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.
