Pity Parties Prevent Progress.

B'SD

12 Av, 5777

As you've read in the EMPOWER Yourself book, I look forward to an ever-better future. I might limp towards some finish line or other, but I make every effort to reach it.

That's how I earned rescue certification, ICD10 medical coding certification, and counseling certification while facing a bewildering picture before me. 

I have spent years recovering from life-saving emergency brain surgery to remove a benign tumor that had blinded and almost killed me. 

I needed lots of physical, occupational and vision therapy to deal with vertigo, a brain that disagreed with my eyes about where my body and all its parts were located (an issue called "proprioception"), rapidly changing vision ability that caused my eyewear prescriptions to fall more than 20 times in 12 years, and all the courage I could summon up. 

I felt exhausted inside and out at times, and begged The One Above to help me to reach a state of inner and outer health. I refused to indulge in self-pity. No time for that. I had goals to reach!

Through it all, I've struggled to become employed. I've secured temporary and permanent employment over time. But I had to contend with doubters suspicious that a "disabled" person was "unabled." Some of them refused to hire me though I'd passed the interviews and skill-testing processes.

I read this article yesterday, and smiled. I appreciate the courage described in it. You might, too.

“Pity is one of the most dangerous things for the disability community,” Murray said. “It removes the value of the work and contribution of the person.”

Read the rest of the article at 

No Pity: Employment Advice for People with Disabilities via Michael Murray

Michael Murray’s involvement in the disability community stems from his personal and unforgettable childhood experiences.

RESPECTABILITY.ORG

Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

You don't have time for pity parties. They prevent progress.





Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity. Face Your Future with Optimism.

Fill your time and life with quality.

Making the World Accessible from Hollywood to Here!

B'SD


6 Av, 5772


Whew, I've been busy under increasingly hot and humid weather. I've filmed a few episodes of the Refua Radio show, interviewing some practitioners of highly successful alternative healing techniques. But I pulled the shows that have all concerned looking exhausted and soaked with perspiration. We'll probably shoot those segments again so that we come out looking less worn out.


This week I'm preparing a feature story about improving on accessibility issues for children with physical or other limitations. Here's an item I found stuck in my research notes. Feel a grin spread across your face when you read

Hollywood Pros Teach
Adults With Disabilities
Moviemaking.

My feature story is full of solutions for children of all ages and their parents. I have more information for adults. That will possibly appear in a future article.

If you or someone you know need insights on how to travel with physical or cognitive limitations, be sure to read pages 59 and 98 of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge (Buy it from Booklocker). They address solutions to travel issues for people with disabilities. 


Tips for securing employment despite a disability are in there, too.

Buy the E-book or print edition today for a brighter look at your medical, mental health or disability challenges. Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Happy, Hectic and How I Do It!

B'SD


11 Kislev 5772

Whew! I'm having a busy week, let alone a busy month. Tonight I'll be moderating a "Meet the Authors" evening. It's designed to give that much-needed break to new writers.


Tomorrow night I head up not one but TWO community-oriented discussions about cultural needs in my town. I'll be part of a round-robin of conversations dedicated to raising the quality of life in my local and greater neighborhood.

I'm booking ever-more engagements to speak about

on the radio, in libraries and elsewhere.

My daily activities continue as I write feature stories, prepare book reviews and tend the garden (peas are growing fast, as are my flowering vines, turmeric, marigolds (in three different colors!), beets, garlic, parsley, ivies (two kinds), aloe vera and more. The dog already took me for our morning walk ;^ D


Though I remain certifiably disabled, I do what I can to enjoy life. It's all about pacing and choosing to be cheerful. Let me know how you manage with your disability or medical challenge.




Buy the E-book or print edition today for a brighter holiday season: Click on the words EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Sick? Scared? Disabled? Feel Better Fast: Read the Book Praised by Medical Professionals!

B'SD


4 Cheshvan 5772

The back cover of

holds praise from medical and mental health professionals.

I was delighted to click on one of my Facebook pages today to see this praise from a newer reader of EMPOWER Yourself, another medical professional who has communicated her personal appreciation of the book to  me in the past:

 

Yocheved Golani has written

a comprehensive manual for

the ill and those helping

the person experiencing a medical crisis.

Her approach is compassionate and

filled with messages of

hope and universal faith.

I found the book pro-active, not reactive.

In Ms. Golani’s encouragement to use

positive language, she enables a reader

to look at their circumstance

as a point of growth.

She has productive exercises

for the reader,

using one’s own words to

approach a medical crisis

(or chronic illness) is going to

last much longer than the

“you should” messages

so many ill people face.

The list of resources is a commodity!

Whew, everyone experiencing illness

should have access

to this comprehensive list -

it’s action oriented, for sure.

Ultimately, the most endearing

and enduring message

one can receive from this book is:

Medical crisises may happen,

but who you are,

how you manage -

it’s in your hands.

Pick up this book and be

your own best advocate!

~ Shoshana Kesner, DHM, BSN

OK, readers, you know what to do. Help someone experiencing emotional or physical illness, even a disability, with the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.

Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.

Get the Skinny on People with Disabilities by Watching TV!

B’SD

29 Tishrei 5772



I’m nursing a very yukky cold and eager to remain under the covers today. But I want to share this news with you:

Coinciding with National Disability Employment Awareness Month. PBS will soon air a pair of documentaries featuring people with disabilities

Lives Worth Living: October 27th

and

Deaf Jam: November 3rd

Check out the PBS NDEAM documentary about the decades-long history of America’s Disability Rights Movement. The USA has more than 54 million Americans living with disabilities. The Lives Worth Living presentation will be the first televised history of their efforts for equal rights including access to schools, employment, apartment buildings, and public transportation.

You can get more information about the film and the issues involved at www.pbs.org/independentlens/.


The Deaf Jam documentary is about a deaf teen exploring Hip Hop music and poetry. Learn more about the show at www.itvs.org/films/deaf-jam.







Want to learn something about how to finesse job interviews with your disability? Read the relevant section in EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.


Face Your Medical Problems and/or Disability with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.