MSW Publications: A Writing, Art, and Gratitude Journal
My Several Worlds: A Writing, Art, & Gratitude Journal is designed to remind you that there is joy to be found with the little things in life. Use this journal to learn about yourself. Track your health, pain, symptoms and moods; and use it for art therapy. I’ve taken care to include all the things I enjoy in journaling to ensure you have fun with this book! Welcome to a tiny corner of My Several Worlds!
My Ankylosing Spondylitis Story by Carrie
My Ankylosing Spondylitis Story by Carrie Kellenberger - Over 10 years of pain, fatigue, and symptoms before I got my Ankylosing Spondylitis diagnosis.
The Day I Was Supposed to Return to Taiwan
Today was the day I was supposed to return to Taiwan. I left with a return ticket and an impossible deadline: eight months to establish medical care, disability support, pension protection and a secure future in Canada. Within a few days of arriving in Canada, I knew I could never go back.
Chronic Illness and Disability: How Sick Do You Need To Be For Help?
How sick does a disabled person have to become before needing help is enough? I spent years working, paying enormous medical costs, managing complex illness, and asking directly for help while my capacity disappeared. Looking back, the hardest truth is that I was already there. I had been there all along.
Ownership, Labour, and Erasure at Reach To Teach Recruiting
For 16+ years, I helped build Reach To Teach Recruiting through ownership, writing, systems, teacher support, public-facing work, and years of invisible labour. This is a record of what I built, what I carried, and what I refuse to let disappear.
The Fear of Being Abandoned When You Are Sick
The fear of abandonment when you are sick is a personal essay about what happens when the person who promised to stand beside you remains physically present but withdraws care, safety, and support. During Disability Pride Month, I write about chronic illness, medical neglect, emotional abandonment, and the moment fear became recognition.
Signs of Life: The Quiet Work of Rebuilding After Repatriation
This is Part 4 in my Repatriation Series. Rebuilding after repatriation doesn’t happen all at once. It reveals itself in quiet moments: a growing healthcare team, new clients, a graduate school application, an accessible vehicle, a basement writing space, and the first real signs that hope, home, and a new future are beginning to take shape.
- DISABILITY, FEATURES, HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF, MILESTONES, PERSONAL STORIES, REPATRIATION, THE CM EFFECT
Rebuilding Trust in Systems
This is Part 3 in my Repatriation Series. After returning to Canada from Taiwan, I had to rebuild more than healthcare. I had to learn how Canadian systems worked, who could help, and what support looked like when I was no longer carrying everything alone.
Why Patients Become Historians (or Why I Arrive With a Binder)
This is the second in a three-part series called the Repatriation Series. You can read Part 1 here: Repatriation: Healthcare and Disability Do Not Cross Borders. When people imagine a patient, they often picture someone sitting quietly in an exam room answering questions. I have never been that patient. I have learned that if I didn't carry my own history, nobody else will. Patients with complex chronic illnesses often become historians. We are archivists, researchers, project managers, and more.
Repatriation Lesson One: Healthcare and Disability Do Not Cross Borders
When I repatriated to Canada after 17 years in Taiwan, I didn't just leave a country. I left a healthcare ecosystem. My specialists didn't cross the border with me. My disability supports didn't cross the border with me. My treatment history, care teams, and years of hard-earned medical credibility didn't automatically transfer either. Healthcare and disability do not cross borders with the patient. The patient crosses the border. Everything else has to be rebuilt. Five months after returning to Canada, I'm beginning to understand that the biggest challenge wasn't transporting my belongings across an ocean. It was reconstructing an entire healthcare life from scratch.
