Category: Cereabal Palsy

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Lauren’s Chair

There is something quite surreal about ordering a wheelchair for your child. You sit matter of factly as you choose colours and options. Lauren chose hot pink and purple. You see, to her, this is just like any other normal that she knows. And let’s face it, she makes even a wheelchair look cute! I hold back pinned up emotion and smile my teethy smile as we ‘design’ Lauren’s next form of mobility. Two years ago when we purchased her Kimba stroller chair, we had hoped that by the time she outgrew it, she’d be at least taking steps. Not so…
So, we applaud as she ‘test drives’ a couple suggested options and finally agree that the ‘Zippy’ is our choice. There is an hot pink zippy in Lauren’s future and for her, I have to keep smiling big, clapping loudly; fighting back my heartbreak as I continue to pretend that it’s all ok. Maybe one day, I’ll love her hot pink chair, but for now I must focus on its precious cargo that would have no mobility otherwise. It sure is a lot to process and it’s a coming to terms with reality. One step at a time..

Written by Mommy

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Lauren’s Journey Of Hope

Its Laurens’ fourth visit to the Children’s Shriners Hospital in Montreal. This visit is filled with worry, uncertainty, apprehension but also with hope. This visit is off to a bad start already because Lauren now has two dislocated hips and that concerns us very much. The rhizotomy surgery that we are hoping for Lauren to have (which right now is her only hope of walking or having some form of mobility) is right now looking very bleak because the surgery requires the patient to have two good hips and that is not Lauren’s case.

The day began with my alarm arousing me out of my sleep into reality. Lauren and I go and make sure Mommy and Bruddy are out of bed; we don’t want to leave anybody ‘Home Alone’. Everybody gets ready and off we go in our van to the St.John’s Airport. It’s kind of icy but the road is okay.

We had a 5-6 hour stop over in Halifax which made for a very long day. But to brighten our day; Aunt Mary, Rochelle and Ben came to visit us at the airport which was so nice to see them again.

Now we’re off to Montreal, Sissy is going strong (no nap yet today), Bruddy is sleeping soundly.

We have arrived in Montreal and had a very, well deserved rest/sleep at our Hotel. Morning came too soon, the uncertainty of what the day could/will bring is overwhelming. But off we go to the Hospital.

X-rays are done first, she was really good. Then the orthopedic surgeon, Dr Canten, came to talk to us. I just hate being kicked in the guts and our hopes being crushed at the same time. She told us Lauren will need both hips reconstructed at separate times. Can’t do both together, she would lose too much blood and too stressing on her body. Then she said, ‘rhizotomy’ was  not an option at all. This was not what we wanted to hear. How can we has parents accept that the one hope of her walking is taken from us? We just felt like leaving and coming home but of course we can’t do that, maybe the day will get better.

Now  it’s off to the 2nd floor for Occupational Therapy and Physio Therapy. Well that was a waste of time. Lauren did not cooperate and just cried through the whole thing. No fault of her’s, she was just exhausted and scared and so were we. They certainly didn’t get a true picture of the real Lauren.

We were receiving some very bad vibes, we knew this was not going in our favour; call it parent intuition. We reluctantly moved to assessment room #1, where we would meet with Dr. Farmer…..he held all the cards. He spoke words we did not want to hear, this is not the way it was supposed to go. Before anything else could be done for Lauren, she has to begin another new medication for dystonia ( clubbing and twisting of her hands, etc). Left and right hip and pelvic reconstructive surgeries done at separate times. Then a baclofen   pump to be surgically placed under the skin, which will help reduce some spasticity. The rhizotomy surgery was certainly not on the top list of options.( I had to stop writing here, I could not see the keyboard for tears. Am I dreaming or is this reality? Are we talking about my little girl, so innocent, so fragile. She doesn’t deserve this, her life is just beginning. Where’s the fairness? God help us to make sense of it all).

This was a lot of information to analyze and accept. So we just couldn’t take anymore and asked if it were okay to go back to our Hotel, which we did.

Now we are back on the ‘Rock’, feeling no further ahead then when we started. How can we put Lauren through this horrible chain of surgeries? Most parents are devastated when their child falls and scratches their knee. And then bad enough are the surgeries but with the hip surgeries she will have to be placed in body casts. In this case, ignorance would be bliss, but we know all to well what a body casts involves.

