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Welp, yesterday and today are not good days. It got real cold real fast here in Austin (in the 80's, brrrr! Hey, it was freakin' 105 on Wednesday). So, I spent yesterday resting and on pain meds. Remember how I talked about cold weather and how much I hate it ? This is my reminder for why I'm a New Yorker now living in the deep south. Last year, the hubby and I went on an RV camping trip (camping? Yeah, right, we had 2 TV's, an XBox, heat, a fridge, and carpet.). We went up to Pennsylvania in October for over 2 weeks, and towards the end of our trip, it started getting colder. One night a fuse blew while we were sleeping and we lost heat. I woke up in the middle of the night shivering uncontrollably. I loaded on the blankets and went back to sleep, but when I got up in the morning, my legs hurt very badly. That same thing happened here Wednesday night. We didn't lose our heater, but a cold front came thru Texas and dropped the temp 30 degrees. At least I can

I thought I'd post this again to stir up some more questions from y'all! Go ahead and ask. Ask the questions you always wanted to ask someone in a wheelchair. Nothing is too embarrassing. You might as well ask me on this blog since you are somewhat anonymous and don't have to look me in the eye. What have you always wanted to ask someone in a wheelchair? Here, I'll start: Q: "Hi, my name is Ace Freely! I wanted to know what color is your wheelchair? A: Well, Ace, my first wheelchair was a boring teal color. But my current chair is what's called "toxic green". It really "stands" out! The salesman said that only kids ordered that color, not adults. I said "I'll take it"! Howze that? Ask away, no question is off limits! (Oh Jeez, what am I getting myself into!) The WillaWoman

The weather in Poughkeepsie, NY (approx. 1 hr north of NYC) is typical northeast fare. Humid summers, but not too hot; crisp fall air changing the leaves beautiful colors; cold winters with occasional snow storms; and then finally the gorgeous spring flowers. I never was a skier, but I did enjoy the winter weather. If anything, it was a welcome break from the humid summers that I hated. Plus, I had a saying: When it's cold, you can add as many layers of clothing as you need. But when it's hot, you can only take so much off. When we got word that IBM was moving us to Vermont, I was pleased. I loved the winter, right? What could be better? Slitting my wrists, that's what could have been better. The winters in Vermont were long, harsh, long, bitter, and did I say long? Summers were incredibly short and extremely mild. I'm not kidding, the month of July was "summer". Fall was beautiful, but damn, it started in freakin' August. And the spring was known as

As someone who wasn't "born" disabled (altho technically, I probably was, if my disorder is found to be a genetic defect), I had lived a relatively normal life up until I was about 29 years old. Up till then, I was an active, productive female in society, doing all the things I was supposed to be doing to contribute to my family. One of those activities was grocery shopping. That was my job in our household, and one I thought I did well. I mean, how hard is it? Eggs, milk, bread, tampons, chocolate... anyone can do it, right? Wrong. Turns out, it's a skill that one hones over time. When I started getting too sick to continue the grocery shopping, the hubby took over. Now, this is the same man that lived on his own from college to age 26. Obviously, he had to grocery shop sometime for himself. But apparently he was just buying meat, Kahlua, and popcorn. I remember sending him off once with the list. On that list was Kiwi. Small, green, tart fruit, right? He came home

WillaBlog is back! Took a while, but got my domain problems fixed. Just so y'all know, I will soon be moving this blog to my own domain (www.TheWillaWoman.com). You'll be able to use either that link or the current link to access me blog. Yippie! Unfortunately, today is a FLS day, so I'm going to leave you with a joke. Hope you likey! An Unusual Handicap There was this man who was in a horrible accident, and was injured. But the only permanent damage he suffered was the amputation of both of his ears. As a result of this "unusual" handicap, he was very self-conscious about his having no ears. Because of the accident, he received a large sum of money from the insurance company. It was always his dream to own his own business, so he decided with all this money he had, he now had the means to own a business. So he went out and purchased a small, but expanding computer firm. But he realized that he had no business knowledge at all, so he decided that he would have

While I'm waiting for my domain issues to be resolved, I'll post some pix. Enjoy! Frankie: Contortionist

Please excuse the look of my blog. My domain registrar neglected to tell me that my domain expired last week and now all my pix are on a host that can't be reached. I'll be registering another domain this week and get everything looking right soon... I promise! Thanx for your patience. The WillaWoman

We've had a loss in our Austin veterinary community this week. A few days ago, Dr. Real Ransom, one of the vets at my clinic (Great Oaks Animal Hospital), died in a plane crash in Houston. He and his wife, who also perished, were the only ones on the plane. I don't have any details about the cause of the crash. Dr. Ransom (and Dr. Lisa Willis) were the first and last vets I interviewed when we moved here to Austin. At the time, JoJo was working for me. Because of the physical demands a wheelchair-pulling dog requires of it's body, I needed to make sure to find a vet that could also have enough expertise to watch for possible bone and muscle issues down the road. Both Dr. Ransom and Dr. Willis spent almost two hours with me, answering all of my questions and providing me with more than enough information that I could confidently make a decision about choosing a vet. They were honest, forthright, funny, and patient with me, and they both had all the right qualifications and m

While getting dressed and ready this morning, all 3 dogs laid on the floor of my bathroom with me. We're such a pack. It was nice until somebody farted. And it wasn't me.

