Today a friend of mine crowned me the queen of lazy hair! It had me all smiles because she knows me all too well. This post was inspired by my visit to my hairdresser's today. And I was faced with the reality that the reason I go all the way ( out of my way) is because they don't make a big deal when I need a chair held here or something else passed to me. They don't make a mountain out of the 'double chair' I so often request for.As you read this, just ponder at how accessible your hairdresser is to those with different disabilities. These are the days when I enjoy going to the salon, before you run off I won't go on and on about types of hair food or hair colour or whatever other languages are spoken at the hairdresser's. The conversation here was nonexistent for a good long while till one of those undoing my hair mentions about how ticked off about this old friend who seems to think they have a few shillings to handout. This is not a one off incidence bu...

 Some people will say that parking spaces are problems of the middle class, I beg to differ, in instances of having a disability, having a car/vehicle becomes a necessity in the move to achieve independence as it makes mobility and movement easier. The author of this story has done justice to an issue which rarely receives attention. I've highlighted a point that would get county/city governments joining in :-) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachelle-friedman/an-open-letter-to-handica_b_6666702.html As someone who has worked with people with disabilities, I thought I understood more about that life than most people did. I volunteered during college for a few events and landed my first full-time job leading dance and fitness classes for active senior citizens. I knew they dealt with physical pain, that they sometimes felt talked down to, and that they didn't have the independence most of the population takes for granted. But after I became a part of that world due ...

The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino My best friend and I were in the diner, talking. As usual, it was very late and we were eating French fries with gravy. Like normal girls our age, we spent a lot of time in the diner while in college, and most of the time we spent talking about boys, music or trivial things, that seemed very important at the time. We never got serious about anything in particular and spent most of our time laughing. As I went to take some of my medicine with a snack as I usually did, she watched me with an awkward kind of stare, instead of continuing the conversation. She then asked me out of the blue what it felt like to have Lupus and be sick. I was shocked not only because she asked the random question, but also because I assumed she knew all there was to know about Lupus. She came to doctors with me, she saw me walk with a cane, and throw up in the bathroom. She had seen me cry in pain, what else was there to know? I started to ramble o...

So today the management of the building where of offices are based decided to pull a fire drill on us! Fun right? Not at all. A while back when one of my colleagues went for fire rescue training organised by the management of the building, one of the questions I asked her is if they had been given any tips on how to evacuate people with various disabilities in case of a fire. No mention at all. I just kept hoping that in case of a fire drill they would give us a heads-up. Anxiety is a big part of my daily life which has seen me develop OCD ( Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) to take control of situations and minimise my instances of anxiety. About two hours ago, I was hinted at that there would be a fire drill in the building anytime from 11AM. As you can maybe imagine, I was happy that i was in the know, but that was just before my anxiety kicked in. First, I became suddenly hungry despite having a pretty routine morning, then came fatigue not to mention the very restful night I had than...

 Below is an excerpt from the official rare disease day. Kenya marked it's first rare disease day last year with awareness creation in the media and on social media. I have highlighted parts that show you why as persons living with muscular dystrophy, this day is important to us, our families and the society as a whole. What is a Rare Disease? A disease or disorder is defined as rare in Europe when it affects fewer than 1 in 2000. A disease or disorder is defined as rare in the USA when it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time. ( There is no data available on rare diseases in Kenya). One rare disease may affect only a handful of patients in the EU (European Union), and another touch as many as 245,000. In the EU, as many as 30 million people alone may be affected by one of over 6000 rare diseases existing. 80% of rare diseases have identified genetic origins whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies...

How long did it take you to get your diagnosis? If you're extremely lucky, this was given to you by the first doctor that you visited. Mine was a journey of about 13 years of wishing and hoping that whatever difference I was noticing in my body is something I would outgrow. I guess most people were hoping that they would too or their children would. Then the years passed and it was clear that there was no improvement, if anything, things were getting slower, more challenging and maybe even painful.  Often times the doctors or the medical preactitioners who give us the diagnosis have not dealt with MD before and only apply the knowledge they got from their books which they had in medical school, which I gather is not much for anyone without specific interest in this genetic condition. After the diagnosis has been delivered, I don't know about you but I went all crazy gathering as much information as I could about MD from my dear friend Google. The first few interactions with th...

Bumping into this blog was very timely as in the recent past we have had this discussions with some of my friends. Here's what the writer had to say. gives your views I am a blind person.  Admittedly, beginning a piece with such a declaration seems odd.  Blindness however plays a key role in my life.  It has shaped me in many ways and has forced me to ask questions of myself that I might not otherwise ask.  Having known what it feels like to be both under appreciated and over appreciated as a blind person, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how as a Christian I should respond properly.    One of the questions I have asked and have tried to answer in general terms is: "What do those with disabilities owe to those without disabilities and vice versa?  Asking this question might seem wrongheaded in a society, not unlike others, that tends to focus attention on the question: "how shall we best help those with disabilities? ...