It’s confirmed today that Lauren’s first hip surgery will be done on March 28th. New medication, artene, for dystonia, will begin next week.

Our hearts are heavy as we try to keep our chins up and shoulders back. Bottom line is Lauren’s life will revolve around surgeries and procedures trying to fight an ugly condition that bears the name Cerebral Palsy.

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Lauren’s Missed Opportunity?

After recent events pertaining to Lauren’s latest medical update (please refer to the blog entitled, ‘A Detour in Lauren’s Journey’) it took some time for us as parents to analyze and digest the information that we had received. We are not parents to accept everything as “hook, line and sinker.” The news we received will forever change the course of Lauren’s life and journey. And we are not expecting everyone to know and understand what that feels like unless you have walked the path we are travelling. But I believe Lauren as been done an injustice. Is anyone to blame? You tell me.

Lauren as already visited the Children’s Shriners Hospital in Montreal, three times.  Each time was for an assessment to see if she was a good candidate for the ‘selective dorsal rhizotomy’  which would release some of the spasticity and tone i her muscles which would allow her to have a chance at some form of mobility. Three times we were sent home.

In order to be even considered for this surgery, Lauren’s hips were required to be in good condition, which they weren’t. So in 2016 she underwent a  reconstructive hip surgery (Osteotomy) to correct her hip. This left her leg 1.5 cm shorter then the other. At that time the other hip was out of socket a little but not bad enough for surgery and they were hoping that maybe it would correct itself. This was performed at the Janeway Children’s Hospital in St.John’s.

The reasoning for the corrected surgery of the left hip to be a failure was due to the fact that her muscles were so tight (so spastic) that they pulled the hip out of socket  and the ‘good hip’ was now 50% out of socket as well.  Now she was definitely not going to be considered for the rhizotomy surgery. Our hopes crushed!

You may be wondering, where am I going with this? What’s your point? The point is this; if the rhizotomy surgery was done on our last visit (November 2017) and the tightness, the spasticity of the muscles surrounding the hip were released, they ‘may’ not have been pulled out of socket like they are today. And Lauren’s hip surgery would not have been in vain, she would not have one leg shorter then the other (for now, no reason) and she would have  at least a chance of walking or at least a form of some mobility.

So to sum it up, we are discouraged, hurt, angry and left with nothing but questions and what ifs’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Detour In Lauren’s Journey

The doctor’s voice pierced our ears with news we did not want to hear. News that we were not expecting to hear but here he was saying theses awful, hopeless words. It was Lauren’s week of intense therapy that just so happen to fall on the same week has her Cerebral Palsy Clinic, this is where we meet with all her team; the orthopedic surgeon, neurologist, pediatrician and the rehabilitation team. We sort of had ourselves somewhat prepared for the week because we knew some things weren’t going right with Lauren. As it is with Cerebral Palsy, every day is different and each  day brings new challenges. 

To begin the day we sat in the assessment room waiting for Lauren’s Orthopedic Surgeon to enter the room, wanting to lock the door and not have to listen to what he was going to say. We suspected that something wasn’t right with Lauren’s already troubled hip, she said  ‘it hurt’. She already  had reconstructive surgery done on her left hip, but we were expecting the problem was with her partially dislocated right hip. The doctor entered and the look on his face was not good. He knew what our aim and goal was for Lauren; which was a rhizotomy  surgery in Montreal and both hips were required to be in perfect working order. The rhizotomy surgery was our one and only earthly hope of Lauren ever having any form of mobility outside a wheelchair.  We looked at him and said, “you have bad news”.  He did not deny it, but why couldn’t he, it was what we wanted; to be wrong. 

He looked at us with a defeated, hopeless and helpless look and said, “the left hip that she had repaired is totally out of socket again.” The left hip?  That one was repaired, we thought the pain she was complaining in was from the hip that wasn’t done. And he said,”the right hip is 50% out of socket.” So where does that leave us; we need two good hips to even be considered for the rhizotomy in Montreal. And now neither hip is in good standing. “There is nothing else we can do here at the Janeway for Lauren, get her to the Shriners Hospital as soon as possible.” From his standpoint Lauren would be confined to a wheelchair and we would need to start accepting that fact. Our hopes were crushed, the only hope we had was now gone. We cried our way through the process because here we were looking at a little four year old girl who’s greatest hope was to walk. “But I want to walk Mommy”, “But I want to walk Daddy”, “It hurts”, “I want to do it”.

