I'm getting my new business cards and a few interesting flyers today. I may as well give this disability business a 3rd try. They say three is a charm so I'll find out if that's true. I'm going to contact physical therapists and support group leaders first. Then I'll have a good connection with someone (maybe the cancer society) who can either lead me in the right direction or tell me someone who will. No website necessary, just a good attitude and connecting with the right people. If Donny and Marie can bring back what they had, so can I.

I am writing my support group speech now. It shouldn't and won't be an actual lecture but rather a discussion of ways to assess our abilities. I also want to cover some common strategies for coping. It could lead to work with people outside of the hospital setting, that's ultimately what I want to do. I've never done what I actually want which is meeting people after they leave the health care facilities. I'll be going through my booklet and asking questions that are after each section. It is before my visit to the Abilities Expo so it will be a confidence booster.

I need a new tire and a new armrest on my motorized wheelchair. Since I haven't lived in Bethlehem in five years I'm new a "new patient" and must get a doctor's prescription of necessity. How stupid is that? Not any less stupid than one provider telling me to drop off my wheelchair. What? I'm going to crawl around town until the tire arrives. I'll just continue with the place in Harrisburg I am used to. They don't know I moved and hopefully won't question me about it.

Running a camp of Chinese teens will be a good experience for them. I know they see disabled people as not real because they mocked me when I did it 2 years ago and purposely made it harder for me. They ran to eat in a restaurant that I was not able to get inside due to a step at the entrance. This time I will hold a discussion on the issue on the first day and allow them/encourage them to ask questions. I will also get more support form this company. I have two interested people, one of them is well connected with youth programs in the area. It will be nothing like it was.

Today is the "big event" a Blood Drive in a local mall and I'm going to include my brochures. That's relevant cause the event is supposed to benefit Easter Seal and that's disability. My brochures are on my disability programs. I wonder if anyone will call me back. I will hand all 50 out to each person who comes to get their blood drawn. I may even capture their emails and phone numbers, that way I can do follow-up calls. I'm sure I'll find a few people who work in a disability related job or have disability in their families. I'll also point out that I can talk to employers about tax incentives. I always like meeting people so here's my chance.

A disability can make you more capable of dealing with stress and help you view a problem from different angle till you reach the solution. I was helping my student with her research paper. The task seemed overwhelming and very frustrating, it's a huge part of her grade. I took a few "steps" back and changed a few key points and now we have a very doable paper. Due to my unique perspective on life I am able to tackle seemingly challenging tasks and break them down to sizable parts.

I have a speech planned for a support group. The facilitator is a physical therapist at a local hospital. That's actually better than if it was a parent of a child with problems. This man will have connections to other physical and occupational professionals who may be interested in what I have to say and show. My booklet will be used for the purpose it was meant- to help individuals with disabilities assess their own functioning after a sudden impairment.