The blog, The 19th Floor, is written by an amazing man, named Mark Siegle. The blog has a collage of his thought provoking thoughts, bits of his life, and provides a glimpse into the life of a man who has coped successfully with his life’s challenges.
Working in a group home, support staff may not have a true perspective on what it is like to live with a disability and with caregivers around all the time. Mark Siegle has spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and is able to communicate what life is really like to live with the challenges that go along with being confined in a wheel chair. Group home support staff can meet the needs of the residents in a group home better with this information. Mark’s blog can also help support staff keep a healthy perspective on their own lives as they read about Mark’s life.
As his entries are read, an articulate, educated, strong man emerges who has a fantastic sense of humor. I wish more people could have the perspective on life that Mark does. As I watch people use everyday life (standing in line, traffic, etc) as an excuse to have a bad day I am glad to see a man like Mark Siegle ignore his everyday life (confinement to a wheelchair, 24 hour nurses) and make the most of his life.
Mark Siegle has done a great deal with what he has. He has an amazing perspective each of us (disabled and not-disabled) can learn from. Many able bodied and able minded people have wasted so much of their potential, wasted so much of their time, and used struggles in their life as an excuse. What I admire about Mark is that he is making the most of his life today and has plans to do more in the future.
Group home support staff can be inspiring to the residents they care for by making the most of their own lives. As residents see support staff with a healthy perspective of life and making the most of their own life, it can’t help but rub off on the residents of a group home.
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