Salty Zebra

  Sometimes life isn't ideal. Let's face it, most of the time it isn't! So, we do what we need to, to make things work. In my "Making It Work" posts, I share life hacks and ideas that have helped me so that, maybe, they can help someone else too. I hope you enjoy!  Today's culture would like to have you believe that there are supports and accessibility options aplenty all around us. Many people I've spoken with have the impression that if you're in a wheelchair you get to skip the line wherever you go - especially in Disney parks. People have seen allergy information on menus, so most think that allergy friendly food is offered at most restaurants. The bad news is that just isn't reality. Yes, there may be options available, but it isn't likely that anyone will offer them to you. Yes, you sometimes get to skip the line, but that's only if you know to ask. And no, most restaurants are not  allergy friendly, and those that are usually only ha...

Image Credit: AphantasticDesigns - find them on Etsy    Sometimes life isn't ideal. Let's face it, most of the time it isn't! So, we do what we need to, to make things work. In my "Making It Work" posts, I share life hacks and ideas that have helped me so that, maybe, they can help someone else too. I hope you enjoy!  Over the last year or so I've been noticing a troubling trend. When I finish fixing dinner, I am often too exhausted and in too much pain to eat it. I have found that being on my feet for that length of time (1-2 hours typically) puts a great deal of stress on my spine in all the wrong places. Yes, I've tried body positioning, lifting my foot onto a step, moving as much as possible, and stopping to stretch as I go. None of it has helped. I was getting worried that I would have to give up fixing meals for my family (not sure what we would do then!) when I saw a wonderful post put up by Chronically Jenni on Instagram. She uses a saddle stool ...

Image Credit: ChatGPT  Today we continue with Disability Pride Month  posts. A couple of weeks back, my super awesome cousin sent me a video on Instagram that made me choke up. It said some things I needed to hear, and maybe you do too, so I'm going to share them with you today. People who struggle with disability often tell themselves lies. I've found, as the speaker in this video did, that the best way to combat a lie is with the truth! Everything in quotes below is taken directly from the video and all credit for it goes to Moonlit_Kit .  #1 Lie: Maybe I'm just lazy Truth: "Lazy people don't struggle to do the things they enjoy."  I can't tell you how often this lie pops into my head. As I'm sitting, resting on the couch, reflecting on how little I've accomplished in this day, I hear it echo in the back of my mind. "Maybe I don't really need to rest like this, maybe I'm just lazy." Kit's truth really hit home for me. There...

7:29am - Wake up and attempt to claw my way to consciousness, but failed 8:26am - 0.0/20 points Wake up and take my stability score. I check this each morning and it lets me know where my body is at and how I should pace my day. A 4/5 is pretty good! It is supposed to mean that I have been pacing well lately, and I have been. 8:35 - Actually get out of bed, Use the bathroom and brush my teeth. I used to brush my teeth after  breakfast in the morning, but since I've been wearing a retainer at night (the last seven years or so) I need to brush that and my teeth before I eat. 8:48 - 0.6/20 Fix coffee and breakfast then do my Bible study while I eat, or at least start it... 9:40 - 1.2/20 - Actually starting Bible study after being distracted 10:18 - 1.6/20 - Restarting my Bible study after being distracted (it's really hard to get things done with my husband around sometimes). Switched to the couch where I can sit with my back supported better now that I've finished eating. 11:...

Image Credit Canva Dream Lab  Congratulations! You've been officially deemed disabled. Welcome to a life of luxury and ease living off the government! Wait, you mean that's not the case? You're telling me I've been misled by the internet AGAIN!!!  Yep, hate to break it to you, but disability's not all it's cracked up to be! Turns out it's much  harder to qualify for this than you could ever imagine, and even if you do, you're not set for life.   Disability law has become big business in America. Why? Because nearly EVERYONE, even a paraplegic, is denied disability upon their first application. I say nearly because there are few exceptions that make the rule, but for the majority of people, even with a totally legitimate claim, they'll receive a denial. This has created a whole contingent of lawyers whose entire career is made up of helping people receive the disability benefits they need. I don't know about you, but that seems pretty messed up to...

 When I first heard about Disability Pride Month in July each year, I struggled with this question. I thought that the Bible said, "Pride goes before a fall," ( Proverbs 16:18 ). Well, it doesn't. It says, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall," but I don't know that destruction is much better than a fall. And we all know the last thing someone with a disability needs is to fall! But, you know me, I figured there might be more to the word than I was aware, so I visited with my friend, Webster : PRIDE, noun 1. Inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others. Martial pride looks down on industry. PRIDE goeth before destruction. Proverbs 16:18.  There, see! I told you! But wait- There's more! 3. Generous elation of heart; a noble self-esteem...

I am an Amazon Associate and when you purchase something through the links in this post I will receive a small bonus. This does not change your price at all, it just helps support what I'm doing on the Salty Zebra Blog  For a long time my pain-relief options have been quite limited. For the most part I stick to over-the-counter options like Tylenol, Ibuprofen and Excedrin, but they have helped less and less over the years. Now I often feel like I'm taking them just so I've tried something . But over the last year, I've added an additional tool to my toolbox and I wanted to share it with you in case it could offer you some relief as well! The first time I heard about this was after my husband sustained a terrible broom hockey injury. He was playing with the kids' youth group and was so focused on moving the puck with his broom at high speeds that he didn't notice the wall directly in front of him. This caused the end of the broom to hit him right in the sternum. ...

This is not a how to post, I'm writing to let you know that you are not alone. One of the most common complaints you hear in the chronic illness community is over bad doctor appointments. Now, I'm not talking about ones where they give you a tough diagnosis, ironically we call these good appointments because we actually got somewhere we can work from. I'm talking about the appointments where your condition is misunderstood, your symptoms are brushed off, and you leave feeling hopeless and helpless. Those are bad doctor appointments and, sadly, I've had two of them recently.  The first one, a neuro PT appointment actually, was with one negative type of medical provider. This one thought they knew everything there was to know about Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) . While at first this seems better than those tropy doctors that have to pull out their phone and Google it, in reality it can be much more dangerous. You see, this provider had seen a couple, meaning 2, patients wi...

   As a young wife and mom, I struggled. I was also young in my faith, having only started walking with Jesus a few months after my first son was born. Everything was hard. I had four kids under 6, one of them newly brought into our home from a war-torn country with all the trauma that goes along with it. The other 3 were no cake walk either with serious food allergies that had to be catered to, making it so that I had to make nearly everything we ate from scratch. I was also in the early years of my marriage, and we were simultaneously learning how to be good Christians and good spouses, and had mastered neither. I heard the story of Esther, and I wondered, could God have brought me here for such a times as this?   Fast forward several years and I’m two years into braces, not a fun journey, and facing complete reconstructive jaw surgery. Months of recovery while trying to balance caring for and homeschooling four kids. My husband was travelling regularly, being gone...