I'm Blessed

You know sometimes you come across a story that just knocks you flat and puts things in perspective.

That happened to me a few weeks ago when I came across Summer's Story. I went back on her blog last night and to read about what she is dealing with, how she's often in so much pain she can't even walk, hard to access ports, and dumbfounding the medical community while raising a beautiful daughter, all I can say is wow!

 Then again this week after my mom shared Katie Dama Jaskolski's story. Please take time to watch the video about her life. It is nothing short of AMAZING! 

I have to be honest and say for the past few weeks I have been focusing more than normal on the pain in my foot. When I should have been praising God and not focusing on what I felt like, I was doing the opposite. After reading these stories, I went to bed last night saying, "I'm blessed!" Yes, I have to deal with pain and not able to do everything I want to right now. But, through it all, I'm blessed.

I don't have so much pain that I can't walk, I don't have a rare disease, my bones and joints are healthy in spite of what some may say. I'm not in the hospital. So, I'm grateful today! I make a choice to focus on the good things. What about you? 

Philippians 4:8 says, 

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Sweet Freedom

I'm happy to report that I am free for a MONTH! Free from papers, projects, presentations, and tests! What ever will I do with myself?! Blog, of course!

In case you didn't know I have been nominatedf or an award from WEGO Health. I've done several posts about them before. I now have a nifty little badge on my left sidebar that enables you to vote for me in just a few seconds! Just enter your email and hit endorse me!

In other news, I'm still having some foot issues, so I'm trying compression stockings.

I celebrated my 23rd birthday by studying for finals. Yep. :) I'm grateful for another year!!

My little nephew is growing like a weed! He's only 18 months, and already in a size 6 shoe (it is a tad big)! He is learning so much and just laughs at me when I use my headset with the Dragon voice recognition software that has been a lifesaver for me when I am not feeling well.

I've missed everyone!

Memories Rewind: Halloween Throwback

While looking for a specific photo one day, I found this one and couldn't resist sharing. It was at my old church's fall festival, and I was not in the mood to have my picture taken. Mama made me anyway, and now I look back on this photo with fond memories! Yes, I had an attitude!  As you can see, my brother was not fazed by my antics. :) I was some kind of princess, but that's all I remember.  My mom just said I was Cleopatra!

P.S. You can nominate me for one of WEGO Health's Health Activist Awards by going here. Just make sure you put the name of my blog, which is Making my Mark. My name is Madison Sanders. The blog URL is http://dropletsonajournal.blogspot.com They just ask you to tell them why I should be nominated. Winners will be featured on the WEGO Health network, which is a huge opportunity to raise awareness about cerebral palsy, strength, and overcoming adversity. Thanks in advance!

Advocating for Another: Wrap Up

Well, I finally squeezed out a little bit of time to do the last post for WEGO Health's advocating for another blog carnival. 

Put a bow on our Advocating for Another week by sharing what you’ll plan to do going forward. Free write or choose one of the bonus ideas.

I have some exciting plans in the works, but  nothing I can share just yet. I am making something that will benefit the disabled community and their friends and family. I'll update as I can! I can promise you don't want to miss it!

I just want to encourage everyone to look for opportunities to help others. If you don't, who will?

Advocating for Another: The Spark Within

Even though school and life got in the way, I still wanted to finish the advocating for another posts.

Today's post is a letter to my [blogging] community.

After so many surgeries, I lost my spark. When I was younger, I would do anything my brother did. I wouldn't think twice about any limitations. Going to the doctor and experiencing so much pain made me cautious, uncertain about taking steps, rolling over in the bed. Simple things that I wouldn't have batted an eyelash at before. 

I didn't wake up one day and discover my spark was gone. When I had physical issues one right after the other, it began to slip away little by little. I really noticed a difference after my spinal fusion because it took me longer than most people to recover. In all honesty, though, it started the year before when I was in agony 24/7, soaking my pillow in tears because I couldn't sleep with that pain. Just waiting for daylight to shine through my window so I could take some medicine to at least dull the pain somewhat.

It happened when I would have to sit in church services with my TENS unit on 60, the highest setting, with an ice pack because my back hurt so bad.

