Sharing with Family Improved Quality of Life

My Story – Submitted by: Rick

I want to share my story with you and hopefully I can help others deal with the same.

Don’t get down. Do what you have do. I’m married and have a understanding wife, and family. When I started having accidents, day, and night, I went to get help, and doctors could not find anything wrong. It left me with few options. I refused to wear anything, but that only caused me to isolate myself. My loving wife took over and encouraged me to get out and off the couch. She said no one will laugh at you. Let’s have a family meeting with everyone and just tell them how bad your problem is and that you now have to wear diaper all the time. When we told them, they all seemed shocked but said, “It’s OK.”Continue reading→

One Woman’s Fight Against Stigma (An Update Three Years Later)

My Story – Submitted by: Reina

You guys probably recall me sharing a story about my finally accepting my incontinence and no longer being ashamed. In that story, I stated how I saw a particular episode on John and Kate Plus 8, and it gave me a desire to engage in efforts to educate the world about incontinence, letting people know that there is no need to be ashamed of having the condition and that it does not have to rule their lives. Well, I’m back to give you all an update. I know it has been awhile, but here it is.Continue reading→

Turning Cartwheels

Doing cartwheels!

One of the best docs in my world, both as a friend and as a partner (we are co-founders of Label Me Not – a movement to defeat stigma in healthcare) hit a milestone birthday this summer. He was definitely not pleased about this marker and, as he explained to me, he was feeling the self-stigmatization of old age. Now mind you (as the Brits would say) this is a guy who attended prestigious medical schools; is internationally known for his work as a medical futurist who is helping to chart the future healthcare needs of individuals with developmental disabilities; and an unlikely candidate to be feeling the stigma of aging. He is someone you’d think was just too busy to allow a birthday to throw him off track.Continue reading→