Diaper need is the inability to provide enough diapers to allow for babies and toddlers to be changed as often as necessary. 1 in 3 US families struggle to provide enough diapers to keep their babies and toddlers clean, dry, and healthy. Since the pandemic there has been an 86% increase in the number of… Continue reading National Diaper Need Awareness Week

Our teens are suffering. As a parent, it is heartbreaking to watch our (bigger) babies hurt so badly. In addition to normal teen angst, teens are grieving the loss of many in-person milestones that the pandemic made difficult, such as graduations, dances, proms, field trips, athletic games and tournaments, school plays and theater, and the… Continue reading Teenage Depression: What to Look For

As parents, we bear the brunt of childcare, home management, event planning, and social coordinating, often while holding full-time jobs. Although we may have friends and family who support and help tend to the many moving parts of our daily lives, the mental checklists and the energy that we invest in maintaining inventory of household items, coordinating… Continue reading Preventing Parent Burnout

Bodywork Can Make a Difference For SCI Throughout the years I have explored many methods for managing pain, stiffness, spasticity, and stress, all of which are common repercussions from a chronic spinal cord injury. I have tried it all— doctor-prescribed medications, holistic tinctures, natural herbs, Yoga, Pilates, Watsu and exercise— just to name a few!… Continue reading Pain Management: Massage Matters

Empathy is Great. But Respect is Better. Do you remember that movie Bubble Boy, about the kid (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who lived inside a big plastic bubble? It came out in 2001. It was terrible. The idea however, that we all travel around in our little bubbles of space, occasionally bumping into each other… Continue reading The Importance of Universal Respect

Never Underestimate the Power of a Cinnamon Roll On a sweltering morning in June less than two weeks after graduating college, I found myself alone, sitting crisscross applesauce on the floor of my 800-foot studio apartment in Manhattan surrounded by the bric-a-brac of Ikea furniture parts. I had one thousand Allen wrenches and no one… Continue reading Self-Care: Finding Self Care Wherever You Can

September is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month, and to highlight all of the different stories out there, I wanted to share some great books written by people who have spinal cord injuries. I have not read all of these books, but what I can attest to (since writing about my own injury and recovery process)… Continue reading Twelve Authors with a Spinal Cord Injury

In any job there are certain tricks of the trade. When you work in IT like my spouse, you learn to think in code. When you teach high school English like I did, you learn a different kind of code – how to interpret silence and which body language translates to “I am texting under… Continue reading Why New People in Your Child’s Life are Hard (But Also Necessary)

Definition: Pressure injuries (also known as decubitus ulcers, pressure sores or bedsores) are damage to an area of the skin caused by constant pressure for prolonged periods of time. A pressure injury forms where the pressure from body the body’s weight presses the skin against a firm surface, such as a bed or wheelchair. Pressure… Continue reading Pressure Sores Are Not to Be Taken Lightly

There is a concept in trauma therapy often referred to as a “glimmer.” Most people are familiar with the idea of triggers – certain people, places, incidents, sensory stimuli – that cause your nervous system to go on high alert. Your body becomes aware of a potential danger nearby and then floods your system with… Continue reading How Finding the Glimmers Helps Heal Trauma