“Look Who’s Talking”

The following article appeared in the Morning Sun on Thursday, Oct. 14. It didn’t appear in the online version of the paper, so we’re reprinting it here. We look forward to sharing our stories to benefit the Mt. Pleasant Community Foundation Women’s Initiative—which provides for the needs of women and girls in Isabella County—through its annual “Look Who’s Talking” Speaker Series. See the story for event details, and if you’re in the Mt. Pleasant area Nov. 3, we invite you to attend and play a role in the success of the...

Doors wide open

At this time twenty years ago, I was a carefree teenager looking forward to getting my driver’s license. Disability was a word I hardly knew. Fast forward to the present, I am a graduate student able to access my college library through power-assist doors and an elevator that takes me all the way to the fourth floor. These are just some of the benefits I have through the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was twenty years ago this past Monday, July 26, that President George H.W. Bush signed the ADA. This legislation has allowed me, and millions of other Americans...

Awesome advocacy experiences

Jennifer and I, along with her care coordinator Rochel Genge, R.N. and others from Region VII Area Agency on Aging, interacted with many elected state officials at the third annual Older Michiganians Day in Lansing on June 10. We even have photographic proof that we advocated for the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver Program through impromptu conversations with influential legislators Sen. John Gleason, Sen. Deb Cherry and Sen. Roger Kahn on the lawn in front of Michigan’s State Capitol Building. While we have met Sen. Cherry and Sen. Kahn before (see related post here), this...

“Thank you Sen. Kahn and members o...

There Dan and I were, sitting at the table with two microphones, testifying before six Michigan Senators. Dan was to my left and a gallery of about a hundred people sat behind us (thank God they were sitting behind us!) and listened to what we had to say. The Region VII Area Agency on Aging had asked if we’d be willing to testify before a Michigan Senate Appropriation’s Subcommittee about our experiences with the MI Choice Medicaid Waiver Program. You know, that’s the one that provides the in-home care to help me with various activities of daily living, such as...

Were they really talking about us?

After presenting eight of the 10 awards, Matt “Mojo” Lersch paused to ask officials for direction before moving onto the ninth. The master of ceremonies at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Michigan Chapter’s 2009 Annual Meeting and Celebration of Volunteers and Top Fundraisers in Livonia showed the crowd of nearly 200 people the specific directions typed in the script he was following. “This award is a secret,” whispered Mojo, who hosts the Rock ’N’ Roll Sideshow on Lansing’s Rock Station Q106 and was diagnosed with MS in December 2008. “Only a...