BRIDGET
Brown BLOG MAY 2022
Lisa
is living her best life. .
I hope
everyone is enjoying spring! This is a wonderful time of year.
I just finished my first semester in college at UIC. Now I am planning for next
school year. I have an internship at the UIC nursing simulation lab that starts
in the fall. I will be a patient actor in the lab and I am very excited
about this opportunity.
I just
went out to lunch with a friend of mine named Lisa. She is a very
courageous woman and I thought it would be great to interview her and share her
story with you.
She lives
a fabulous life and uses some of the person-centered planning tools I talked
about to design her life.
Lisa was
born with Cerebral Palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around. She never let the
fact that she had CP limit her ability to dream of an inclusive and full life.
Lisa describes herself in her book like this “ I have never walked a step in my
entire life. I can’t move my legs, my hands have limited usage and my speech is
impacted as well.”
As a
child, she was an ambassador for Easter Seals. She even knows the
Precious Moment’speople really well because they were very involved in Easter
Seals. They designed a Precious Moment’s figurine who used a wheelchair
and that made her very proud.
She went
on a wilderness canoe trip with her dad and went to many fabulous camps.
Lisa was
included in school until the district took her out of her school in 6th
grade and sent her to a functional life skills class at another school
far away & completely segregated from her peers and neighbors. She became
sick and hated school. She was completely isolated and her class was in a
separate wing closed off from the rest of the students. Educators forgot
to teach her academics and they even forgot to teach her how to read. They
prepared her for a life at a sheltered workshop.
She was
in a segregated setting through high school. She and her mom advocated fiercely
for many years to get her into general education. . Finally, she was
mainstreamed into a woodworking class. She has limited use of
her hands so woodworking was a cruel joke of some kind. Lisa finally got into
some inclusive classes in transition.
During
all the segregated years, Lisa never let go of her dream to be included!! She
said her dream never faded.
Then Lisa
hired someone to teach her how to read. In a very short time, her reading
ability sky rocketed. She went up about 5 levels in reading in one
year. People just forgot to teacher her to read in school because she
said they were babysitting her.
Her
courage and commitment to make her dreams come true took off.
She went to College of DuPage and then on to Whitewater University. Whitewater
has excellent supports for people with disabilities. She was there for 5 years
and got a degree in Womans studies and Family Health. She made great friends
who did not see her disability. She went to concerts and out for pizza and had
study aids and note-takers. Her RA was right near her room so she could get
help when needed. Her PAs, aids, & caregivers were some of her peers
and the program was through Lutheran Social Services.
She had a fabulous time at WW.
However,
in the beginning, it was hard to transition. She was afraid no one would come
and get her. On the first night, she was so nervous and she ended up in
the hospital. Her mom and Lisa decided that the worst is over and they
survived so why not stay and see how it goes.
Talk
about COURAGE!
I went to visit her at Whitewater and I could she how she fell in love with the
place!
Now Lisa
is on Two statewide boards, she is a Partners in Policymaking graduate, a LEND
graduate and an author. She wrote two books: Take a Ride
with Me and They Said We Couldn’t. She is finishing
up a cookbook called HOT AND TASTY cooking with a
partner. She has recipes and will have videos showing how a person with
CP can cook with a friend or companion. I think this is just amazing!
So I
asked her how she did it all and what advice can she give us on our journey.
Below are
some of her thoughts.
·
When
she was 12 she had a dream that God told her to help other people with DD by
using her voice to make a difference. She followed that as her North star
her whole life even in the darkest times.
·
She
had perseverance and kept fighting for her life.
·
She
had a fabulous support system and found people who understood her vision and
did not stop her from Dreaming.
·
Communication
is first and foremost for a successful life.
·
Don’t
let people put boundaries in front of you and tell you what you can and can’t
do.
·
She
thanks GOD every morning for her life and lives with gratitude
·
In
Lisa’s book, TAKE A RIDE WITH ME, she describes how she turns her dreams into
reality by visualization and manifestation. She creates a strong emotion, and
attaches it to a clear and focused vision or dream.
Lisa is such an amazing person. She has a lot of courage and
determination. She uses so many of the tools I have shared with you so she can
live her incredible life.
There is so much more to learn from Lisa. You can find out
more about her by at LISA.CECAL.COM.
As I continue my Blog I would like to interview many people who
have disabilities so I can share their stories with you. I think we all can
find hope from each other. If you would like me to tell your story, or if
you know anyone who you think would be a great person for me to interview,
let me know. Send me a note on my website. www.butterfliesforchange.org
Looking forward to checking in with you next month!
Bridget Brown
Nancy Brown
Inclusion
Consultant
www.butterfliesforchange.org
Norman B Barr Camp
630-470-1180
|
"May you experience each day as a sacred gift
woven around the heart of wonder". J. O'Donohue |
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