Wentworth Miller says when you’re in survival mode, there isn’t space for “we” or “community.” It becomes all about “I” and “me.” He is not relating specifically to the challenges of disability, or faith communities fostering , but he shares valuable information about the challenges that may arise if you feel singular, different, and alone; if you have to spend the majority of your days in survival mode over the long term.
The movie Penguin Bloom is highly refreshing because it opens a window into the physical and emotional pain that is often associated with adjustment to disability [...] Most importantly it shows each member of the family journeying through their own experience of grief related to disability and eventually coming out the other side, not wishing to die but learning to spread their wings and fly with reinvigorated passion for life.
"I was born with cerebral palsy which makes it challenging for me to speak or use my arms and legs. ... It is difficult for me to express my thoughts and ideas to people who do not know me very well because many do not understand the way I talk or type. This takes patience and practice."
While in some ways the COVID-19 pandemic is unifying the community around the globe, in others it is legitimating archaic values and hierarchies.
Today, we are pleased to welcome Matthew Piamonte to the site for a guest post on Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying Bill C-14. Matthew is finishing his residency training in family medicine at Dalhousie's Fredericton site. Born and raised in Ottawa, he joined Christian Horizons for a brief time during his undergraduate years at Ottawa University. [...]
Many who have not had the experience of illness or disability struggle to understand or validate the quality of life, skills and value of people who live with illness or disability.
I do not want you to suffer any more than you have to, but there has to be a solution other than physician-assisted death, because whether it seems like it or not, I believe every person, including you, is here for a reason. I hope you know that your life has value regardless of what you can or cannot do for yourself. You can still make a valuable impact on those you come into contact with.
What I am arguing is that in Western society even those of us who see ourselves as competent, mentally healthy adults who are fully in control of our rational capacities are influenced and inter-connected in many more ways that we would sometimes like to admit.
