First 'About Me' Page - Ever

22
1K followers

Could I get some feedback from my WA family? I've been following Kyle's video and actually wrote an About Me page and saved it to Draft. It's the first website page I've ever done and I was so afraid I'd come back from a family Mother's Day celebration and not be able to find it on my laptop.....but I did! My website's title is:

www.disabilitypossibilities.com

So here goes:

About Me

With two young daughters (three and six years old), no car, going through a divorce, no money, no place to live, and a record three feet of snow on the ground, I started nursing school. By 1981 I graduated from one of the most esteemed four-year programs in the U.S. with a 3.8 GPA - beginning a career I thought I’d be in until I wound up in one of the patient’s beds – well, not with someone, there all by myself, I mean!

But that wasn’t to be. Yes, I was an RN for two decades, sometimes loving it, sometimes hating it……but always having that feeling of satisfaction knowing I had ‘paid it forward’ and helped many in their time of need. You learn a lot about people when they are highly stressed and ill. My heart always went out to them whether they were going to have a gallbladder removed or were involuntarily locked up for suicidal thoughts.

Then disaster struck.

I worked medical/surgical units mostly until I specialized in psych - where my ‘other story’ began. During a takedown (that’s when all the big strong male staff come running from an urgent overhead page), clutzy me got in the way and was flipped. Sorta’ upside down and backwards. My neck and back were never the same. I’d go to work and move like a zombie on the Walking Dead TV show. One doctor visit later and I never worked again, even though I didn’t know it at the time.

In all my nursing work history I had never made a worker’s compensation claim. Not even when an elderly man with dementia put me in a chokehold then threw me up against the wall knocking me out. And this was on a regular medical unit!

Yup, in nursing, you have to be tough - not a whiny baby. But this locked unit incident had done me in. I eventually applied for Social Security Disability, on my own with no attorney, and got it six months later with a $10,000 back pay bonus. They said it was retroactive pay. I’d say!

Twelve years and another divorce later (uhmmmm, I have relationship issues also), I found myself trying to manage a 10-acre hobby farm where I was the ‘management boss’ (not much of a real worker). My best laid plans fell through when my oldest daughter who did most of the grunt work said she didn’t want to farm any more, she wanted to get a degree in computer graphics.

Well fine, but how in the Sam Hill does one get by on a little over $1100 a month? By then I had reached 65. Medicare said I’d continue getting the same benefits and amount but it’d be because I was ‘old’ and it wouldn’t be called disability any more.

That’s where you come in. You are probably here because you are what I term ‘alternatively-abled.’ Or it’s for a loved one. You need equipment or supplies, advice, maybe a few good links, maybe a laugh or two, and perhaps, like me, an added income that you can feel good about by legitimately supplementing your meager pay (if you are lucky enough to have some), feel like a more productive member of society, have more confidence and independence, and be your own boss - and be able to forget those tiny checks!

I can help. I’ve had experience with helping patients and have been the patient. I continue to experience ‘disability' from the previous physical trauma decades ago and serious health issues - a rare auto-immune disease similar to Lupus, advanced diabetes, chronic kidney failure (dialysis in the future), Cushing's disease, near blindness, walking problems from severe rheumatoid arthritis in my feet and of course elsewhere, and enough other diagnoses to kill half a tree to print.

Ask me if I can relate to your problems.

On this website you will find what you are looking for. You are either the disabled one, or you are looking for a loved one. Wait, I know you know where your loved one is.....you know what I mean - I hope! There are products here for nearly every disability need. I've personally used quite a few of them myself.

To help you economically, inside you will find information on an online affiliate educational site called Wealthy Affiliate. This is where I earn a substantial income doing something I had no experience in at all. If I can learn and earn......so can you!

Come in, put your feet up, set your disabilities on the back burner, browse.....and imagine the possibilities.

With much appreciation, care, understanding and insight for what you are going through, I'll see you on the inside.

Virtual hugs,

SheilaKay Calabretta <-----changing back to 'Paris', previous name before marriage and after divorce, whenever that will be)

aka Bunn (a nickname my now 90 year-old mother bestowed on me at birth)

Oh, glamour shots to come.....just haven't found that photographer who performs miracles yet....;)

Login
Create Your Free Wealthy Affiliate Account Today!
icon
4-Steps to Success Class
icon
One Profit Ready Website
icon
Market Research & Analysis Tools
icon
Millionaire Mentorship
icon
Core “Business Start Up” Training

Recent Comments

40

Great writing. I read the whole thing. If I didn't know you and came across it on the internet, It might be a bit long. The story is compelling and interesting for me. You have great courage.

Great post Sheila. You are on a path to success and abundance!

Woo-Hooooo!

Hello Sheila,
Great first post-liked it a lot. Found it informative and moving.
You will do well here.
Best regards,
James

Thank you, James.....that was nice of you to say.

Agreed, thanks, Russell. And to you too.

Sheila, maybe you can shorten the first part a little bit. After

"That's where you come in ", I think you are doing ok.
John

Thanks, John, I'll tackle it tomorrow.

Hi Sheila, I think Randy pretty much sum it up, Its a great read but just a little shorter. Have a nice Night-Day?

Great critique, Randy......I'll use your suggestions. My sentences are too long. Plus the whole thing is too long.

I'll work on getting those pictures.

Thanks for your help!

Hiya Sheila, wow what a story... makes my life sound rather dull! Personally speaking, I think that I would find a way to highlight the major points while shortening down the total content to accommodate the average reader's attention span. Include a before pic in the first paragraph or two and then another more current photo below the first fold, closer towards the end.

Make sure ya' keep the content all in small paragraphs and you'll do great. You definitely have some great content!!!

I love it! I could almost hear the compassion in your voice (I actually felt it). Great job.

Brenda

Thanks, Brenda.....that means a lot!

You did great. Post it!

Terea, your personality always comes through on what you write. I actually thought to myself while I was writing it.....how would Terea do it? Not that I'd want to copy, but to make sure it came natural. That's why my sentences are so long....that's how I talk, barely come up for breath! LOL

That is a compliment that I have never received before! Thank you.
Seriously, what you wrote kept my attention right to the end. Maybe I have a better attention span than most, but I seriously doubt it. I have so much to go through that I usually skim much of the stuff I read. Yours engaged me. Maybe if you doctor it up like Randy says it will be even better, but the content is great.

Terea, your comment below about content blew me away. Love it, thanks a bunch!

See more comments

Login
Create Your Free Wealthy Affiliate Account Today!
icon
4-Steps to Success Class
icon
One Profit Ready Website
icon
Market Research & Analysis Tools
icon
Millionaire Mentorship
icon
Core “Business Start Up” Training