking spots and even an accessible campsite or two in the area–great for anyone with a post-polio disability.

bear

We saw this guy right outside our room at the Appenzell Inn.

There are many kinds of wildlife around–elk, moose, big-horned sheep and bears. Sometimes they like to amble into town for a swim on a hot day in the river or for a bite to eat from the trash bins behind restaurants.

When I visited Estes Park I rented a fairly large scooter that could steady me on the slanted sidewalks. Travel scooters are tippy on mountain terrain. All I had to do was call Mobility and More in Loveland, CO. They delivered and picked up the scooter and were very cordial. Click here for more information.

If you want to have fun in the stunning Rocky Mountains, go to Estes Park and stay at the Appenzell Inn and enjoy the wonderful walks into town and around the mountain lakes…

Right behind Starbuck’s along the Riverwalk…Shop StarbucksStore.com

new town mountain

As you’re rolling into town…

Do you know of any great places to stay that really work for wheelchair-users or crutch-walkers?

Would love to hear about them!

wheeling friends

“Wheel-friends” at Sprague Lake!

Advice From a Beautiful, Healthy Friend

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Ugh! Struggle…struggle…struggle. That’s me trying to lose weight. I have such a hard time with that. Recently I wrote to a slender gorgeous friend who has a post-polio disability and is a power wheelchair user. I asked her how she stays so slim. She shared her secrets. What do you think? What have you tried that worked? We need good ideas! 

Here’s what Linda writes…

____________________________________________________________________

Oh, Sunny, where shall I begin?

10461966_10153083515964815_3582603946940855215_nI “work” on my weight 24/7 so have many various techniques. My program is post polio friendly; and as you know, I am a full-time powerchair user, so my weight program must be pretty much solely comprised of caloric restriction. Nevertheless, energy is important to polio survivors, so I do a number of things to keep my energy up. My nutrition heroes are Dr. Joel Fuhrman (who often does ‘specials’ for PBS), Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Adelle Davis whom I latched onto in the Sixties and never let go. Her main book is Let’s Eat Right to Keep Fit  and it is really amazing how true her information is today in 2014 as it was in 1954. Good grief, that is 60 years ago!

When friends ask me what I do, I start by saying I gave up everything white, which I did. No white bread, no cake (well, duh), no white rice, no white potato, no white pasta, etc. What else that I do NOT eat: no dairy, no sugar, no exceptions.

That is an easy way to explain it in telegram format. Then if they want more detail, and they usually do, I go into more depth explaining what 5 things I DO eat daily. So here goes.

(1)  I eat a large green salad every day, and put some raw onion and add in some shredded cruciferous veggies. I dress it with walnut oil and apple cider vinegar. That is my principle meal of the day and I really look forward to it.

(2)  I eat ½ to 1 cup of hot soup or stew containing beans and other low-glycemic vegetables (no potatoes). I prepare it on the weekend and then have some each weekday. Here is the low-glycemic veggie list that Dr. Oz suggests. http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/low-glycemic-vegetable-list

(3)  I eat 1-3 fresh fruits a day, especially berries, plums, apples, and oranges. Not sure that those fruits are the absolute best for nutrition and weight loss, but they are the ones I like best. 🙂

(4)  I eat about an ounce of roasted or raw nuts and seeds daily, utilizing some chia seeds, flax seeds, and walnuts. I splurged on a Vitamix Blender and formerly used a Nutri-Bullet blender to pulverize these foods into smoothies.

(5)  I eat a large serving of steamed greens daily, and add onions in all of these dishes since Dr Joel Fuhrman writes about how healthy onions are and he raves about their anti-cancer properties. Besides that, I like their taste so it is easy to incorporate them into all my meals.

You may be wondering, “Where’s the beef?”  Well, I do eat animal protein, but just in small quantities. I mostly eat salmon and chicken and then dice it and put it into my green salad. That is where the “post polio friendly” bit comes in. I remember a wonderful article by Dr. Lauro Halstead saying how protein at each meal helped him with weight loss and energy; it was probably in Managing Post-Polio: A Guide to Living and Aging Well with Post-Polio Syndrome.

Now, I must conclude by saying you seem to be an ideal weight to me, Sunny. However, friends used to say that about me and only I knew what I was hiding under all those baggy clothes. Ha ha.

Any more questions? I am more than happy to answer them.

Hugs and Happiness,

Linda
Linda Wheeler Donahue
President, The Polio Outreach of CT
Director, Independence Northwest
_____________________________________________________________________

Book Review: Thriving Through It– How They Do It

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Check out this brand new book!

Thriving Through It–How They Do It–

What It Takes to Transform Trauma into Triumph

 JoyceAuthor: Joyce Ann Tepley

Publication Date: April 2014

_________________________________________________________

An Easy Read On Super-Secrets for Success

 By Sunny Roller

Written by polio survivor and clinical social worker, Joyce Tepley, this book was written to discuss thriving—what it takes to embrace and overcome issues that that turn our lives upside down—at least for a while.

Journeying through the 149 pages, the reader meets 20 real-world people who have experienced physical disability and flourished. Five are polio survivors. When Tepley personally interviewed them, she asked them 16 questions about who they are and what they think made their lives so positive and productive. Their answers are fascinating. Some said that it was the disability itself that led to their success– it gave them a sense of purpose. Others revealed that it was their personality traits, individual beliefs, and social support.

The author accomplishes her goal. After describing each person, she reveals their super-secrets for success. She also analyzes and supports joyce book coverwhat they say with well-established psychological theories from several of the professional greats, including Bandura and Erickson.

