Fibro/CFS/ME Foothold
Holding Action
I live in a house.
The house is on the bank of the river.
The river is in flood.
Each morning, when I wake up, I look out the window and the river is a little higher.
First, I put rocks on the banks of the river. It kept out the water but the [...]
Well For A Week …
What would I do if I was well for a week?
Go on long bike rides and feel the wind in my hair
Visit some friends who live a few hours drive away – too far to visit now.
Eat fish and chips, and pizza, and sugary stuff.
Run! Just because I could.
Go see the Rocky Horror Picture Show [...]
But, Aren’t You Paralysed?
It was as honest question. The young man seemed genuinely confused, blushing as I kicked my feet against the wheelchair’s foot-rest to demonstrate that I was indeed able to move.
The preceding parts of the conversation had been unremarkable. The usual small talk as he helped me fill out the university enrolment forms, until he asked [...]
Functionality Levels For Ricky, Start of 2003
Some notes about these levels:
If I try to do something at a level above the one where I am functioning at that point in time, I will overdo it and crash back to a lower level.
At all of these levels but especially the lower ones, even some of the things I can “do” I may [...]
Envying Stephen Hawking
This article written by Jenn Vesperman. Used with permission.
I’m sitting in the bath, which is the one place which causes the pain to fade for a time. I think about what parts of the body I’d trade to be well. Would I lose a leg? An arm? The sight of my right eye?
And I [...]
A Poem – Untitled
This untitled poem is written by Autumn Miller. Used with permission.
What is the state of my pain today
greater, lesser, or about the same?
Was my alpha sleep affected much
by uninvited dreams and such?
Many times when first awaking
I don’t perceive the awful aching.
And, sometimes, after arisiing,
feeling good is quite surprising.
Other days the pain meds call out
functioning is [...]
Watching The Paralympics, II
This piece written in 2000.
You will also want to read the original article about my experiences as a viewer of the 1996 Paralympics.
Four years ago, when the Paralympics were on it Atlanta, USA, I wrote about my feelings as I watched the disabled athletes perform. Last month the Paralympics returned, and this time just [...]
Watching The Paralympics, I
This piece written in 1996.
You will also want to read the follow-up article about my experiences as a viewer of the 2000 Paralympics.
Raven lent me a portable TV a few weeks ago. She set it up on a stool at the foot of my bed and armed me with a TV guide.
Watching the Olympics [...]
Motivation And The SuperCrip
This is a motivating story about a crippled man who climbed the north face of Kilimanjaro, wrote three symphonies and won a Nobel Prize for literature… get it away from me.
Illness: Cause & Effect
My name is Ricky. I have several chronic illnesses. Some of them will probably be with me for life.
I have had several people tell me I chose to get sick, or that I got sick because I had learning to do. My take on this is that it’s not my fault, but it’s my responsibility [...]