Views Of the Disabled Around the World

The following videos are ones I was able to "find" in regards to how those around the world view and are treated that have various disabilities. And personally, the last video is the most profound.

Kenya...



India...



Botswana...



Philippines...



Liberia...

Living Life To It's Fullest...No Matter The Disability.

The year was 1976. It was Christmas time. And it was three weeks prior to my due date. My parents didn't know until my mom was about seven months along that I was even coming in to their lives (she was obese and thought she was gaining more, though she was eating less). At the same time, she also had a tumor that sit next to me in the womb area, making barely any room for me to grow and made it difficult to move (or even breath out the fluids I swallowed).

I came in to the world literally backwards, butt first. As I did, I tore her to the point of her nearly dying from the severe blood loss.

Then it was shown that from my chest wall, I had a collapsed lung and after further inspection, that I had a Tracheal Fistula (my esophagus was basically severed, almost completely).

After stabilization, airlift transport and an eighteen hour surgery, where I "died" four times, I had my lung re-inflated and had the fluid removed. But I was also trached and they had to do the repair along with everything else to my esophagus.

First, it was that I most likely wouldn't live past 24 to 48 hours. Then, the first week. Then the first month. Then six months.

All the while, per the doctors, I would *NEVER* walk independently, talk, feed/drink independently (as in require tube feedings) or have viable pregnancies.

Plus once my parents even fathomed bringing their almost-three-year-old daughter home FOR GOOD in 1980, they were once again met with resistance. They were firmly told that there was NO way that they could sustain me on their own and it was best to place me in an institution to get the level of care THE DOCTORS felt I needed.

Well, I went home with my parents, against Doctor's advice. My in-home nurse was FIRED after the first three weeks of not allowing my own mother to care for HER child in any way. And both my mom and my dad had started me on a path of learning and doing. Walking, talking and eating.

Today, I eat anything I want. And drink anything I want. Of course, thanks to my esophageal tract still being way too narrow and having a "dent", I have at times, trouble swallowing my food without it going the wrong way. Rice and carbonated sodas being the main culprit.

I walk ALL over. Have ran 7-mile races, and plan to run the four-miler (and walk, too!) in September with one of my kids.

And I have three great kids. Each unique in their own way. One like their mom. One like their dad. And one with a mix of the two of us.

Please, I urge you strongly to watch the following video. Yes, this man has had a MUCH harder life than I could ever have had, medically speaking.

Thanks to the UNCONDITIONAL love of his father, his dedication to his son, and the fact that this man NEVER ONCE let the obstacle of severe disabilities his son has hinder the now-grown man from enjoying life to its fullest capacity despite being so severely disabled that he requires a Speak Box and a wheelchair.

Believe me, you will need to get out a handful of tissues, because you WILL cry from the awesomeness of witnessing the powerful pull of love.

Thanks to fellow member Rainey, from the FaceBook group, Abled & Disabled United for Community Change for initially posting the video on the group's wall.

SSI/SSDI...What Are They?

My son gets SSI for children. He basically draws off of myself and/or my husband's collected Social Security benefits that I did at one time pay in to, and that my husband, through his employer, IS CURRENTLY paying in to.

Most people have a misconceived notion that my child draws off of ALL tax payers. Not true. It's off of myself and/or my husband, only.

Please watch the two following videos, especially the second one in regards to information pertaining to SSI/SSDI and what Mental Disorders/Illnesses MAY qualify to collect, and it's application processes.

*DISCLAIMER*... I do not endorse either of these gentlemen. I have not ever made contact with either, nor am I receiving any monetary gain for featuring these men and their companies.

"...And The Little Children Shall Suffer."

These are a bit old, and one is graphic, but reality is what it is. Especially in places such as group homes. Not just here in the US, but many are like this ALL over the world, in various countries.

The following videos were filmed between the years of 2007 and 2009 in Bulgaria.

**WARNING! What you are about to see is graphic, as well as severely heartbreaking. But their voices NEED to be heard.**

(Part 1 of 5, view the other parts via YouTube, please.)



There is actually a Part 6, in which we see the transformation of how the residents are treated and interacted with. Milen at this point is about to be moved to a smaller group home setting.



As we can see here, it is a universal fear of parents, family members and others, that those in group settings such as this, globally, that we love and want the best for, in terms of Group Home Care for the Severely Disabled, as fellow human beings, would be sadly mistreated and neglected as we have seen in these videos.

But it does NOT have to be this way. These children (and adults whom also require group home care) need more than just a diaper changed or food shoveled in to their mouths. They need more than "basic" medical care.

If only more "employees" of these homes (around the world) would take TIME out of their "busy schedule" to find it WITHIN THEMSELVES to interact on a more personal level. Hold them. Talk to them, even if the child (or adult) cannot understand them. These people THRIVE on interpersonal interaction and a level of LOVING care.

Three kids, a minivan and one parent..

That was me, the one parent in a minivan with three kids. Two of which decided to have a throw down in the two back seats. All over one not letting the other draw with their pencil and piece of paper, whereas the youngest got to.

Bryce was being rude, whiny and non-compliant about his big sister not letting him have HER things, thanks to the way he demanded that he too should get something of HER'S to use. I even told him I agreed with the oldest in not letting him have anything to draw with, thanks to his attitude and immaturity.

The following video, which I have in the past, posted to my main blog, The (Not Always) Happy Homemaker Diary ran through my head for a short moment as I kept on trying to calm the storm as it raged...and as three military personnel walked by my vehicle.