The first Thanksgiving I celebrated with Geoff meant dragging a 16-foot pine tree from the woods and then into his house with two friends who had helped him cut it down with a chainsaw. When we stood the giant pine in the tree stand, branches at the base stuck out approximately 5 feet in all… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog, November 27, 2017: At the Risk of Thanksgiving
We began to realize how much our kids listen to our conversations when our son mentioned to Geoff he was worried about getting a pressure sore on his bum from new pants with buttons on the pockets. I tried to explain that Dad is afraid of pressure sores because he doesn’t have much of a… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog, November 10, 2017: “Atrophy vs. Ass-trophy”
You watched me walk in with three young children; we had a soccer game later that evening which meant the best I could do after work was to drive to the town where our game would be played to first have dinner. A third one was thrown in the mix as his mom, a hard-working… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve blog, October 31, 2017: Dear Well Meaning Couple at the Restaurant…
There is no doubt that we are giving this parenting gig our best effort; however, in those moments when we realize just how badly a situation could have turned out, we shake our heads in disbelief at how we could have been so stupid. See the kids in this picture, smiling, wearing protective head gear,… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog, October 12, 2017: Parenting Risk Taking and Mistake Making
When I started writing for the Reeve Foundation a little over a year ago, I rarely heard feedback from readers beyond “sharing” or “liking” on social media. However, lately, I’ve been receiving mail, not exactly fan mail, but more like the ‘Dear Abby of Paralysis and Marriage.’Only, I don’t exactly feel like any kind of… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog, October 2, 2017: The Nitty, Gritty, Sometimes Ugly Truth
Doesn’t every little girl want a Paralympic wheelchair racing Barbie doll? Ours did when she was four, and it remains one of her favorite toys because “wheelchair racing Barbie is fast, has fun hair and good clothes.” Last year this time, our family was all about the Olympics and Paralympics, discussing how they are alike… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog for September 29, 2017: “September is Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month”
Recently, our six-year-old daughter asked if other daddies might be sad if they couldn’t slingshot. Perplexed, I thought she meant using an actual slingshot as in caveman style sling and rock to kill an animal. I think I said something like, “Well, not all people like to hunt.” She gave me a funny look because… Continue reading August 15, 2017 Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog: “What about the daddies who can’t slingshot?”
For the record, for all of you judging the safety represented in this photo, this Boston Whaler containing my family is within the legal weight limit, and our son, in the green sweatshirt, is wearing his lifejacket beneath his sweatshirt. We are away on vacation visiting my brother and his family on Martha’s Vineyard, and… Continue reading When Making Family Memories Takes Years Off Our Lives in Only the BEST Ways…
When having a conversation with anyone– with or without a spinal cord injury– we garner information about their attitude, sense of grit, and/or capacity for resiliency within a few minutes. I’ve become slightly obsessed with this concept of GRIT reading many articles over the past few years identifying grit as one of the qualifying characteristics… Continue reading July 27 Christopher and Dana Reeve Blog: Grit, Resiliency , and Resolve
Independence for those of us living a wheelchair lifestyle means different things for different people. For my husband, Geoff, independence is creativity paired with accessibility. We live in a beautiful place where so much is accessible to our family, a place where adaptive programs like Eastern Adaptive Sports and New England Disabled Sports and Adaptive… Continue reading Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation Blog for July 13, 2017: a Different Kind of Independence
Heather Ehrman Krill: The "Write" Kind of Coach 