It happened when I woke up to discover a bright red place on my hip that hurt deep inside of me. It happened because my cousin, who was young at the time, had to see me lay in the bed rather than doing fun stuff with her because I was hurting...but I didn't know why.

It happened after countless pokes from nurses taking blood tests but finding nothing wrong with me. It happened when my mom was told to take me to the ER in Atlanta, spending hours crying waiting for a doctor to see me only to hear them say they had seen nothing like it.

It happened on the way home from Atlanta, when I was throwing up on the intersection with no where to pull off. It happened when I knew something was wrong, and experiencing utter frustration when the residents on call in the hospital thought I was crazy.

It's so important that we don't let a disability or our circumstances cause us to be a shell of our former selves. I've spent a lot of time trying to get back to the person I was. I've missed the girl who was full of spunk. I've missed the girl who would take a hard fall, and jump back up with a bleeding elbow and go right back to playing outside. I've missed the girl who had a zest for life. After this weekend, I've made a conscious decision to get her back. I'll share more about that later. All I can say is "Watch out world, Madison is back!"

Advocating for Another: Inspirational Quote

"If we all did the things we are capable of, 

we would astound ourselves." 

~Thomas Edison 

I love this quote because is so true. So many times, we don't do something because we don't think we can. We make up excuses like I'm too old, I don't have the knowledge." Yadda yadda yadda. We never know what we are capable of doing until we try. Take Thomas Edison for example. He had thousands of failed attempts at the light bulb, but he kept at it. Look at how one idea changed the world forever. Light is everywhere now. 

People are constantly breaking world records in the Olympics because they thought they could do it. What are you holding back from because you don't think you're capable? Let the fear of failure propel you forward to something better, bigger, than you ever imagined. Discover something your good at and work until you become great. Don't let life pass you by because you're sitting on the sidelines. Be a participator in life!

Advocating for Another: Once Upon a Time

It’s storytelling day! Write a story about yourself, your community as though you’re a children’s book author. Be sure to include a beginning, middle, and end. Extra points for illustrations! 

Since I've told plenty of stories on my blog, I'm going to do something a bit different...a poem!

Once upon a time there was a young girl who stood out among the rest
She was spunky and Southern, and thought no outfit was complete without jewelry!
There was just one problem: she couldn't escape the stares about the colorful braces that hid under her dress.
"Oh well," she thought, "that's the least of my worries!"

She grabbed her backpack and headed for the bus
Anticipating the adventures she'd have in room 201
Finding a friend, she started chatting. That was a first day of school must!
With all of the cackling, you'd have thought we were at a chicken run!

Alas, it was time for class to begin
Just then my new friend whispered, "What are those things on your legs?"
"They help me walk better," I replied with a grin.
"Cool," she said. "Do you like chocolate eggs?"  
Afraid we'd get in trouble, we stuck our nose in our books.  We wanted to be alive to enjoy the weekend!

If you want to join in the blogging fun with WEGO Health, click here! (Link no longer exists)
Be sure to like WEGO Health on  Facebook to read everyone else's posts!

Advocating for Another: Betcha Didn't Know

Today’s post theme is all about the reveal. What’s something people would be surprised to know about your life as a  Health Activist, your community, or condition. Uncover it and elaborate upon in stream-of-consciousness-style.

This means this post won't be connected and might not make sense. It will just be my thoughts.

Contrary to  some misinformed people, cerebral palsy is not a progressive disability. Whatever grade brain bleed you had, is what it will remain. Also, it's not possible to pass it on to a baby should a woman with cerebral palsy choose to have children. Along those same lines, not everyone with cerebral palsy will struggle with learning. They could be like me and have a mild case that only affects the lower extremities, not the brain.

People with cerebral palsy can work. They are more productive than some able-bodied members of society. We might have to do things a little differently and a little slower than most people, but we get it done. Not walking on time as a child made me tough. I found a way to get to my toys, button my clothes even when my fingers fought me every step of the way. (Now, admittedly, necklaces are still a bit tricky.) We find joy in the journey. 

Change doesn't affect us like most people. It's all I've ever known. Between new doctors, hospital visits, and altering our schedules on any given day due to pain just becomes something we adapt to along the way. 

Love is much more than a feeling. It's something I actively give to those around me. I've seen how disabilities affect people's lives, and I'm determined to make the most of each day. 

