CRIPPLEFEST 2013!!!

Ohai Y'all!

I want to thank you guys again for all of your kind words. The past week has been extraordinarily difficult, but I think I'm on the mend.

This weekend was Cripplefest, and I had an absolute blast. We had 48 people at my house. Old cripples, adult cripples, teenage cripples, kiddie cripples and even baby cripples all under one roof! We discussed doctors, scars, tumors (and what to name them), and more. All the kiddie cripples played soccer on a completely even playing field, granted those kids didn't need an even playing field... they were wicked good at it. The only difference was that they knew not to whack the kid with the fixator on his arm. Personally, I had a hula-hooping competition with some little girls. I was nice and let 'em win, plus I taught them some tricks. Surprisingly I didn't get the crap beat outta me by small children. Quite the contrary actually... one of the baby cripples took a little snooze on my lap. The kiddie cripples also enjoyed carrying Helen around (she got food out of the deal, so she didn't care) and petting Nellie, Maggie and Aggie.

I think it's safe to say that Cripplefest was an immense success. Cripples got to meet other cripples for the first time, they got support, and they got to be normal. Not to mention everyone got cake pops, the cake pops alone made the day awesome.

So yeah, that was my weekend... it was crazy but I loved every minute of it. Things are still a little nuts around here, we've got some relatives staying with us and... um... what else? There was something else I wanted to tell you guys but I forgot...

Oh right... I acquired some pigs a few hours ago!!! I'll post more about 'em tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this proves that I am in fact, insane.

Crippie's Tippie - I know having a disability can make you feel extremely isolated, but you are NOT alone. There are people out there who understand what you're going through.

One Week!!!

Yo!

I hope all my crippled comrades had a lovely weekend. My weekend went rather well all things considered. Cripplefest begins in one week and I am soooooooooooo pumped! I can't wait to see all of my fellow crippies! Of course, events of this magnitude require lots of preparations, so I'll be very busy this week getting ready.

Today's agenda mainly focused on getting supplies and making sure that our pets look their best. We took Angel out for a hair cut. For an abused dog that occasionally hates people, she sure loves her outings to the groomer. She was smiling throughout the entire car ride, she got to smell some awesome new dogs, AND the awesome new dogs actually liked her (she has a habit of trying to befriend really scared or really angry dogs). Not to mention all of the attention she got from the actual groomer. She was very much content until the nice groomer lady tried to groom her face, then she got into her "DO NOT WANT" mode and kept trying nip the groomer. *Sigh* Lucky for us, the groomer knew how to deal with her and managed to give Angel a very stylish trim, complete with a bow in her hair.

After the groomer we made a surprise visit to one of my fellow crippies. It's funny, when I was younger I thought I was the only person in the state of New York with MHE... LOL fail... turns out there are several families throughout the state with MHE. One such family lives a mere 15 minutes away from me. I can literally drive to this house without a panic attack, thats how close they are. Anyway the girl in the family with MHE recently had her first surgery, so we stopped by to give her some pressies. Just seeing this little girl hopping around on her crutches obviously brings back memories of my early surgeries. But I know that she will have the support of hundreds of people, she will never feel as alone as I used to feel. If she ever feels that way I can drive to her damn house and make her feel better. How amazing is that!

In piggie news, Aggie is still in the playpen. Maggie seems to miss having a buddy in her cage and is constantly looking around, hoping that someone will be there. And for all of you that are wondering why I can't just put Aggie back in the cage now, I cannot underestimate how dangerous fighting guinea pigs are. Guinea pigs have very sharp teeth. They can do some serious damage. I've been bitten by the pigs before, it breaks the skin and it freakin' hurts. I'll try the buddy bath either tomorrow or Tuesday, whenever I have a good amount of time... and I'll def take pics... no worries ;)

To make up for the general sporadic-ness of this post... here's some pictures of the piggies

Um, Frida... that's not how you use a cuddle cup

I AM SO FREAKING CUTE... LOOK AT MEEEEEEE

Where the hell am I?

Crippie's Tippie - If you're obtaining a pressie for a child who just had surgery, be sure to get a little something for their siblings (if any)

Reproducing & Producing Problems

Hello,

YAY I've reached over 800 views! As you might have noticed, I'm sprucing up the blog a little. What can I say, I'm a graphic designer... I'll never be happy with how it looks.

Anyway, as a reward for having over 800 page views I figured I would answer the most controversial question I've been asked. "Can you have kids, and if you can, should you?". This question is very sensitive and has flamed many an internet forum. First off, technically I can have children. Now on to the science. My genetic disorder is caused by a dominant gene. This means that only one parent needs to carry the gene for the child to get the disorder. Assuming my at the moment imaginary husband does not carry the gene there is a 50% chance of me passing on the gene to my child. So, just how like my kid could be a boy or a girl, my kid could be normal or a cripple.
Let's move on to ethics. Should I have a kid or try to have a kid willingly knowing that said kid could be a cripple. Here's my take on the situation... while my disability sucks, it's manageable and not terminal.
-But you're willingly making your kid's life difficult
Life is always gonna be difficult, plus I have knowledge and experience as a cripple to make the kid's life less suck-y.
-But your kid is going to be in pain.
Valid point here. I'm not a parent but I can assume that this would be the hardest part of have a cripple as a child, and knowing that it is my fault would be insanely hard. Again, pain sucks, but it's not the end of the world. Pain can be treated and in my opinion dealing with it has made me a stronger person in the end.
-But your kid is gonna be teased!
Weakest.argument.ever. Everyone is teased.
-But you're passing a disability through your bloodline, it could continue for generations
Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh, I'll admit, I don't want to be the reason my great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandkids are cripples. But again, it's not like I'm passing on some life ruining disease that turns you into a potato, it is manageable.

So what is my overall take on the situation? As long as you are not passing along a terminal illness (and by terminal illness I mean guaranteed to die) go for it. Having a disability is not the end of the world. People with disabilities can lead very productive lives, so why be ashamed!

Crippie's Tippie- Genetic testing is also becoming more of an option, so those who totally disagree with me can spend the money to have IVF selecting only non-cripple eggs.