The reality of wheelchairs!
I was going to try to blog this, but ended up doing the video, as I couldn’t adequately use the written word.
May 16, 2012 by Ravyn
The Reality of Wheelchairs…
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May 14, 2012 by Ravyn
A Wheelchair! My Kingdom for a Wheelchair!
A Wheelchair! My Kingdom for a Wheelchair!
Okay, so those of you who’ve been following, may know that I destroyed my ankle at a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition. What was originally a “walk it off” injury, turned into a “bad sprain”, which in turn became a “broken ankle” and then a fractured cuneiform which required surgery, a number of pins and screws to reattach the fractured bone. No big deal, I was almost ecstatic to receive my first real “fighting arts” injury. So Friday, I was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the surgery was performed on Saturday which went off without a hitch. I’m in a CAM boot and a cast and can’t put weight on the ankle for 6 weeks. No problem. It’ll atrophe and I’m a little bummed to not be training, but I’m a big boy, I’ll survive.
All I wanted, was a way to get out of the house – because of my cerebral palsy, it renders crutches useless. I could try a normal wheelchair, but would end up going around in circles, quite literally. I don’t need wheelchair ramps, long-term care or other medical supplies, just a one-sided propulsion wheelchair to hire for six weeks. Essentially, my only needs would be coffee and getting to the gym. That’s it.
The OTs told me that because it was for community access, I’d have to pay for it myself. No worries, it’s six weeks and really, I was using for mochas and shooting the breeze with the martial arts crew. They’d done the operation for free, I was spoiled.
They also told me, that essentially, they couldn’t find a wheelchair that would accomodate one hand, for hire.
The difficulty is not the cost, but how long it actually took me to find a “single side propulsion left handed wheelchair” to hire. I could buy them, but renting, I must have called every “access” shop in Melbourne. In the end, at 4:58pm, I found one, all the way accross town. But I found one. Finally.
This got me thinking that if I was having issues, people in the The Happy Cripple community must have had issues as well!
Have you had any issues or experiences trying to get a wheelchair or other home medical equipment?
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May 10, 2012 by Ravyn
Free Pet Insurance for Assistance Dogs…
Free Pet Insurance for Assistance Dogs…
Following on from a comment received in a recent blog post about what would improve the quality of your life, I contacted Real Insurance (who offer pet insurance in Australia) to pose the suggestion that pet insurance should be offered for free to those who need it for assistance dogs. Real Insurance & RSPCA Pet Insurance are both underwritten by Hollards Insurance Pty Ltd. I’ve attached the email below:
“Hi Team,
I tried to get directly in touch with Hollard’s to pose this question to no avail. I run a disability blog and recently posed the question “What one thing would improve the quality of your life?”
One of the responses was free pet insurance for those who legally need assistance dogs. To me, this seems like a fantastic way to do some goodwill (and not to mention a fantastic PR opportunity), given the relatively low risk ratio and lack of underwriting for Pet insurance, I’d appreciate if this suggestion could be passed on to the marketing department. If it’s of interest, I’d appreciate a response, greatly.
Many thanks for your time,
Ravyn Summers
I’ll keep you posted for any responses or further action on pet insurance.
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May 9, 2012 by Ravyn
NDIS: I’ve got a billion questions…and I ask you one.
For those of you who missed the Federal Budget, disability services in the form of the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) will receive a billion dollars over it’s first four years.
Fantastic, wonderful news, any investment into disability services is a great investment in my mind! And the NDIS is a long-time coming. Starting with an initial 10,000 people, the NDIS “will be aimed at those who are most in need, providing long term, high quality support for around 410,000 people who have a permanent disability that significantly affects their communication, mobility, self-care or self-management.”
The NDIS is an important step forward for disability services, especially the idea of “long term support” as anyone who has had to deal with the current system will tell you.
But at this point, it’s all in “potential” and it’s important not to fill our heads with ideas that will distort our perception of what the service will provide. I heard last night and immediately wanted to know how to get my “slice” of the pie. But, really, it’s not about that, it’s about those who need long-term, high quality assistance. So the NDIS is good news, in perspective. For me, it wouldn’t bring me anything additional to my quality of life, but for others it could be life-changing. Great to see the Government acknowledging and taking responsibility for the state of disability services however. In the interim however, I think it’s important to look at what actually would make the biggest impact to our quality of lives. So I’ll pose one very important question to all my readers, if you could use the comments box below to respond, I’d greatly appreciate it.
What is the one product, item, service or aid that would most improve your quality of life or the quality of lives you care for?
Visit http://ndis.gov.au for more information on the NDIS.
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May 8, 2012 by Ravyn
What has disability taught you?
What has disability taught you?
Stuck at home with a broken ankle has given me a lot of time to think about my disability and try to frame illness and injury in a positive way. So the question I ask today is,
“What have you learnt from your disability?”
I could wax lyrical about what I’ve learnt, but I’ve been far too autobiographical lately about my own disability.
I’m far more interested in your stories, the lessions that you have learnt from either having or caring for someone with a disability, let me know in the comments section below.
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April 26, 2012 by Ravyn
Depression, Drugs and Disability?
I know, I know, I promised a blog weeks ago. My bad. I’ve been so doped up on SSRIs and SSNIs I’ve barely had time to scratch myself.
There have been days when I didn’t want to get out of bed, there have been days where I haven’t. Today is a particularly bad day, I’ve got a knot the size of a small country in my belly and everything is super jittery. I’ve run out of Valium, which I’d normally take in a situation like this. But, this for me, is a transformational experience, it is a strengthening experience. I’m studying, changing careers and will undoubtedly come out of this a better man. It’ll be hard. But for those of us with disabilities, nothing is ever easy, nothing is ever given to us.
