Disabled in the Kingdom

not exactly like the Disney scooter but close enough

My wife and I decided to to accept an invitation to accompany some friends to the Walt Disney theme parks. I have visited the parks ( Magic Kingdom & Epcot ) twice before but I hadn't been to the parks since I became disabled. I knew little of what was in store, I had an inkling that I would be using a mobility scooter, costly as it was it was a life saver. As I have mentioned here before I have always had a love of walking around and sometimes just walking endlessly, Disney without a scooter would have been my undoing so I'm really glad that we went ahead and got it. Along with the scooter I also signed up for a guest assistance card in order to circumvent the long lines, having Multiple sclerosis I am sensitive to prolonged heat. Most rides entrances cannot accommodate the size of the scooter so plan accordingly, thankfully there are plenty of areas to park the scooters and luckily my cane came in handy to help me mosey to and from the scooter.

I have to say that I am impressed with the care that I received from the cast members, and for the most part my fellow guests were accommodating as well (most people see a big guy in a scooter and assume he's just being lazy, I think having my cane and AFO helped). Being disabled shouldn't stop anyone's fun, I am glad that the Disney Corp is so accommodating.

Loss

Adam Nathaniel Yauch (August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012

On Friday May 4th the artist known as "MCA" Adam Yauch passed away at the age of 47. This is truly a devastating loss for not only the music and Hip-Hop industry but for humanity in general. I remember my brother buying the LP for "Licensed to Ill" in 1986 and we would bounce around our bedroom pretending to rap for what seemed like hours, "(You gotta) Fight for your right to Party" seemed like the best idea I'd ever heard, I was ten at the time and didn't know what they truly meant but you can't argue with wanting to have fun. With the progression of time came newer releases "Paul's Boutique" "Check your head""Ill Communication", the guys grew as artists and grew away from the personas that were mostly manufactured by Rick Rubin. They were becoming husbands and fathers, and in the case of Adam Yauch humanitarian. I mourn the loss of having him be part of this world, but moreover I celebrate him. In all of the songs that I've heard from them I never heard negativity, never heard of killing people. All I ever heard was of having fun, of dancing.

I don't believe in setbacks

From the moment I was first told that I had multiple sclerosis it seemed that negativity was out to get me. That is mostly due to the horrendous attitude that the attending neurologist had, she was relaying all of the other diseases that I might have. That was resolved by a prescription to Celexa and exercising my right to not be brought down by that negative Nelly. Since then I have become a bit more educated in MS and thankfully I have no other diseases. I try to be positive, there's no place to go but up(thinking about how low that Dr. had me feeling) Most MSers tend to have a positive outlook from what I've seen.

I've spent the last month practicing my cane usage, trying to upgrade from the walker. I might have overdone it just a bit because last Wednesday my knee was a teeny bit swollen, so I left physs therapy early. I've had twisted knees before (twenty years ago) so I know it wasn't that, I think (and my phys therapist agreed) my knee is just a bit over used. I spent most of Wed/Thurs taking it easy on the couch and relying more on my walker, Friday I went in and started my rehab a bit slower. In the end I didn't leave early and I did most of my workout. There's nowhere to go but up!