We just wanted to go home, but first we had to see the Neurologist because her seizures were still not under control. Nothing was working, medication was only making her sleep more often. So we waited for the neurologist to plead for help to stop the seizures. Our fear with her having so many seizures was that more brain damage would be done and that we did not want to happen. Lauren is so intelligent and bright and we want to keep it that way.  Her neurologist said, “there is no quick fix, no cure, just trial and error.” So now we try another medication and “please God” this would and will work.

Lauren’s physiotherapist came in while we were preparing to leave and we told her we just needed to go home and to cancel the remaining appointments for the week. We thank all the team for their concern and support, they really do care and love Lauren. But we just had to go home and let all of this just sink in and deal with the hurt and feeling of loss and hopelessness. There is a grieving process that goes along with this traumatic news.

We arrived home and just sat and looked at each other; defeated! Once the initial shock had worn off, it was, “okay what do we do next?” Get in contact with the Shriners  Hospital in Montreal. So Lisa called Lauren’s doctor there and left a message to get back to us as soon as possible. While Lisa was doing this, I was sitting on the sofa playing with Lauren, when my phone rang. Hello, the man said, my daughter received a text today about a little girl who the Janeway had given some bad news and that she needed to get to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital in Montreal as soon as possible. He said, “is any of this making any sense to you?” To which I said , “yes, I sent the text to eight of my siblings today to inform them of our devastating news concerning Lauren, who is our four years old little girl who has cerebral palsy. Well he said, “this is no coincidence, but divine intervention, because I’m a Shriner and I will do whatever I can to get your little girl to Montreal. My heart leaped within me, when I felt so low, angry and no hope in sight; God had sent us a sign that He is right by our side and it’s going to be okay. This was no coincidence. What are the chances that this text and I have no idea how it could have been sent to her; I only sent eight texts and they were all to my siblings, so how could this girl, who’s father just so happened to be a Shriner from Gander, receive my text, it was nothing short of a miracle. And my texts were all out of province. God will move, He will intervene.

So after such a stressful and defeating day, God had intervened once again. Sometimes it’s in the little things, when our faith was so small and we had more questions than answers ; God was still working on our behalf. So if you are reading this and you are discouraged, hurt, going through the storm of your life, in the valley of despair; God is there, He will intervene, just never give up! “He may be four days late but He is still on time.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“Miracles”

We say miracles come in all forms. Does miracles still happen today? Just what is a miracle? According to google dictionary it is, ” A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency”. In my opinion, that being God.

Have I ever experienced or seen an unexplainable, instantaneous miracle? Not in the way it’s defined, but I believe we experience miracles everyday. And most times they happen right before our eyes and we do not even realize it. But they do happen. Any day we can get out of bed is a miracle. The blooming of a flower is a miracle. The changing of the seasons is a miracle. Each breath  we take is a miracle. So yes I believe in miracles; even when I can’t see, I must believe.

Sometimes we pray for a miracle and it’s like our prayers went unheard. But I believe God hears every prayer we pray. They just may not be answered in the way we want or in the time we want. And when we feel God is so far away, really He is just by our side.

Sometimes in our human nature we question God and sometimes even blame God. But that’s our hurt speaking, not our heart. Jesus himself questioned God when He said, while hanging on the cross, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus felt like God had forsaken Him, like we sometimes feel. But God said, (Hebrews 13:5) “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you”. And I have to take Him at His Word. Because what better option do I have? None, it’s God or nothing.

God is the God of the impossible! He can do anything but God also has the choice to not answer our prayer in the way we want. WE have to have faith and trust that God knows what’s best. And lots of times I find it hard to see it that way, but I keep trusting in spite of it all. He is my only hope and one day, in His time, He will intervene.

