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Kat & Maisie

@katzonwheels

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Scoliosis. DDD. Ambulatory ♿️ Chronic pain warrior. HoH. 🏳️‍🌈 photographer.
Mama and content creator to @maisiethekat

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Happy International Wheelchair Day from @maisiethekat and me MamaKat 😁💜

Working on getting Maisie accustomed to a backpack not on my back or placed on the walker. I need to convince her to jump in there herself.

This manual wheelchair was just delivered two weeks ago and has not seen the outside world until today. It was maiden voyage day at our little indoor mall.

⬅️ Swipe to see my very first snow dilemma for getting from parking space to sidewalk to cross the mall road to go inside. Hmmm. I ended up going around. 🤷‍♀️

⬅️⬅️⬅️ Swipe to photo 4 of my treat for rolling the entire length and back of the little mall, including a little ramp in the middle (return trip I had to pull myself up by the handrails but I did it- this girl needs bigger and stronger muscles 😁😂)

The little Mennonite bakery is in the tiny food court. I’ve seen so many people post about their amazing Apple fritters but alas they only bake those Fridays and Saturdays. The cinnamon bun was absolutely delish.

#kimobility #internationalwheelchairday #wheelchairuser #emotionalsupportcat #wheelielife by @katzonwheels

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4 years ago

Please be kind. You never know what someone is going through 💜

Facts from CAMH (Canadian Association for Mental Health)

• By Age 40: 50% of the population will have or have had a mental illness.

• Lifetime Prevalence: Roughly 1 in 3 Canadians (about 9.1 million people) experience a mental illness in their lifetime.

• Specific Disorders:

• Major depression affects about 5.4% of Canadians.

• Generalized anxiety disorder and related conditions affect roughly 4.6% to 13.3% depending on the specific survey scope.

• Substance use disorders affect around 6% annually.

• Youth Impact: Mental health symptoms most often begin before the age of 18, and about 20% of youth under 25 are affected.

• Access Gaps: An estimated 2.5 million Canadians lack adequate mental health care or face unmet service needs. by @katzonwheels

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3 days ago

This little one I share my life with is so incredibly important for my mental health. I’ve been struggling with increased pain the past two weeks. This sweet (and sassy) kitty just lights up my mood. She didn’t “cuddle” for long this morning but I’m always honoured when it happens. The day might hit 15C/59F and the sun is absolutely brilliant so a walk around the block for @maisiethekat will benefit us both. 👍💜

#emotionalsupportcat #bestfriend #chronicpain #chronicpainwarrior #catcuddles by @katzonwheels

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5 days ago

I’ve been busy these past couple of weeks doing lots of pumpkin related things.

Firstly, I purchased two pie pumpkins and a large pumpkin to do photos with @maisiethecat

Then I baked the pumpkins and puréed the pulp and froze in containers for use this winter.
I dried the seeds for my squirrels friends. I have a window feeder and a few squirrels come for snacks each day.
Then I baked mini pumpkin breads. Eight to be exact but I’ve eaten two in the last two weeks 😋

I have one pumpkin left but the freezer is full. I might have to bake full size loaves and share with some friends. Apologies to my LD pals, I don’t think they’ll be roadworthy.

As for pumpkin themed foods, I’m strictly a simple gal- pumpkin. Like pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread.

Things I’ve noticed this year are pumpkin spice egg nog and pumpkin spice cream cheese. Neither will be on my shopping list 👍

#pumpkins
#pumpkin #pumpkinseeds
#pumpkincat #pumpkinseason by @katzonwheels

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2

6 days ago

Oops I lost track of the days 😳

In honour of International Day of Sign Languages I’d like to share this post during International Week of Deaf People.

If you’re interested in learning sign language, @lingvano has a 50% off annual membership which is $5 per month. There’s the opportunity to choose from ASL for the US and Canada, BSL (British) and OSL (Austrian).

Sale lasts til Sept 27th.

#internationaldayofsignlanguages #signlanguage #deafawareness #lingvano #learntosign by @katzonwheels

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19 days ago

Sept 21-27 is Deaf Awareness Week

I went deaf in one ear five years ago which was termed sudden-onset hearing loss. The ENT had no definitive cause but due to my hypermobility and multiple EDS symptoms i surmise it could be connective tissue related. I’ve had wonky things going on with my body my whole life so 🤷‍♀️

I want to bring awareness to others that if you ever find that you suddenly lose hearing in one ear, go to the emergency department of your nearest hospital. This IS an emergency and I did not know that getting onto steroids immediately might have saved my hearing.

For me it happened on Good Friday so by the time I called the doctor’s office it was Tuesday and then Thursday by the time I saw my doctor. I was put on steroids at that time but my hearing never returned. I am completely deaf in my left ear.

While the first year took lots of adjustment, I am now “okay”. I have a lot of trouble in crowded spaces yet I still volunteer for community events.
Last year I got fitted with hearing aids because the left one has a microphone that sends sound to my right ear (talk about information overload in crowded spaces). I still don’t know where the sound originates but I just look around and try to figure out who is talking to me.

I suffer from tinnitus (also another EDS symptom) and while the ear is deaf, it still experience tinnitus. I know, bummer right?

If you take anything away from my post today, treat sudden hearing loss as an EMERGENCY!

