mommyswheelchair-blog

[mommyswheelchair-blog]

An Intro To Your Medically Unblessed Blogger

My name is Alyssa and I am a 24 year old stay at home mommy to a three year old girl, L, and a super cute doggo, Otis. We live in the tundra of Minnesota with my wonderful boyfriend/L’s daddy. I am a big fan of reading, writing, cooking, rock music, makeup, tooling around outside in my chair, and making learning fun for my daughter.

I was born with spina bifida (lipomeningomyelocele). I use a forearm crutch and carbon fiber AFO leg braces for short walking distances like around the house, but when I go out I normally use a wheelchair with a Smart Drive MX2. They are some pretty awesome and expensive gadgets. I have had over 20 surgeries relating to my spina bifida on my spinal cord (multiple detetherings), bladder, and feet. It was a long road to adulthood and I am left with intense chronic pain in my back, legs, and hips.

I was surprised by two pink lines when I was 20 and my pregnancy went smoothly despite them being worried about how my spina bifida would affect it. I have a healthy and happy baby girl! She turned three in February and this September has been our first month of a Montessori based preschool program at home. I am happy to answer any questions other adults with disabilities may have about pregnancy with a disability as well as parenting with a disability. I found extremely few resources while I was pregnant and would be happy to answer any questions anyone has so they don’t feel as lost as I did!

Last December (2016), I was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine cancer. I had a tumor removed that had been growing for years, maybe even while I was pregnant. I had a hemicolectomy immediately after Christmas and 3 of my lymph nodes were still cancerous. But! My scans have been clear for eight months! I do not have to currently progress with chemo or hormone therapies! I am very young with this diagnosis, though, and we are unsure what the future holds. One day at a time. I have been following a stricter healthy diet following my cancer diagnosis. I stick to mainly a plant based diet as my system has a difficult time digesting meat and has not yet bounced back since my surgery. I deal with daily nausea and diarrhea (managed by medication, mostly) that may take years to balance out from such a large part of my intestines being removed.

This month I was informed I have arthritis in my left knee and hip. Currently I am working on a PT program to help correct my left knee bend and turning in of my foot. I have never worked on my walking mechanics in PT before and it will be a long road and has so far been painful, but worth it. I see the results of my stretches and exercises every week. My posture has improved and I am strengthening muscles in my left leg that I have never used before. I talk a bit about my PT to hold myself accountable to a program that causes so much ache, but has a positive pay out.

And that’s it, folks! That’s most of me and my every day life. I welcome most questions people may have about my disability or cancer diagnosis. Thanks for reading just a brief snippet of my medical history to get to know what makes me me a little better before I start posting more about my every day, my diet, light exercises for those with disabilities, and fun ideas for educational activities I do with L!

#spinabifida #disability #wheelchair #smartdrive #crutches #homeschool #introduction #education #parenting #disabledmom #disabledparenting #kids #diet #cancer #lifeaftercancer #cancerfree #neuroendocrinecancer #remission #montessori #stayathomemom #doggo