Rebuilding my confidence as a newly disabled writer
Getting support / Learning / mental health / Offering Support / Spoonie Challenges

Rebuilding my confidence as a newly disabled writer

I’ve wanted to be an author since I was eight years old, and from the moment I started studying to become one I heard one message over and over again: if you want to be successful, you must work harder than anyone else. You must write every day, you must sacrifice your weekends and vacations … Continue reading

Paddling, with a belt on
ankylosing spondylitis / Spoonie Challenges / Writing journey

Paddling, with a belt on

Hey, nice to meet you. I’m Michelle. I’m a novelist, a radio professional, and a disabled person. I have ankylosing spondylitis, an immune-mediated auto-inflammatory disease that’s trying to destroy my hips, seize my rib cage, and turn my spine into one lone bone — oh, and chew on the rest of my joints for snacks. … Continue reading

Internalized Ableism, Week 4: Solution to Being a Terrible Patient, or, How I Learned It’s Okay to Need Help
Getting support / internalized ableism / Spoonie Challenges

Internalized Ableism, Week 4: Solution to Being a Terrible Patient, or, How I Learned It’s Okay to Need Help

I had surgery recently on my foot to remove a bone chip and arthritis bone spurs. The pain in my foot wasn’t terrible but it had changed my gait, adding to the workload in my lower spine and making one hip pop out of joint daily. I have arthritis and degenerative disc disease, so I … Continue reading

Do you have a fatigue budget?
chronic fatigue / Living fully / mental health / Spoonie Challenges / Working

Do you have a fatigue budget?

The other day, a buddy of mine and I were discussing how the slightest medical procedures or even routine vaccinations can greatly impact our chronic fatigue symptoms. We can lose spoons just like POOF! I told my friend that having more time alloted to their fatigue budget would really help. Then I explained how in … Continue reading