#CPChatNow Recap- 9-12-2018

Posted on September 18, 2018 by devinaxtman

#CPChatNow was rocking as always last week. Members discussed the upcoming season of Speechless, the importance of senses, and what character they would be in a book. This is #CPChatNow Co-Host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

First, members talked about the upcoming season of Speechless.

Zach and Blemi discussed the upcoming season of Speechless. Blemi states she stopped watching it in season 1. Zach said he can relate sometimes while not at others.

Next, Hannah shared her excitement about new glasses. She shared how much easier life has been since regaining her vision:

Hannah shares her excitement about new glasses and increased vision. Zach shared his reliance on vision for walking and Hannah concurred

Zach and Hannah discussed the loss of different senses and Hannah shared that she would likely deal OK with losing her hearing because of her knowledge of ASL:

Zach and Hannah discussed the loss of different senses and Hannah shared that she would likely deal with losing her hearing because of her knowledge of ASL

This brings us to our extend-the-conversation question, “Which of the five senses do you feel is the most important?” Leave your answer in the “Comments” section.

Continuing on, Zach asked what book people would add themselves to and how they would change the story.

Zach asks what book members would add themselves to. Ayden shares the Count of Monte Cristo to support Dantes

Zach tweeted about being a character in To Kill A Mockingbird and sticking up for Boo Radley:

Zach tweets about being in To KIll A Mockingbird and helping Boo Radley

Extend the Conversation Question in black. A graphic with the five senses in circles around a brain with a drawing of a nose, mouth, ear, hand, and eye. Which of the five senses do you feel is the most important? on the bottom with the multi-colored #CPChatNow logo on the left Make sure to keep the conversation going by answering the week’s extend-the-conversation question. Again that question asks, “Which of the five senses do you feel is the most important?” Leave your answers below!

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 8/29/2018

Posted on September 5, 2018 by devinaxtman

This past week in #CPChatNow was bustling as always. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

Zach announced that he is going to do a 5K as a warm up to another marathon in October:

Zach announcing he has registered for the Helping Hands Heroes 5K which benefits the hospital where he had surgery

Members also talked about doing a Real Housewives of CP program:

Rachel tweeted there should be a real housewives of CP program. Heather said for enough money she could learn to be catty. Zach shared a Ted Dibase gif

Jen and Hannah talked about Hannah’s dog Levi walking alongside her walker at PetSmart:

Jen asked how Levi is doing with the walker training. Hannah said they haven't done it again

Finally, Zach talked about a moment at work when he accidentally pushed over a book cart a la WWE wrestler Braun Stroman:

Zach talks about accidentally flipping over a book cart at work.

Please join us every Wednesday at 8 PM Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow!

#CPChatNow Recap- 7-3-2018

Posted on July 11, 2018 by devinaxtman

There was a bit of a change to #CPChatNow this week. The chat was moved to Tuesday to accommodate the 4th of July. However, the chat was still busy as members talked about how often they think about CP, burning calories, and doing chores. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

Talk started with whether members thought about their CP regularly.

Zach and Chris talked about if CP is constantly on their minds. They both agreed they think about it, but not overtly

Zach and Rachel talked about the impact (or lack-thereof) of CP on burning calories:

Rachel and Zach talked about whether CP impacted their calories burned, particularly when it came to posture

Next, talk turned to chores that are more difficult because of CP. Members quickly agreed that making the bed can be very difficult with CP:

Jeni and Zach talking about the difficulty of making the bed

Ironing remained another chore discussed:

Zach and Wum talked about the difficulty of ironing and folding with CP

Zach asked how often members ironed. Devin and Chris talked about their infrequency of ironing

This brings us to our extend-the-conversation question: What is the most difficult chore for you with CP?

Share your answers in the comments and join us tonight at 8 pm eastern!

