The Big Ouch!

In late 2003, my back was injured and I was out of it for weeks, while neck pain became chronic too. X-rays and MRIs confirmed a big lumbar mess and a cervical one, that someday will need surgery when they impact my neural function – but until then I have to live with the ongoing pain. 

 

Given limitations from sitting time to lifting and my need to control pain, I had to exit the intense world of launching high-tech companies for a less stressful existence – and found I could slow my body down but not my brain!  

 

Some of my more recent adventures are a direct result of being “physically challenged”, like designing easy to transport camping furniture that can be assembled or disassembled without lifting much, and sharing the designs broadly – or a permaculture community in Costa Rica with an assisted living component. 

 

Here I get to speak for the “invisibly disabled” – you can’t tell by looking at us that we are differently abled, and we’re not lazy or crazy. We just hurt, avoid physical labor, constantly seek distractions to keep from thinking about pain, and tend to not sit still for very long.