Author: OUR BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGES
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A Thank You to the People Behind My Independent
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Twelve Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. For the past several weeks, I’ve shared a lot about what it’s really like to have PCAs. I’ve talked about independence. I’ve talked about being my own boss. I’ve talked about trust, boundaries, communication, friendship, finding the right match, and what…
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What Makes a PCA Relationship Last Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Eleven Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. Finding the right PCA is one thing. Building a relationship that lasts is something else. Throughout this series, I’ve talked about trust, boundaries, friendship, communication, and even what happens when a PCA isn’t the right…
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When You PCA Is Also Your Friend
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Nine Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. One of the unique things about being able to choose my own PCAs is that sometimes the person helping me isn’t a stranger. Sometimes they’re already a friend. On the surface, that sounds like the perfect situation. You already know each…
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When a PCA Isn’t the Right Match
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Ten Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. One of the hardest things about managing your own PCA care is realizing that not everyone is going to be the right match. Someone can be a good person. They can have good intentions. They can genuinely want to help. And…
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What I Wish People Knew About the PCA Waiver
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Eight Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. Throughout this series, I’ve talked about what having a PCA means to me, learning to be my own boss, choosing the right people, building trust, setting boundaries, asking for help, and redefining independence. But there’s one more thing I want to…
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Why Independence Doesn’t Mean Doing Everything Alone
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Seven Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. For a long time, I thought independence meant doing everything myself. If I could do something without help, I was independent. If I needed someone to help me, somehow that felt different. As a woman with cerebral palsy who spent years…
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Seven Things I Look for in a PCA
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Four Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. Having a PCA is about much more than having someone come into my home and help me with certain tasks. This person becomes part of my everyday life. They may see me when I’m having a great day and when I’m…
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Building Trust With My PCA
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Five Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. Trusting a PCA can almost be like trusting a partner. That might sound like an unusual comparison, but when you think about how involved a PCA can become in your everyday life, it makes sense. Depending on what kind of assistance…
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The Challenge of Being My Own Boss
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Three Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. Being part of a PCA Waiver program has given me something incredibly important: choice. I have the ability to choose the people who help me and have a say in how that help is provided. That freedom is a huge part…
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The Benefits of Having a PCA- and the Benefits of Learning Without One
Living Independently: The PCA Journey — Part Two Our Beautiful Challenges — Marie W.O.W.C.P. When I first started living on my own, it was at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moving into my own apartment was already a huge step in my independence journey. But moving out during a pandemic made that experience…
OUR BEAUTIFUL CHALLENGES 