The Mindful Scroll:
Hands Across Humanity is dedicated to providing support, education, advocacy and funding research for health and disability-related topics. The funds we raise make possible innovative health research and publications by healthcare professionals. We support research to improve diagnostic or therapeutic care for people with disability-related health conditions. These findings benefit both individual and provider education.
We prioritize the voices of people with disabilities about their lived experiences. Articles, blogs and resources written by individuals with disabilities regarding a broad spectrum of social, physical and mental health promote self-advocacy and well-being for those with disabilities as well as their friends and families.
We couple innovative research by leaders in the scientific and medical communities with first-person accounts of lived experience to facilitate a better quality of life for people with disabilities.
Content Preview:
Feature Story: The Doctor Is In, bridging the gap between patient and physician with Dr. Claudia Martinez, MD
The Heart of Health Equity with Dr. & Mrs. Gadget
Get The Piccture: Call For Submissions
Book Review of “Yes To All Things Me”
Disability In Literature: A Chat With Bestselling Author Lisa Scottoline
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Dr. & Mrs. “Gadget”
A Vulnerable Talk With a Family of Healthcare Professionals About Our Fractured Medical System and The Bottom Line — Money.
Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. “Gadget” and his wife, a physical therapist, are kind enough to talk freely about the professional and personal sides of interfacing with medicine.
They both believe that providing effective universal healthcare in such a diverse and populated country is a monumental task.
“Universal HC is not working well in the UK or Canada on most levels (we have family/colleagues there). Privatized systems are still in place which means the wealthy still have options for more specialty care and the rest do not. Everyone has extreme wait times up to years to see specialists.
The ACA is a start in this country. The lobbyists, government pork bills, and insurance industry are all barriers to equity at the most basic systems level. At the end of the day it is the same issue we face as a society at whole – end stage capitalism and corporate greed.
Too top heavy in administration, too many expensive glass facades with grande pianos, resulting in cash flowing away from vital research and direct patient care is harming everyone.”
What is health equity?
The attainment of the highest level of health for all people, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their optimal health regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, preferred language, or other factors that affect access to care and health outcomes. (Source: CMS)
Health equity means different things to different people. Email us to tell us what it means to you and your response might appear in our next newsletter and/or our social media pages.
Email brianalbeaver@gmail.com with the subject line “HEALTH EQUITY.”
Just A Chevy Doctor: A Story of Inequity
Why does inequity populate every corner of my existence? How do I juggle saving my life, searching for better care, advocating for myself and maintaining an even pulse?
I’ve spent two days this week banging my head against the ignorant and recalcitrant people that populate the general medical field.
Today I exchanged a conversation peppered by my insistent explanations that surgery is not an option for me because of my medical landscape. I asked questions that yielded small minded answers. I offered space for him to do the right thing; to explore beyond the scope of his regimented medical practice, to search the expansion of his education for other options and mostly, for him to care.
Catching my red faced reflection on the double sided mirrors, I pause the tennis match conversation, knowing the back-and-forth is going nowhere. He offers the same inaccessible options and I provide the same reasons why I can’t. I can’t be the patient you want me to be.
Suddenly seeming to have a stroke of insight, he tells me “I am like a doctor for a Chevy and you’re a BMW.”
He goes on to recommend what I think he suspects is a brilliant solution, wanting to pass me along to the kind of specialist and teams of medical personnel who solve complex problems. I almost laugh at his naivety, wondering how he could possibly believe that this fantasy healthcare collaboration actually exists, let alone is accessible for somebody like me.
I want to hate him. I really do. But I’m too tired and this merry go round of attempting to persuade him and so many others to give a damn, is creating a hole bigger in my heart than the one he keeps referring to on the x-rays.
I search the hazel of his eyes, the colors of which so closely mirror mine, thinking that we are only but a few years apart in age. I wonder if we listened to the same music as children, enjoyed the same TV shows. I think that in another environment where I wasn’t attempting to convince him of my humanity, we could’ve been friends. I probably would’ve even thought he was handsome.
“So basically, you’re trying to tell me that you’re not that smart?“ I ask him pointedly, moving closer into his personal bubble.
His face reddens and the corners of his lips turn up into a self-deprecating smirk.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m trying to say.“
He doesn’t believe this any more than I do and I marvel how the hierarchy of ego is temporarily trumped by something else; money. He is afraid I will sue him and this is the entirety of the basis of our conversation. He is not concerned about how any number of terrifying scenarios he has outlined may come to pass; he is afraid that I will sue him should he think outside of the box.
I want to hate him. But I can’t. Mostly I want him to ask me what he could do to help. I want him to inquire about how he may learn something new to meet me where I am. I want him to recognize that being different is not an invitation to be dismissed.
“You’re just a Chevy doctor, after all.“ The words seem to float from me of their own accord.
The constant strain of the fluorescent lighting becomes burdensome. I close my eyes for just a moment, thinking about what a beautiful world it could be where BMWs, Chevys, Maseratis, Nissans and Volkswagens could show up as they are. I wonder what it would take for all the mechanics to open their minds, to expand their consciousness and commit to helping solve whatever problems show up under the hood.
“This is exactly the kind of advice I would give my own family members,“ he says, attempting to score some kind of moral tokens.
“Exactly.“ And this is the entire problem.