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap 6-6-2018

Posted on June 13, 2018 by devinaxtman

#CPChatNow was chipper this past week as members talked about things such as teaching their friends, what they would like their legacy to be, and whether they prefer moving or sitting activities. This is #CPChatNow Co-Host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

First, #CPChatNow would like to note the passing of someone who meant a lot to many in the cerebral palsy community, Dr. Karen Pape. Dr. Pape was a clinical neuroscientist and author. You can find her TED Talk here. She also did a focus chat for #CPChatNow. You can find the recap for the focus chat here.

Zach tweeting about Dr Pape's death on June 2nd

Next, Amanda shared a story of a friend helping a man using a walker leave a restaurant. This is a great example of knowledge of disability expanding knowledge and empathy.

Amanda shared a story of a friend helping a man using a walker leave a restaurant. She shared a story of the friend saying knowing Amanda has helped expand his knowledge.

Legacy soon became an emerging topic, sparked by Dr. Pape’s death mentioned earlier. Community members discussed the legacies they want to leave:

Members discussed the legacy they hoped to leave. Zach and I shared our thoughts. Rachel cautioned about doing too much for others

Continuing the widespread dialogue, members talked about whether they prefer activities that involve movement or activities that involve sitting. The consensus was movement, but that a balance was necessary to prevent overwhelming fatigue. Hot showers were a favorite as well.

Rachel prefer movement oriented activities where her muscles are engaged in active and passive stretch like yoga or taking a hot shower. Zach agreed on liking hot showers

Chris agreed with Zach and Rachel on need for moving activities, but talked about the need for a balance.

This brings us to our extend-the-conversation question: What are your go to activities to get moving? Please share your answers in the comments!

Extend-The-Conversation Question in white at the top. What are your go to activities to get moving? in the middle with the #CPChatNow white logo. A person is standing in the middle of trees with their arm up

Tweet you later!

-Devin

#CPChatNow Recap- 5-23-2018

Posted on May 29, 2018 by devinaxtman

This past week in #CPChatNow was bustling as always. Members talked about recent hikes, riding bikes, and physical therapy being fun. This is #CPChatNow co-host, Devin Axtman, taking you along for the ride on this week’s recap.

First, I wanted to highlight a tweet from a member about something that occurred outside of the regular #CPChatNow window of 8-10pm eastern time each Wednesday. Regular member, Timmy, shared a photo of a weekend hike:

A picture of Timmy standing by the Mount Everett summit sign

Timmy showed that #CPChatNow and people with CP are doing things all of the time!

Riding bikes was a common theme in this week’s chat after Zach shared a story about a man excelling at adaptive cycling. Zach and Linds chatted about their history of riding bikes:

Zach and Linds talked about bike riding. Zach said he did not have the core strength to get beyond training wheels. Linds tweeted she used to ride and sometimes fell off, but has been unable to due to health reasons and no time to recover

The bike conversation went in another direction as Zach and I talked about how our physical therapists thought of fun ways to get us involved in physical therapy (PT):

Zach and I tweeted about sports being a part of physical therapy. I tweeted sports were a big part of therapy and zach expressed that he wished sports was a bigger part of his therapy

I tweeted a milestone in physical therapy was running around the bases. Zach recalled getting in catcher position to catch bean bags and the challenge of keeping his balance

This brings us to our extend-the-conversation question, “What did your therapists do to keep you interested in therapy?”

A picture of a baseball stadium in the background. Extend-The-Conversation Question in white with the extend-the-conversation question at the top of the picture. The white #CPChatNow logo at the bottom

Please share your answers in the comments and join us each Wednesday at 8pm Eastern on Twitter at #CPChatNow.

#CPChatNow Recap- 5-9-2018

Posted on May 15, 2018 by devinaxtman

This past week in #CPChatNow was jumping as always. Members talked about being ambidextrous, learning to fall, and rebelling against CP. This is #CPChatNow Co-Host, Devin Axtman, taking you along on this week’s recap.