Tepley is uniquely well-qualified to write this book because she has a post-polio disability herself and is a trained counselor. She actually is the twenty-first person who tells her story of thriving in this book. She writes about growing up and struggling with shame about her teenage body image, graduating with honors and still feeling inadequate, then in the midst of a successful career, meeting her loving husband. She relates that now, as she is growing older with a disability from polio, she has become more accepting of herself and what life is all about.

Thriving Through It is well-written. It’s easy to read, down to earth, and useful. Its style is amiable, erudite and humble at the same time—just like Joyce, herself.  As she reveals some critically important philosophies about life, Tepley is fun to read because she’s a friendly teacher, not a puffy preacher.

I really enjoyed this publication because I was led to take a personal interest in the people who told their stories.  Not just because they had interesting accounts to share about life with a disability, but because they went on to reveal how they did so well. That’s the most helpful part of the book. What Tepley teaches us about thriving and how to do it is useful information that can be put to work in our own lives, right here and right now. It’s an idea book on living well and what it takes.

I especially liked Tepley’s last two sentences: “There is so much to learn and be thankful for. May you be a blessing.” Why those sentences? Because, for me, they sum up my overall feeling about the entire book. Tepley wrote it lovingly. I could discern from her words and approach from the start of her research (“wondering and wandering” to find important answers) that she genuinely cares about those she interviewed and wants the very best for her reader. That is her abiding blessing to her audience.

daisies

 

To purchase a copy of Thriving Through It, look for it in your local bookstore, or go to Books on  Amazon.

Wellness Retreats

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2014-08-271

The Colorado 

Post-Polio Wellness Retreat

August 17-20, 2014–Rocky Mountain Village–Empire, Colorado

Fifty-three of us attended the Colorado Post-Polio Wellness Retreat from August 17-20, 2014 at Rocky Mountain Village in Empire, Colorado. This experiential holistic wellness program for people living with polio featured guest speakers and planned activities revolving around three major themes: the mind, the body and the spirit. We slept in the Easter Seals camp’s rustic cabins, shared communal bathrooms, ate meals together in the large dining hall and joyfully participated in program sessions that ranged from aerobic exercise to zip lining. Yes…zip lining! We went on bird and wildflower hikes, and a recreational train ride through the mountains. We enjoyed a reflexology treatment, learned about post-polio syndrome, and heard about mindful meditation. Then we tie-dyed t-shirts. And that’s just a sampling of the rich program agenda. The entire retreat cost was $300.00 plus transportation. cabib

It wasn’t the stunning mountain vistas 9,000 feet up, or the warm 90-degree swimming pool sparkling with joyful sunlight.  It wasn’t the cheery summer wildflowers popping up beside the woodland paths or the rushing waterfalls that met us as we wandered in and out of the nearby forests. 

Nope.  It was the people.  And it was the polio. Somehow we had found each other and became freshly entwined. We, with our partially paralyzed post-polio bodies, made friends quickly, as if we had known each other since childhood…

roseRead my entire article, “The Colorado Post-Polio Wellness Retreat: Grasping Sweet Thorns in the Rockies,” later on this blog!

P.S.  If you have never been to a post-polio wellness retreat, you may want to consider signing up! They are filled with fresh air, fellowship and lots of educational and recreational activities. The next post-polio wellness retreats will be held on the shores of Lake Superior in Big Bay, Michigan in September 2015 and then high in the mountains in Empire, Colorado in August 2016. Connect to Post-Polio Health International’s website for updates: http://post-polio.org/

Nice to Meet You!

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“Who puts the coffee on for two.

Who makes me laugh when I am blue.

No matter what I have to do–

My friend, there’s always time for you.”

Hi,

Welcome!  Do come in. Have a seat. I know that we can learn great things from each other.  Do you prefer coffee or tea?  Let’s chat. So cozy. So warmhearted. So important. We will talk openly and listen deeply.  Again, welcome!

SunnyMay I introduce myself? I am a woman who has been living with polio for 63 years now–since 1952. Over the decades so many polio survivors, helping professionals, and all kinds of great people have meandered in and out of my life. Some have stayed; some just stopped by, but they, like you, have had important roles to play and insights to share.

When I was 33 I got the late effects of polio and ended up at the University of Michigan Post-Polio Clinic. There I met my doctor, Frederick Maynard, MD, whom I later teamed up with to start the Post-Polio Research and Training Program. Since that time in the mid-1980s, I have traveled across the country and around the world teaching and learning about polio. We saw children who had polio in India crawling on the streets, kids in the state of Georgia who got polio from the vaccine, adults in Europe searching for physicians who could effectively treat them and polio survivors  in New Zealand joining support groups to help each other out. And that’s just for starters…

What I have learned over the years is that we have suffered, struggled and been disabled by polio. But that uninvited turmoil has, and still is, pressing us to strengthen ourselves in new ways–mind, body and spirit. Looking back, we know it’s true–a growing number of us have consciously turned living well with polio into, not just a goal, but a creative art form. We have not only been the adroit composers of our unique personal adaptations, attitudes, and alliances, we have become the masterpieces themselves. And we flourish. Here’s to feeling great!

This blog is dedicated to twinkling enthusiasm when we open our eyes every morning. It is also dedicated to feeling the permeating comfort of thankfulness for the day’s blessings as we silently drift into sleep every night. Everything in between, we gotta work on. Cheers to us! We’re in this together!

And now, won’t you introduce yourself? Where are you? What brought you to this blog? What is an important topic of conversation for you?

warm cup

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