I'm a goal-setter. Even today as I've slept most of this beautiful afternoon away, I did manage to read a chapter for my Mass Media class. That makes me feel content, even things didn't go exactly as I'd planned. 

Of the people I've met with disabilities, their personalities, dreams, goals, shine as we talk. I don't even notice a girl or boy with a disability... or maybe a wheelchair and oxygen tank. The parents look over approvingly as we talk like two young adults sharing and listening about life. Sure, maybe there's a bustle of patients in the background, but right then, at that moment we are not bound by disabilities or stereotypes of what doctors say we can and can't do. We are two young people with the whole world at our fingertips just waiting to be changed by us.

Advocating for Another: Challenge Accepted!

Today's post almost didn't get written because I've been dealing with a cough and congestion in the middle of trying to complete things for school.

This prompt is aptly titled challenge accepted because it deals with the hard things about leading a community.

1. Making sure everyone's voice is heard. I'm in the process of working on a way to fix this. There are so many people that need encouragement, it's hard to reach everyone.

2. Coming up with relevant and interesting content. I'm sure every blogger has had that moment where they question things. I try to keep the communication flowing between my readers by asking for everyone's input, what you want to know about me or cerebral palsy. Usually no one responds so I'm assuming it's because they don't know what to ask. This leads me to my third point.

3. Educating the public. So many people don't know about disabilities and how they affect the person and their family. Especially with the internet, there is SO much information available by people who claim to be experts. I'm working on making a change in this area as well, but I can't say anything just yet because I don't have all of my information together. 

 In my opinion, education starts at home. I can't tell you how many parents I've come across who discourage their children from asking me questions. I love it when that happens because it gives me the opportunity to smash the stigma associated with disabilities while watching a child soak up new information!

Advocating for Another: Inside the Fishbowl

Since I talked about my community and some things that make me and my readers unique yesterday, I thought I would branch out and do one of the bonus prompts, which says to tell what my life is like to someone looking on the outside then describe it from the inside.

On the outside, I look like a stylish young woman busy attending college classes and helping out at my church all while in a wheelchair. Some people have mistakenly thought I have an easy life because I have people helping me do things, get a little extra time to do tasks, and so on.

From the inside, they would see a slightly different picture. My hair looks so good because my mom helps me dry it and style it. I have a beside commode because I'm not quite strong enough--yet-- to walk to the bathroom and sit down without help. They would also see I have to get up about thirty minutes to an hour before I have somewhere to be in order to get ready because it takes me a little longer to do things. They would also see that I LOVE my family. Someone on the inside would also see me on my not so good days. I have days that I am tired and do all of my schoolwork from my bed. I have moments of frustration because society seemingly forgets about the disabled population and think that's okay.

Someone on the inside would also see my progress. They would understand what a huge thing it is to sit in the living room with the family-whenever I want! Even on the days when I am really sore, one small victory like being able to walk down the hall just little further than last time is cause for my mom to smile broadly and say, "See, you're getting better!"

So with aching muscles, I look around at my yellow walls (with a purple accent wall) and remember that having someone to share life with is so incredible!

Come back tomorrow for day three of advocating for another by WEGO Health!

Advocating for Another: Community

Today is the first in a series of posts about health activism thanks to WEGO Health. I advocate for myself as a patient, but I also have a community of wonderful readers who are hopefully inspired by how I fully live my life in spite of my disability, which is cerebral palsy.

This post is all about my community!

I decided to do a collage with some of my readers and friend's pictures who I knew wouldn't mind being featured here. I also used a few images from dreamstime to represent everyone's interests!

Click collage to enlarge

The people that make up my blog's community are students, grandparents, families, nurses, musicians, fun-loving. Coffee lovers. Artistic. Individuals. Creative. Black. White. Old. Young. Eclectic.

Yes, some people who read my blog do have cerebral palsy. But more than that, we are all encouraging each other. You are beautiful, my friends!

If you are an a parent, caregiver, or health activist of someone with a disability or condition, feel free to participate by blogging, tweeting or doing short status updates to Facebook.

Image Credit:

SHADOW MUSIC
© Michael Levy | Dreamstime.com

OLD BOOKS
© Daniel Gilbey | Dreamstime.com

Nurse via Microsoft Clipart