Zach and Grace talked about being ambidextrous and whether that translated to falling to one side or the other:

Zach and Grace talking about whether being ambidextrous translated to falling more on one side. Grace tweeted she is, but tends to fall on her right side

Members then talked about learning to fall. Stacey expressed surprise that was a thing, but many members such as Zach and Hannah tweeted about learning to fall:

Zach and Stacey tweeted about learning to fall. Stacey said she had never learned to fall, but she falls on her stronger side.

Zach and Hannah tweeted about different techniques regarding learning to fall in PT:

Zach tweets about learning to fall on his dominant side. Hannah tweets she learned ways to catch herself. Zach tweeted he went to private PT

Zach, Hannah, and I tweeted about having private PT and our parents sweating over payment details:

Zach, Hannah, and I tweet about having private PT when younger and not thinking about the payment details

Next, talk turned to an interesting question Zach had. He asked members about the first time they could remember rebelling against their CP.

Zach asked about the first time members rebelled against their CP. Zach tweets about not leaving classes. Jen tweeted about grabbing things with her claw rather than asking for help

Hannah tweeted about moving to Nashville and Zach tweeted about his parents being unsure about him competing in his first marathon:

Hannah tweets about rebelling by moving to Nashville. Zach tweets about doing the marathon and reassuring his parents

This brings us to our Extend-The-Conversation question. Zach had all of the good questions this week, so I will ask his question again for those who couldn’t participate on Twitter: “What was the first decision you made to rebel against people’s concerns over your CP?” Share you answers and the results in the comments

#CPChatNow Recap- 04-18-2018

Posted on April 24, 2018 by zacharyfenell

#CPChatNow’s communal atmosphere remained on full display Wednesday, April 18th, 2018 during the weekly Twitter chat. Familiar faces returning after lengthy absences helped to establish the night’s tone. Here to tell you all about the evening, I am co-host Zachary Fenell.

Those aforementioned familiar faces referenced included long-time participant Hannah Pike and always busy co-host Jorge Oteiza. Other participants warmly greeted the two.

Co-host Devin utilized a wrestling GIF to welcome Hannah and Jorge. Such a GIF demonstrates another aspect to our friendly community. Perhaps an element to discuss in a future recap! For now, let us catch up with Hannah and Jorge.

Some serious health issues kept Hannah away from #CPChatNow. Issues she recently detailed while blogging.

Despite personally already knowing Hannah’s situation, reading her blog post still made me shudder. The seriousness that comes along brain surgery proving undeniable. Take a look and read yourself, “The Setbacks Leading to the Comeback.”

Thankfully the reasoning behind Jorge’s absence involves a lot less dire circumstances. College and work continues to keep him pre-occupied. As Jorge explained, an earlier shift allowed him to make the week’s chat.

Just like Hannah, participants excitedly met Jorge. Specifically, Shira Sadiky recounted how Jorge helped her feel comfortable when she first joined #CPChatNow a couple years ago. Comfort definitely stands important towards building a strong community.

What other characteristics do you also find valuable in a community? Answer for the week’s extend-the-conversation question, “What characteristics make for a strong community?” Respond in the “Comments” section.

Maintaining the communal theme, remember #CPChatNow’s forthcoming April 2018 Google Hangout.

The monthly Hangout allows our community to chat using a more open platform. No character limits! Plus video chatting adds communication factors like tone of voice and facial expressions, enhancing the dialogue! Due to privacy reasons, the link to the Hangout does not go out publicly. Perchance you want to join us, message the #CPChatNow Facebook fan page to let us know.

Before visiting our Facebook page though, answer the week’s extend-the-conversation question! “What characteristics make for a strong community?” Answer by commenting below! I eagerly await seeing your replies.

Until next time,

-Zachary

#CPChatNow

Online community for those with cerebral palsy!

Tag Archives: cerebral palsy

#CPChatNow Recap- 9-12-2018

#CPChatNow Recap- 8/29/2018

#CPChatNow Recap- 7-3-2018

#CPChatNow Recap 6-6-2018

#CPChatNow Recap- 5-23-2018

#CPChatNow Recap- 5-9-2018

#CPChatNow Recap- 04-18-2018