His uneasiness around me is both funny and sad, the complexity of his humanity somehow deprecating mine. I smile even though I want to scream. I’m still waiting for him to offer even the smallest of tokens of compassion, of inquiry, of proactiveness.
I am still waiting…
Check out our Hands Across Humanity All Hands In merch! Available in several styles and vibrant colors, sport a cheery tee while supporting others! It’s a win-win!
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Book Review and Excerpt of “Yes To All Things Me” by Briana Beaver
“I often trip and fall, scraping my knees, bruising my arms, and sometimes my ego. My unpredictable balance is predictable but that I sometimes spend minutes, chunks of time that feel like days, on the ground with people walking by pretending not to see me, floors me every time. When time permits, I will sometimes just stay still, watching others avert my gaze, hurrying by. I stay on the ground not necessarily because I need others to help me stand, but because I want to know that there is someone who takes the time, the concern to see what we should all be looking out for—each other.”
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/yes-to-all-things-me-briana-beaver/1145659112?ean=9781698187624
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Hands Across Humanity presents: Get The Piccture!
Living with a central line presents complex physical, emotional and mental experiences. No matter the reason necessitating the use of a PICC line or port, the daily ins and outs of this subculture are often left behind closed doors. Get The Piccture is an opportunity for you to share your unique story in companionship with your central line. You are welcome to craft a short story, including a photo to be featured here. Love it? Hate it? A little bit in between? In what ways does living with a central line impact your life? What do you wish others understood about your central line? What challenges do you encounter with getting your healthcare needs met?
This is an opportunity to share your raw sentiment, vent and help others #GetThePiccture ! Email your submission along with a few photos to guardiansofhope90@gmail.com to be featured on our social media, website or newsletters.
Introducing Hands Across Humanity Exclusive Membership:
Sign-Up & Receive:
•Access to articles promoting mental, emotional, physical health from a variety of uniquely qualified healthcare professionals.
•Lifestyle enrichment recommendations catering to people of all abilities, created by recreational therapists.
•Interactive healing exercises for shifting belief systems, replacing damaging thought patterns with nourishing ones.
•Selections from from upcoming “Begin Where You Are” workbook by Briana Beaver tailored to people with disabilities, fostering self-esteem, empowerment & central nervous system regulation.
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Inclusion is more than a program or philosophy, it’s a way of life.
Every day we have the opportunity to embody inclusion! Let’s make a commitment to recognizing and celebrating the full humanity of others!
Hands Across Humanitarian Award!🏅
It’s easy to feel oversaturated with negativity right now, so let’s take some time to celebrate people who are demonstrating kindness, compassion, and care in your life.
It’s the small gestures of authentic kindness that really matter. Whether it’s your neighbor, a healthcare professional, teacher or somebody else who has touched your life with excellence, we want to celebrate them!
Email us with a description about your humanitarian and keep an eye out for their shoutout here! Feel free to include any social media links you would like tagged and related photos.
Email guardiansofhope90@gmail.com with a subject line of “humanitarian.”
🏆 If chosen, your humanitarian will be entered into a contest to win our All Hands In T-shirt!
March is Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Month. As per usual, I want to offer a perspective that differs wildly from what many others consider. This is a blog post that I wrote years ago, but it certainly pertains to the idea of traumatic brain injury, diagnosis and the social implications of labels.
I found out that World Cerebral Palsy Day is on October 6th, which is my birthday and ironically, the day I acquired what is known as “Cerebral palsy.” Weird coincidence, right? What may sound even more ironic is that I don’t believe Cerebral palsy is a real thing.
Before you consult google for a definition I will no doubt find to be flawed, inaccurate and more than likely, insulting, hear me out. CP is in umbrella diagnosis for a prolonged lack of oxygen (anoxia) around the time of birth which results in brain damage related to the movement control center of the brain.
CP is not genetic, not a disease or a disorder, it is the result of a trauma, which can happen while still in utero. So, while the brain damage and resulting changes in movement, speech, coordination and balance are very real, I think having a severe and ominous sounding diagnosis is doing a disservice not only for those of us who have CP but for those of us who don’t.
Because obtaining this diagnosis is often delayed, adequate support for new parents with a baby with CP are often not available. Even if they were, however, I believe the resulting socialization that follows this label is quite dehumanizing; it is a cue for fear, misunderstanding, dismissal, self-doubt and a harbinger of social chaos.
Because people have heard of CP, they usually have what can be terrifying assumptions about what this means. The more people toss around this label, the more convoluted and terrifying it becomes. The more terrifying it becomes, the more I need to disassemble falsehoods and reassure others 1) I’m not contagious. 2) this is not a disease, disorder or progressive malady and 3) I’m human. Too.
I support disability awareness as a whole on the basis of the inclusion, acceptance and empowerment. I’m not a fan of CP awareness because this only emphasizes this specific label as master status and perpetuates exclusion. If you’re interested in more background information regarding why I think CP is an ineffective label from a medical standpoint, let me know and I will happily elaborate.
The takeaway is that because CP is not in and of itself, a medical issue, disease, or biological abnormality, I’d rather that these characteristics not be named. I’d rather have differing abilities be recognized as nothing more, nothing less, with my full humanity always coming first.
Hands Across Humanity 