#deafawarenessweek
#deafness
#suddenonsetdeafness
#singlesideddeafness
#hearingloss by @katzonwheels

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20 days ago

This is my favourite portion of my trek across town. It was a picture perfect day yesterday and the nature trail breaks up the residential parts as well as going down the main road for a few blocks.
I’ve needed a hair cut for weeks but was so busy with other things I kept putting it on the back burner. I am so happy to be back at super short once again.
I also stopped in at Goodwill for some pants as the temps begin to fall and I have to put my capris away (boohoo). At Walmart I picked up a couple of pie pumpkins to take autumn photos with Maisie and then cook to make pumpkin treats. I’ll dry the seeds for my 🐿️ friends who visit each day.

#septembervibes #pictureperfect
#soulhealing #emotionalhealth by @katzonwheels

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9

a month ago

Half the month has almost passed! Whoa! I’ve been super busy with indoor & outdoor activities.

What have I been up to you ask?
Well, the 1st of the month started off our city’s Accessibility Advisory Committee’s monthly meeting. We are reviewing the budget one last time to see if we can allocate some funds towards the construction of an accessible viewing platform at the bandshell. I believe it’s already been slated for 2027.
We’ve also got two additional accessible parking spots being created from three existing parking spots on a very popular route through town by the water.

Three committee members (myself included) volunteered our time to have the AAC visible in an event that was held Saturday. I put together 100 Disability Pride Flag button pins with info on the colour stripe meanings.
I was and am deeply committed to furthering community awareness about the flag and its meaning. The button pins were well received by disabled persons and allies. My heart was full (and my voice a bit hoarse) by the end of the event.

I also picked A LOT of catnip this week with my lovely feline supervisor by my side @maisiethekat. She highly approves this year’s crop.
Making catnip toys is my side hustle and the bit of $ helps with vet bills 👍 The outdoor part of the job is beneficial to my (and Maisie’s) mental wellness. We both feel so much better after time outside.

In between committee and kitty jobs, I also baked some dairy free, gluten free snacks. If my body is at its limit but still needs fuel, I know I always have quick snacks made that can nutritionally fuel my body (much better than reaching for empty snacks)

The rest of the month will be spent getting ready for the next AAC event October 1st so there’ll be more button pins to be made. I hope the audience (grade 10 students) will receive them as well as the adults did yesterday.

Lastly I’ll make time for some autumn themed portraits of @maisiethekat. With the few pumpkins I purchase for props, I’ll bake so I can freeze the flesh for winter baking (pumpkin bread and pumpkin tarts). Then I’ll dry the seeds for my squirrel friends that visit the window feeder each day.

#acces by @katzonwheels

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5

a month ago

Well, well, well. This was a first for me.
I took the power chair cross town the other day for errands. I left home with 3 bars out of 5. Apparently the range is 18 miles on a full charge and I was only going 6. I felt confident. Obviously I assumed I could go the distance. Maybe bumpy sidewalks eat up more power?
So half way home I notice I’m redlining.
My solution was to call a cab and let them know I needed the driver to lift my 35 lb chair into the trunk. I wasn’t sure they would even accept me as a customer in this situation. I explained what happened to dispatch and luckily she got confirmation of a driver who could come to my aid.
I’m truly grateful to #stratfordcitycabs for saving the day.

On a good note - I’m lucky I wasn’t on the mobility scooter (but I always leave home with that on a full charge)

Lesson learned - only leave home with power mobility aids on FULL charge.

#mobilityaid #wheelchairlife #lowbattery #disabledlife by @katzonwheels

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2 months ago

What a treat to watch this lovely Monarch feed on a flower on the edges of the little lake in town.
It was the first Monarch I’ve seen this year and I’ve been keeping my eyes on flower gardens all around town. What a treat!

#monarch
#monarchbutterfly
#butterfly by @katzonwheels

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2 months ago

The mission in an early walk around the block was (a) cat enrichment and (b) my attempt to alleviate the (new) pain from the sciatica nerve. While I don’t usually have this problem the pain is practically from my waist (transference I assume) to my ankle. I just dealt with a week of bad SI (sacro-iliac) pain but managed to stay on top with the tens unit although it puts me to sleep almost every time (not a bad thing when you’re always running on few spoons) .

The cat stroller serves its purpose as a walking aid as I can hold on while I slowly walk and try to loosen up joints (that which are affecting the sciatica nerve.)

I’ve managed to avoid pain meds, saving up until I need them to ride my power chair across town to pick up my gluten free baking ingredients.

The cat is content from her walk and currently napping so I’ll take leave while the “baby” sleeps.

#mobilityaid
#adventurecat
#catsonleashes
#takeyourcatforawalk by @katzonwheels

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2 months ago

A karma moment found me!

I was out for errands yesterday and as I usually do, I scooter along the path around the little lake in the centre of town. There were quite a few walkers as it was Friday and tourists have come for the weekend theatre shows.
On my return I decided to take the sidewalk and found myself with a tree branch blocking and overflowing the sidewalk.

As I was contemplating my strategy, whether to go onto the resident’s lawn up past the tree and around or attempt the curb, a city truck pulled over and a wonderful guy jumped out and moved the branch and all the extra bits.

What luck to have him passing by at that very minute AND notice why I had stopped on the sidewalk.

I call this my karma moment because when I was going through the park where the waterfall is, I had offered to take a photo of two grandparents and their grandbaby. I do this often when I see tourists/people around town taking a photo of the other person in front of a landmark.

So karma found me and I’m sure karma will find that helpful city worker.

So many times we complain about people who pass by, won’t help and are just in their own little world.

It takes but a minute or two out of your day to help someone. In turn, karma will remember and just when you need help, it too shall appear.

Remember to be kind. And smile at a stranger. Brighten their day AND yours!

#karma
#bekind
#nature
#sunflowers by @katzonwheels

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2 months ago