Barney is our elder statesman here. He's 11 years old and doesn't know it. He plays hard, but now those play times are in short bursts followed by long periods of rest. But he still loves to wrassel with his brothers. He recently had his "Senior Wellness Exam" and I received the vet's report in the mail. The "miscellaneous" section said the following: Based on these tests, your pets overall wellness is: Satisfactory Recommended Follow-up: Unfortunately, he does have osteoarthritis, but don't tell him he does. Shhh, don't anyone tell him. Doctor's Orders!

A while back, someone had asked me what I thought it would be like for a male to have my disability. Since I'm not a male, that was a difficult question for me to answer. But today I had a thought. Knowing that my hubby, who is a male (doy!), is the sole provider for our family, I wondered what it would be like for him to suddenly become disabled. Because he's so laid back, I would think he would take it like he does every other of "life's little emergencies" and basically just deal. But how would he really feel if he could no longer do the physical tasks that he does now? Assuming I was not disabled, how would he feel if he had to rely on his wife to not only provide the bacon, but cook it, clean up, and take out the garbage? I guess that's a question for him, but he probably wouldn't even know the answer. It's one of those questions that can only be answered if you can actually experience what it's like. And I don't want him to ever have to e

A man is walking his dog in a park when he meets another man, also walking his dog. They say hello and start to talk about their dogs. One has a chihuahua and the other a doberman. They decide to rest for coffee and they walk into a local cafe. Upon seeing a 'no animals allowed' sign, the man with the doberman says "Don't worry, put on these dark glasses. We'll pretend these are our guide dogs". So the men do this and go into the cafe. When the waiter comes over, he says to the man with the doberman "I'm sorry sir, but we do not allow animals in here. You'll have to take that dog outside." "But this is my guide dog," says the man. "A doberman! A doberman isn't a guide dog," says the waiter. "Actually, a doberman is particularly suited to being a guide dog nowadays. They provide lots of security and they are very well mannered." "Oh, alright then," says the waiter, and then he notices the oth

Last night, Frankie and I had a Special Moment. We went to bed and he was laying up by my head on his own pillow. When I finally settled in, he got up and moved down to my feet. Then he reached over and put his "arm" on my leg. Awww!!! JoJo had done this and Willie does this. I think it's their way of "making sure I'm ok", a small but powerful gesture that I absolutely love. PS. For those of you reading this blog for the first time, Frankie is a DOG . Oy!

This weekend, I was watching the movie "Contact". You know, the movie with Jody Foster where she hears an alien radio transmission, they build an alien thingy, she travels to another planet and talks to an alien that looks like her father, then comes back and no one believes her? That movie. While watching the movie, every time they played the alien radio transmission sound, Willie would perk up and stare at the TV. Hmmm.

Mock-fighting between Willie and Frankie is usually the norm of the day. Actually, at least a couple times a day those two boys go "at" each others throats pretending to kill each other. Because Willie is the alpha-dog in the house, us alpha-humans make sure to encourage him when he's mock-fighting with Frankie, even though it usually looks like Frankie is winning. I swear, Frankie mock-fights like he's a UFC grappler (for those of you who don't know what Ultimate Fighting is, see here . Yes, I'm into UFC fighting. It started with the first season of Ultimate Fighter on SpikeTV. Those dudes are true athletes. And I'm a true Reality TV Whore!). Frankie likes to maneuver his entire body over Willie, laying on him and rotating his body to get some good nips in Willie's "soft spots". Mucho fun to watch. The reason I bring all this up today, tho', is because when I was taking the boys out to potty (no running in the backyard today, too muddy.

So, is this what the handicapped folks saw at the stairwells on 9-11 ?

A drunk had been at a pub all night. At last call, the drunk stood up to leave and fell flat on his face. He tried to stand one more time, to the same result. He figured he'd crawl outside to get some fresh air, since maybe that would sober him up. Once outside, he stood up and fell flat on his face. So he decided to crawl the four blocks to his house. When he arrived at the door he stood up and again fell flat on his face. He crawled through the door and into his bedroom. When he reached his bed he tried one more time to stand up. This time he managed to pull himself upright, but he quickly fell right into bed and was sound asleep the second his head hit the pillow. He was awakened the next morning by his wife shouting, "So you've been out drinking again, have you?!" "No! What makes you say that?" he asked, putting on his best innocent expression. "The pub called... you forgot your wheelchair again."