Sometimes there’s the danger of when we ask for something and don’t get it, then we become angry and bitter. But that’s not what God wants for us, He wants us to have an abundant life. John 10:10 “…I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly”. When Dad was on his deathbed, he was not the least bit angry or bitter at God. He said, ” Either way I will win (with God he could not lose); either I will be healed or if that’s not God’d will then I will go Home to be with Him. And the verse of scripture comes to my mind; 2 Timothy 4:7,8 “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing”. So I am looking forward to that day when I will see Dad again but also most of all, I will see Jesus. Then I’ll ask the reasons and He’ll tell me why.

So if Lauren doesn’t get her instantaneous healing to walk, then I’ll wait and trust that He knows best. But please God, give us the faith, strength, wisdom and courage to understand why and to leave it at that. For you are God in control!

 

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Lauren’s Adventure to McDonalds (in her wheelchair)

When Lauren was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, little did we know what would be involved. From surgeries, botox injections, seizures, therapy, CP Clinics and the list goes on; it’s a never ending journey, always evolving. And that journey is not always on a smooth, straight road but many are the bumps, turns and potholes. But I would just like to elaborate on one such pothole that we’ve hit, many times and that being accessibility.

If you are not confined or dependent on a wheelchair or the person behind pushing the wheelchair, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. You so innocently take your accessibility into a building, restaurant, house; all for granted. Many times I have wished I could  take the owner of a business, a public building, etc. on a journey in the day of a life of someone in a wheelchair. Maybe just sit “them” in a wheelchair and say, ” now go and let’s see how far you get. Their view of accessibility would drastically change and maybe look at it in an whole new light. And sometimes that’s what it would take.

I’m going to zone in on one business in particular and come for a ride with us in Lauren’s wheelchair.

It was our first visit to McDonalds in Bay Roberts ( I love freedom of speech) when we moved here two years ago. We pulled into the parking lot and searched for the handicap parking spaces. Oops! not spaces; there was only one and that one was occupied. So I searched again for two regular parking spaces that could accommodate our side entry van. There it was, at the end of the parking lot but at least it would give us space to exit the van using the side entry ramp. Wow, nothing to that (I thought)!

Next we maneuvered our way through the parking lot and hit the curb sidewalk that we crossed, to only be faced with crossing the drive-thru entrance. A little dangerous for someone in a wheelchair or not. Then we got to the front door with no powered push button opener and then the second door, inside a porch smaller then the wheelchair; I was stressed to the max. Once inside I looked around for a wheelchair table, there was one but it was occupied. By this time I was so frustrated that I just wanted to leave but Miss Lauren was bent on getting her “happy” meal. So I obliged her and we sat in an aisle table. Then she wanted to go to the bathroom, I need not say more.

Then it was time to exit the restaurant, where would I start? But in order to get out of there I had to start my trek to get back to the van. Once I so anxiously got to the van; what to my wandering eyes should appear but another vehicle parked a foot from our entrance to the van. This made it impossible for us to access our van. What do we do? Wait, until whoever owned the vehicle to move, so we could pull out the ramp and enter the van. So we waited and waited…..

And that’s the story of our adventure to McDonalds in a wheelchair. And that’s when I became an advocate for accessibility (like I needed something else on my plate). Being an advocate certainly doesn’t win you any popularity contests, but that’s not why I do what I do. I do it to make change for the better, improve our society as an whole and to just make our world a better place to live for us “all”.

My advocacy began by making a phone call to the owner of McDonald’s , who listened to my concerns very attentively. I thought to myself, that was a little too easy. I was to learn later that I was right. He did tell me at that time that renovations were going to be done in the Fall and he would contact me for my input on accessibility.

The Fall came and construction began but no telephone call from the owner. So I thought, if changes were needed for accessibility, they would need to be implemented during construction, not after construction was complete. So I thought I would do the courteous thing and give him a call back to jog his memory on our past telephone conversation. I thought I must be talking to a different person, his professionalism just flew out the window. When it came to wheelchair accessibility he said, ” I will only do the “bare minimum” that is required to be considered accessible”. No regard, no compassion, no thought for those confined to a wheelchair; it was all business.

