Follow the leader

Follow the leader By David Sexton When my son was first diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and we had an MRI performed and learned the scope of the stroke, I had a hard time concentrating on what the doctor was telling us. I sat in his office holding my wife’s hand and balancing my son on my knee and I tried to focus. My head was a whirlwind though, and it was all I could do not to shut down and stop listening. “You’ve...

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Beauty: It's ours to choose

A part of me was terrified. Was I about to see something now, 14 years after my son’s birth, which I hadn’t seen then? I’d contacted the genetics clinic at the children’s hospital to ask for a copy of photos that were taken when he was four days old. That day back in 1994 had been our own little 'D-day' – D for diagnosis. We’d brought Ben to the clinic to see if they could match his unusual facial features with a syndrome. An hour after...

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Not so funny

Not so funny By Amy Julia Becker I absorb a lot of news every week. We listen to National Public Radio morning and evening. We subscribe to Time, The New Yorker, and the Sunday New York Times. I read a handful of blogs and receive a daily Google update on stories with the key words “Down syndrome.” And usually, when an article or story catches my eye, I write about it. That might be because I appreciate the perspective or information...

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Wordless Sunday

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This and that

I tried to upload a video of our therapeutic clowns here, but it didn't work. Click here and then scroll down to the videos at the bottom. Click on "clowns with child" on the left to see them in action and "clowns together" on the right to hear an interesting interview. ------------------------- In other news, our very own Amy Julia Becker, who has written a number of BLOOM guest blogs, has a piece on the New York Times' Motherlode...

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'He was, simply, there, a part of us'

This weekend I read The Power of the Powerless by Christopher De Vinck. The title drew my attention because I think our culture promotes a false sense of power – one that hides behind masks of competence and invulnerability. De Vinck’s book is about the gifts he received from his brother Oliver, who had severe brain damage, was blind and lay on his back in bed until he died at age 32. “Oliver could do absolutely nothing except breathe, sleep,...

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Travel success stories

That’s Max and his mom Katharine on their recent trip to Washington. Here’s what Katharine had to say about it:“Washington was stress-free because it was the MOST accessible place we've ever visited! All buses are accessible, all subway stations have an elevator and all taxis had a trunk big enough for a wheelchair. Even the hop-on, hop-off double-deckers were accessible. And Washington has 19 free museums all in walking/wheeling distance of...

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'It's a great blessing, to give hope'

Lee Steel (above) is mother to Eric, 18, who is on the autism spectrum, and Avery, 16. She's also the parent liaison at the Autism Research Unit at SickKids hospital here in Toronto. I interviewed Lee about what she's learned raising a child with autism and what she shares with parents just starting down the road. Lee inspires me with her honesty and passion!BLOOM: How is Eric affected by autism?Lee Steel: He reads well, speaks and has always had...

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Hear my story, help me heal

Several weeks ago, I posted about a new graduate program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. I'm delighted and honoured to share with you an interview with Dr. Rita Charon (above), who founded the program and is a professor of Clinical Medicine. Dr. Charon is a general internist with a primary-care practice at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She took a Ph.D. in English when she realized how central storytelling...

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