Tag Archives: special needs

Day 950

If you wish to lead, lead by your actions – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 4 : 46 PM on day 950 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, read Numbers 3, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, work, feed myself boiled egg and bread for brunch, donate to my campaign and tweet and Facebook about my campaign -I am now 6% to my goal 🙂

As you may know I’ve been asking people to make donations to my anti-slavery campaign for the past five days but today I realized I couldn’t ask people to do something I hadn’t done so I put my money where my mouth is and donated $12 and sure enough Niki Chiles (@nbchiles2) followed in my footsteps and made a donation as well (thanks again Niki) people are like kids they don’t do what you say they do what you do hopefully donations will continue to trickle in. Do you lead by your words or actions?

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Day 948

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Pride comes before a fall– that’s what I keep learning 🙂

It’s 3 : 27 PM on day 948 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself All Bran Flakes and an apple for breakfast, pray, read Numbers 1, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, work, take off my dirty t-shirt and put a clean t-shirt on, put a turtleneck on and stretch my hamstrings.

Today I decided to swallow my pride and ask people I knew (and some that I didn’t know) to check out my campaign one of three things will happen either they’ll check out my campaign and make a donation, check out my campaign and not make a donation or ignore my messages completely whatever happens I won’t live wondering if they would have helped me if I asked them to. Do you often fall flat on your face because you’re too prideful to ask for help?

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Day 947

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Bite your tongue– that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 5 : 09 PM on day 947 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to stretch my hamstrings, brush my teeth, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast, pray, read Leviticus 27, took off my dirty t-shirt and put on a clean one, practice typing with both hands, start reading Love, Lies and High Heels by Debby Conrad – thank heavens I downloaded some books otherwise I would have been totally board during the power outage -practice writing by hand, feed myself an avocado sandwich for lunch, practice drawing/writing by hand some more, publish my Disability of the Day feature and hang out with family.

This morning I realized it’s best to bite your tongue when an elder is yelling at you it doesn’t matter who started it or why they’re yelling at you you’ve got to decide no matter what another person says or does to me I will not retaliate because I’m better than that so that when you look yourself in the mirror you can be proud of who you are. When someone’s yelling at you do you bite your tongue or yell right back?

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Day 946

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Philanthropy has taught me gratitude and graciousness – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 12 : 58 PM on day 946 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, feed myself a boiled egg for breakfast, drink milk by myself, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, read Leviticus 26, read The End on Chasing Rainbows – I literally wept reading the post I can’t imagine what it’s like to give a child life and have to watch him die it must be like having someone rip your heart out of your chest – publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, take off my dirty t-shirt and put a clean t-shirt on and stretch my hamstrings.

Today I realized philanthropy has taught me the two G’s of life gratitude and graciousness when somebody says sorry I can’t donate to your cause right now (which has happened many times in my life) I respect that and move on to the next person eventually someone does say yes, of course I will donate to your cause and when that happens I am immensely grateful because I know there are lots of other things they could have done with that money but they chose to donate it to my cause. What have you learned from philanthropy that has helped you in all areas of your life?

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Day 945

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You don’t need a special occasion to make a difference– that’s what I keep learning 🙂

It’s 2 : 17 PM on day 945 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to stretch my hamstrings, brush my teeth, pray, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, read Leviticus 25, read Gavin David Leong on Chasing Rainbows – I can’t believe Gavin has died I don’t understand why God does the things he does sometimes he lets murdered and rapists roam around the free to hurt people and takes an innocent little boy from his family who loved him more than life itself it’s so unfair I’m so sad 🙁 – publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands and set up a fundraising page for the Not For Sale Campaign (read the next paragraph for details and help me out if you can).

Last night I realized you don’t need a special occasion to make a difference which is why I have set up a fundraising page for the Not For Sale Campaign, an organization that aims to create a world where no one is for sale by rescuing the victims of human trafficking and empowering them, my goal is to raise $1 000 in 3 months some of you may be tired of me asking you to donate to different causes but I can’t know that there are 30 million slaves in the world today and do nothing about it what kind of person would that make me PLEASE help me help the Not For Sale Campaign end slavery by making a donation here (Note: The fundraising website keeps 79 cents of every donation).

(Update: This campaign has been extended and now ends on October 15, 2013)

(Update 2: The campaign is now over raised $1 050 for the Not For Sale Campaign)

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Day 944

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Life can change in a blink of an eye– that’s what I keep learning 🙁

It’s 5 : 48 PM on day 944 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, pray, drink milk by myself, read Leviticus 24, go to church, feed myself a boiled egg and bananas for breakfast,publish my Disability of the Day feature, publish my Kid of the Week feature, practice typing with both hands, feed myself pasta and chicken curry for lunch and practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles.

At this very moment Kate Gallagher Leong of Chasing Rainbows is doing something that no parent in the world wants to do saying her final goodbye to her five-year-old son Gavin who went into cardiac arrest four days ago but that hasn’t stopped her from thinking of others she and her husband, Ed, have decided to donate Gavin’s organs to another child in need and on top of that Kate is asking everybody to do something nice for someone else today (her birthday) in honour of her son and document it with words and/or a photo on The Chasing Rainbows Facebook Page. Happy Birthday Kate all my thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.