After that conversation I thought, okay, where do I go from here? I was more determined then ever. I went straight to the Government department responsible for enforcing the accessibility code/requirements. I told the department of my concerns and frustrations and they were totally on board. The next day they had an inspector sent out and several building code issues were enforced pertaining to accessibility. And for that I am, on behalf of my four year old daughter and all those who require proper accessibility, I say thank you. We now have push button door openers. Without advocating; these door openers were not in the plans and would not have been installed.

And to the owner of McDonald’s in Bay Robert’s (and out of courtesy I won’t give your name) but I say, “Shame On You”! I hope you will never have to be confined to a wheelchair or anyone in your family: but if you were, then you just might “get it” and have a heart. By the way, the renovations are really nice! Congratulations!

 

 

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I Want To Skate Like “Bruddy”

I’m beginning to realize our battles with Lauren have only just begun. And we already feel exhausted from making sure that Lauren’s rights are met.  We are supposedly living in an all inclusive society. A place where children are not singled out has being different. But I think where all children are equal, regardless of their disabilities. And never tell a child they can’t do something because the have an impairment.

Our dilemma, this time, began when we signed Logan up for CanSkate, who’s only requirement was an helmet, pair of skates and a fee. So on Logan’s first week of skating, I took Lauren along with us to watch ‘Bruddy’ skate. So when Logan got on the ice and we turned to go to a viewing area, Lauren started to scream and cry. When I asked, “what was wrong”. She answered, “I want to skate like ‘Bruddy’. I tried to distract her but she had her mind made up, “I’m going on the ice”. So I consoled her by telling her I’d call  and we would see if we could get her signed up for skating. Lisa arrived and went to talk to someone about signing her up, even with CP.  So the lady said, “sure no problem, this was an all inclusive club and by law were required to accept anyone wanting to join. Three weeks later we finally (after Lisa emailed to check on the hangup) got an email that saddened us so much. There were requirements and recommendations that stated in the email from CBNSC; “Sorry for the delay, we contacted SkateNL for recommendations who in turn forwarded our email to SkateCanada for further  recommmendations”. Is Lauren the only disabled child in Canada who applied for CanSkate?  And Logan could join, no questions asked, but Lauren was different and neither of the three clubs were prepared to register a disabled child! We try to instill in Lauren that she can do anything she wants to do , but maybe in a modified way. ” Their suggestions (SkateCanada) were to allow her to wear her double bladed skates and to use a red glider. Now Lauren can’t use a walker let alone a glider. The only other requirement was that there be an adult program assistant with her at all times”. All other children could use a juniour PA because they were “normal kids”. The catch being; there are no adult PA’s in the CBNSC. So we were expected to find our own, “they suggested that this could be a parent”. It’s our intention to treat  Lauren like Logan and be like the other kids; using a PA. Not her parents, we want to teach her independence, to meet and trust other people and be just like all kids. “Also to be required to pay the SkateCanada Insurance fee of 32.65” (for the parent). If this was what we wanted; we could take Lauren to the Parent and Tot Program for free, rather then paying SkateCanada for the same service. “Lauren is permitted to start skating once ALL recommendations from SkateCanada are met”.

I called the CBNSC to state my concerns, then SkateNL, no response, then SkateCanada. After having a satisfactory and pleasant conversation with SkateCanada, I was told they took my issues very seriously and would be working on them the first thing Monday morning, because it was now 4:00 on Friday and the office was closing. I received a text from CBNSC, I texted back saying that it was okay, I had contacted SkateCanada; I think that “upset the cart”. She called anyway (against my wishes) in which I said, I didn’t need to speak with her, I was satisfied with SkateCanada and could have ended the conversation there. And I had to end the call by saying, ” I’m finished this conversation because it’s getting nowhere. which she didn’t hear because she was too busy ranting in the phone and I ended the call. She then called back, I didn’t answer, I was finished with this conversation. She left an unpleasant message: I then had to block her number. She kept saying that they were only looking out for her protection. And  SkateCanada had the nerve to say, “and the protection of the others”. If they were so concerned about her protection then provide her with her own Adult Assistant, I’m sure they could find someone in NL. Or if they can’t provide the proper protection for disabled children, then maybe they should  say we can’t handle disabled children in the first place. And exclude them because proper protection is not available by the club.