A friend of mine (hi Darlene!) asked me once if I ever write about my lizards. I did once , but that article was about how lizards make great pets for disabled folks. Now I'll talk about the current lizards I have. I have a breeding colony of Leopard Geckos that I got 2 months ago. I have 5 females, and 1 male. The male's name is Don Juan. He's a playa. His beeotches names are: Anita, Bonita, Chiquita, Dorito, and Ethel. Ethel is an albino, Anita, Bonita and DJ are "jungle designer phase", and Chiquita and Dorito are "jungle designer high yellow". Got all that? They are all Tremper Geckos (he's a well-known and highly respected gecko breeder in Boerne, TX). I plan on breeding them, but right now they are too young to produce babies. I don't necessarily want to breed for money, just for fun. Something new to try! Here's pix of some of the geckos (click pix to enlarge): This is "Dorito". She's handicapped, like me! S

When I first started getting sick about 15 years ago, I also started becoming more and more sedentary. Inevitably, I started putting on weight, about 30 pounds. Back then, in the 1990's, leggings and big shirts were "in". That, and being 6 feet tall, helped me hide the weight. But after a while, leggings were no longer hip, and neither were wide hips and back fat. Ew. But how does someone who is physically moving less and less lose weight? I can't exercise to burn calories. I can't do the recommended aerobic activities needed to raise my heart rate. Modified yoga (my own recipe), light stretching, and a table-mounted hand cycle are all I can do at this point. I soon realized that the key for me was reducing calories. If I wasn't moving a lot and if I wasn't burning calories, then obviously I needed to consume less calories. Easy, right? Almost... the second key was eating the "right" calories. And the third key was making food preparation easy. I

"Hurricane Katrina refugees Cliffton Hill, 8, background, and his sister Terry Elle, 1, from New Orleans, get a ride on the wheelchair of Los Angeles volunteer Tommy Hollenstein, 45, as his dog, Hiley, helps them carry a donated toy Tuesday, at the Dream Center shelter in Los Angeles." Turns out that Tommy Hollenstein is a parapalegic artist who uses the wheels of his wheelchair AND his previous Service Dog Weaver's paw prints to create art! He has a show called "Wheels of Perception". Here's his website: www.tommyhollenstein.com Very kewl!

TALK TO THE DISABLED TUESDAY! The first Tuesday of every month is hereby proclaimed as Talk To The Disabled Tuesday . NOW, THEREFORE, I, The WillaWoman, do hereby proclaim the First Tuesday of every Month as TALK TO THE DISABLED TUESDAY . I call upon public officials, educators, librarians, parents, and all the people of the World to observe this day with the appropriate actions outlined below. Pretty official sounding, eh?! Goals : Raise awareness of the Disabled's plight of feeling invisible or feeling like a circus freak. Demonstrate to the abled-bodied that The Disabled are just like everyone else. Cause a generational avalanche of knowledge to the abled-bodied 's children. Make the day of a lonely, ostracized Disabled Person . Actions : Say "Hello" to a Disabled Person . Nod and smile to a Disabled Person . Strike up a conversation with a Disabled Person . Have your child say "Hello" to a Disabled Person . Look a Disabled Person in th

Yesterday, I had a fall. In public. But no one saw me. I didn't get hurt much, just my ego. I went out yesterday to Pier One. I used to love that store, but now it seems so sterile. But I digress. The hubby had gone to Home Depot and was gonna come back to get me at Pier One, but I decided I was finished there and wanted to wheel over to Barnes and Noble. As I left Pier One, I went in the opposite direction where the hubby dropped me off, where I knew there was a curb cut. Of course, the sidewalk in that opposite direction didn't have a curb cut. So, rather than wheel back up the sidewalk to roll off the curb cut, I decided to "pop" off the curb. This is a technique that I've only attempted while with the hubby. You pop the front wheels off the ground, and then balance on the back wheels while rolling off the curb. It can be done, but apparently not by me. I flipped over backwards, hitting my cane on the curb and breaking it in 2 places. Oh, and I also hit both

One of the great dilemmas for the disabled population rears it's ugly head during times of national crisis. Both Hurricane Katrina and 9-11 brought this fact to light for me. For the physically and mentally disabled, sometimes just getting through everyday life is difficult enough. Adding in the emotion of watching the non-stop television coverage of hurricane victims can make us disabled folks feel totally inadequate. Some of us can barely help ourselves, but the emotional tug of wanting to help those in need can make us feel total despair. This, along with the feeling of "but for the grace of God go I" when watching those in wheelchairs being stranded in New Orleans (or learning that lots of wheelchair users in the Twin Towers were left in a corridor while others walked down the stairs) can also add feelings of dread and fear of the future. The only way I can help is to donate my money. And I've done so. If you cannot do that, you can still help with your prayers. A

I feel lucky today. I feel blessed to have an education. I feel lucky to have a nice home, a comfy bed, warm dogs. I feel thankful to have clean drinking water and a cold refrigerator. I feel guilty having unlimited electricity and air conditioning. I feel lucky to be alive.