If you’re struggling with depression, anxiety or any other mental malady, I’d like to hear your story, I really would.
Stay happy,
Ravyn
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February 29, 2012 by Ravyn
To be Strong
“This morning was one of the worst days yet psychologically. Took all my energy just to get out of bed. I didn’t want to do or see anyone. I just wanted to cry. What do you do in a situation like that? The only thing you can do. Get up, crank “Battle without Honor or Humility” and head to the gym. I’m scared, I’m angry and I’m confused but my submission defense doesn’t suck.” – from my personal Facebook, 27th February, 2012
I’m still very much trying to get my head around my own mental struggles, one of the key ideas that I’m learning is that all that one can do is simply put one foot in front of the other. I know many people face struggles greater than mine. After all, my only goal is to be strong. For myself, my future children and my larger role in changing society for the better.
We’ve all got things we’d like to be stronger at, we’d like to be better at. For me, it’s self-discipline. One day at a time, I’m trying to improve, to be strong. One day at a time.
If you have something you think you could improve, get stronger at, and you’d like to share it, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section.
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February 28, 2012 by Ravyn
Supporting the Site
“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
This post will deviate from the general rule of thumb and content structure of the site. But it is important. I want to give you an understanding of some things you’ll see on the site moving forward. In fact, you can probably see them now.
In an ideal world, this blog and it’s content would be my entire income. But, at this point, it isn’t. And that’s absolutely no problem. I saw that if I could make a living out of blogging, I would be able to spend far more time researching the myriad of issues that encompass the phrase “disability”. My end goal is to research and blog on disability as a career, I feel it’s my passion and a very, very worthwhile cause.
In an attempt to facilitate this, I’ve signed up with the Australian blog group NuffNang on the basis that they seem to be the most respectful and honest in their advertising. At this point in time, the website is costing somewhere in the realm of $60-70 a month to maintain (which I am more than happy to cover) and I’d just like to recoup some of that cost.
I am not, and will not ask for money donations…ever. People with disabilities and those who care for them need every cent they have.
I may open an online store, if merchandising becomes a viable and worthwhile idea. But for the moment, if you like the site and want to support it, there are three things you can do that won’t cost you a dime.
1. Complete the survey on the sidebar of the website
- It’s designed to faciliate demographic appropriate and relevant advertising, plus get an idea of the types of people who visit the site. It won’t take you away from the site and doesn’t require any “sensitive” data (name, email, address, phone number, etc)
2. Join and share the Facebook page
- You’ll stay up to date with our happenings and obviously, the more people who support the Facebook page, the deeper the discussion becomes.
3. Visit the page.
- The biggest thing that determines the financial stability of the site is the number of people who visit. Simple 
And Lord knows, I don’t want to be talking to myself.
Thanks for listening guys, any questions, shoot me a comment.
Cheers,
Ravyn
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February 24, 2012 by Ravyn
Disability and Faith
“You gotta have Faith.”
Continuing on from yesterday’s post on Inspiration, today, we tackle the mechanism of inspiration…Faith.
Faith is something that is very individual, very unique. But I’m firmly of the belief that having something to believe in, whether that be a God, sacred texts, spiritual teachings, a child, music, or simply the beauty of nature is vital to living a full life with disability. I’m not here to argue dogmatisms or systems of belief. I simply want us to share that moment, the burning desire and courage that comes with faith, in something.
Disability is by no means an easy life, it is racked with challenges, ups and down and a variety of experiences that no-one else will ever know the same way as you. So, to me, at least, it’s important to have something to believe in. Something to keep you going when life gets hard. And it will.
Children as faith – “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.”
I’ll admit openly that when I started this blog, I expected to primarily consist of those with disabilities, but the more the circle expands, it’s become so much about the parents and carers of children with disabilities. The inspiration and countless stories shared by those who care for kids with disabilities is truly heartwarming. It’s certainly made me value my mother and father more. Especially when I think about what they had to go through as new parents! I cannot honestly thank you enough, as an extension of my own parents struggle, for everything you do.
My own upbringing was a beautifully diverse mix of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and an absolute love for Japanese culture and the martial arts, a more detailed interview, can be found HERE if you’re interested.
If you have a specific faith, belief system or just something or someone who gets you through the day, I’d love to hear your story of faith in the comments section below!
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February 23, 2012 by Ravyn
Inspiration…
One of my favourite quotes of inspiration – “Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.”
Inspiration is a strength unique to human life. Animals, driven my biological urges and, at best, classical conditioning do not feel inspiration. They are not moved by words of wisdom, ideas of success, achievements in sports or any great displays of romance. They do not have dreams. They are the embodiment of Maslow’s lower hierachy of needs. Inspiration is a tale told by human stories. And some times, I believe we forget that.
Why seek inspiration?
Fatalists will tell you that inspiration is ultimately meaningless, because, after all, we will all die in the end. All human endeavour will, in all likelihood amount to a speck on a dust particle of the universe as we know it. So, on our lonely spinning mass, why bother to achieve? Why bother to dream?In trying to combat my anxiety recently, I came accross a revolutionary concept while reading a series of books. Life is lived as a sequence of the moment “now”. For example, as I write this blog post, my only concern should be to make my writing accessible and eloquent. Because if I spent the “now” thinking of the past or anticipating the future, I’m wasting time and energy that could be better spent achieving the aforementioned task of writing. It doesn’t matter that life has an expiry date, we owe a great debt to this priviledge we call “humanity” to be the absolute best we can be.
What do you use as inspiration?
For me, it’s a variety of martial artists, spiritual teachers and, most relevantly, the stories of those who make up The Happy Cripple’s community. That’s no line, I have learnt so much from your unique experiences, about the world, about myself.
If you have a specific form of inspiration, something that you’d like to share, feel free to comment below!
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