It’s kind of ironic because it was only recently that Lauren participated in the “Blind Hockey Canada” because she has a vision impairment. The attendants were all volunteer juniour hockey members who skated with Lauren by holding their hands under her arms and skated around the rink like a pro. She was so excited and needed no assistance from Mommy or Daddy. She was a big girl now, skating all by herself; just like ‘Bruddy’.

I feel if Blind Hockey Canada can provide this service then so should SkateCanada. We left with a sense of pride and accomplishment. But with our email from CBNSC, it just left us deflated and discouraged. Sometimes when “we are only looking out for her protection”, it reinstates that she is disabled and has a parent you can take that has an insult. Lauren’s hurts won’t come from falling down on the ice but being constantly reminded that she is different and certainly not always included in the “Norm”!.

Attachment:

The ways in which I feel Lauren is and was discriminated against is;

  1. She was not offered registration immediately, three weeks later and “they” are still working on the logistics as stated in an email of October 6, we are now in week four.
  2. The email of October 6 from CBNSC and I’m quoting; “the possibility of registering Lauren for CanSkate program”. Implying it was a possibility not a certainty.
  3. If SkateCanada already had a policy in place concerning disabled children and were confident in how to register that child, then why the logistics between CBNSC, SkateNL, SkateCanada? Were they not competent enough to handle the situation and carry out a stress free registration that should have been handled in one day, like our son who is “normal” child.
  4. SkateCanada are responsible to have PA’s available and not expect a parent or guardian to be on the ice. Again pointing out that Lauren is different because she requires her Mommy and Daddy, and not a regular PA.
  5. If we had known that we would have encountered all this discrimination and and differential treatment of one of our children over the other, then neither would have been considered to join SkateCanada.
  6. If Skate Canada was so all inclusive has they claim, why wasn’t the proper protocol already in place; at a time in which a disabled child registered. Rather then all this disconnection between CBNSC, SkateNL, SkateCanada. I believe they are not has all inclusive has what they claim  or I would NOT be writing this blog. It’s obvious that neither club knew just what to do with a child with a disability.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Note:                                                                                                                                                                October 17  Conversation I had with SkateCanada                                                                      I talked things over with my wife and we decided that neither of our children will be a part of CanSkate because of the strained relationship we feel we now have with the club. We do wish to have a full refund of our son’s fee which can be forwarded to us by mail at……..                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      As of today; November 4th we have NOT received a reimbursement.
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Writing- Therapy?

I’m reading a book by Benjamin Cox and in his book he says, “I am writing to save my life; it’s the only thing that helps, like therapy in a way.” I can totally relate to what he’s referring to. Ben is a recovering addict; I’m a recovering mental ill person. Just like Ben, we will have to fight our “demons” for the rest of our lives.

Every day for me is still a battle/struggle. Life doesn’t come by so easily has it use to. Even the  little things, sometimes seem so overwhelming. Just like Ben, I will always be a work in progress. There will be days when I don’t feel so well but I do have things in place that help me to cope. And writing my thoughts on paper, I find really helps. Then sharing these thoughts on my blog makes me feel  like I am helping someone else who is suffering from their mental illness.

It seems like forever since I have written, but that’s because I have written but have not published in my blog. Sometimes my thoughts are too deep that they are not for public viewing. This  past week has really been a tough one. In spite of my illness, I still have so many battles to fight. All of which are triggers for my illness but fight I must; I don’t live in a bubble, life still has to move on.  One such battle is trying to obtain funding for Lauren.  We get no Government assistance; I have gone from Provincial to Federal with no hope in sight. Then accessibility and all inclusion battles have left me discouraged, drained and to a point of just giving up but I know I can’t; she’s depending on me.  Raising a child with a disability opens your eyes to an whole new different world; that only those who have experienced it can relate. A world and society that are not all that accepting has we hope to think they are.

I guess now I’m an advocate for both our disabilities; Major Depression and Anxiety Disorder and Lauren’s Cerebral Palsy. Neither of which our society has made it any easier to be accepted and included. There is a stigma attached to both and I’m sure that  Ben can certainly relate to; with him being a recovering addict.

I find writing to be an outlet. A place to free your mind of all it’s thought. A means to find an escape, even if it’s only for a few moments. Like Ben, if it’s going to save my life then I will write, write write!