Kate, Gavin and Brian (image source: http://www.lovethatmax.com/2013/04/the-power-of-pixels-and-prayers-for.html)

Day 943

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Most of society is of the view that “disabled” means less than that’s why they do the things that they do – that’s what I keep learning 🙁

It’s 5 : 30 PM on day 943 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a boiled egg for breakfast, drink milk by myself, pray, read Leviticus 23, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, practice typing with both hands, prepare my Kid of the Week feature for tomorrow, feed myself rice and curry for lunch and spend time with my brother.

Today I stumbled upon The sex workers giving disabled people a chance to live out their dreams – an article on The Guardian about a forthcoming Channel 4 documentary, Can Have Sex Will Have Sex, featuring the sex lives of four disabled people, one of whom loses his virginity to an escort who has been hired by his mother – I was deeply offended that some parents would hire sex workers to be with their children I’d like to think someone was with me because he wanted to be not because he was paid to be I guess it goes back to that whole thing of society thinking “disabled” means less than. Are you of the view that “disabled” means less than?

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Day 942

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The lives of people who have “disabilities” and that of their families don’t revolve around “disability”– that’s what I wish people would understand 🙂

It’s 6 : 57 PM on day 942 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, try to clean myself in the bathroom, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast, pray, read Leviticus 22, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands, work, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, stretch my hamstrings, take off my dirty t-shirt and turtleneck and put a clean t-shirt on and hoodie – it took me about two hours to do but because I didn’t quit I got it done 🙂 – and go to physiotherapy – my physiotherapist said my legs weren’t that stiff which coming from her is like a standing ovation.

Two days ago Donna Thomson of The Caregivers’ Living Room commented on one of my blog posts, Who I Am, saying in part It’s funny, Nick is not the volunteer-holic that you and I are, but when he was small, I canvassed door to door for cancer with him in his small wheelchair. I explained to folks that I was simply teaching my son about philanthropy! (they all seemed surprised that we weren’t canvassing for CP!) it’s true when you or your family member has a “disability” people assume that everything you do revolves around that “disability” which is why I’m going to share with you some things about me that have nothing to do with the fact that I have Cerebral Palsy. Take a look:

Things that you may not know about me that have nothing to do with the fact that I have Cerebral Palsy

My favourite colour is blue
I hate mayonnaise
I speak three languages English, Xhosa and Malayalam
I never wear makeup (I figure if people like me they’ll like me with or without makeup and if they hate me they’ll hate me with or without makeup because with or without makeup I am the same person underneath)
I choose not have a cell phone (shocking I know, but cell phones are expensive and besides I don’t need one I have permission to use the landline whenever I please)
I will do anything in my power to help people
I believe there’s a hero in every one of us just waiting to come out
I believe Jesus died for my sins
Besides independence what I want more than anything else in life is to know that I made a difference in the world
I love reading my favourite book is A New Earth: Create A Better Life by Eckhart Tolle it taught me that underneath our labels we are all just human beings
I love watching Dr. Oz, Dr Phil, Days of our Lives, American Idol and X Factor USA
I love listening to Girl at Home by Taylor Swift
My favorite movie is Letters to God
My favourite quote is “By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before.” – Edwin Elliot
I admire my mom, Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Nick Vujicic, Galen Gregory, Ariane Zurcher, Ellen Seidman and Angelina Jolie
I’d most like to meet Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Nick Vujicic, Oprah and Angelina Jolie to thank them for all they have done/are doing for humanity
I want to go to Paris someday
I am more than a little hypochondriacal

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Day 941

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Challenge yourself every day– that’s what I keep learning 🙂

It’s 2 : 39 PM on day 941 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to take off my dirty t-shirt and put a clean t-shirt on, put a turtleneck on, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles, brush my teeth, pray, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast, read Leviticus 21, publish my Disability of the Day feature and practice typing with both hands.

This morning I needed to put a turtleneck on but instead of asking our housekeeper to put it on for me I tried to put it on myself all the while doubting whether I could do it or not eventually I did do it (with the help of our housekeeper she noticed I had put it on backward, she rotated it and left me to finish putting it on) which made me really proud because yesterday I didn’t know how to do it and today I do which means I am growing. Do you challenge yourself every day or are you happy to be who you are today for the rest of your life?

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Day 940

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Whining won’t get you what you want – that’s what I learned today.

It’s 2 : 45 PM on day 940 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself All Bran Flakes for breakfast, pray, read Leviticus 20, publish my Disability of the Day feature, practice typing with both hands,work, spend time outside, practice sitting up straight to strengthen my core muscles and stretch my hamstrings.

Today instead of whining that nobody takes me anywhere I asked our housekeeper to put some sunscreen on me and take me outside in this life if you sit around waiting for people to take you places and do things for you I’m sorry to say you’ll be waiting forever you’ve got to be clear about what you want and stubborn enough not to take no for an answer. Do you expect to get what you want by whining?

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