Posted By BY ANDREA GORDON, THE CANADIAN PRESS Anita Kaiser has several striking memories from the aftermath of the 1996 car crash that altered her life. One was a few weeks after doctors told her she would never walk again. Kaiser, then 24, had been instantly paralyzed from the chest down. With a writing splint and black marker strapped to her hand, she scrawled the phrase "Malcolm and Mariah say hi.'' They were her chosen names for the baby boy or girl she hoped to one day raise. "It was the very first thing I wrote down, and I wanted it to be significant,'' recalls Kaiser. "Even though it looked like a two-year-old's Halloween writing.'' Twelve years later, five-month-old Olivia wriggles on the floor under her baby gym as her mother recounts the story in the family's condo in Richmond Hill, Ont. Kaiser's taste in names has changed over the years, but her determination hasn't. "I always wanted to have kids and I knew we could do it,'' she says. "There's no reason a woman with a spinal cord injury can't go on to bear children.'' Adults with disabilities can be as capable and successful as able-bodied parents, Kaiser says, as long as there are devices, resources and services for support. She wants to be an example. In the last six months, Kaiser has not only become a mother, she has also secured her place as a researcher and advocate for parents with disabilities. The same week Olivia was born in January, she also delivered her master's thesis in rehabilitation science at the University of Toronto. Her thesis examined the needs of parents with spinal cord injuries. A colleague recently presented her research to a conference of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, attended by 300 professionals from Canada and abroad. The study, which involved 12 mothers and fathers with spinal cord injuries, is unique in a field where there has been little research. About 36,000 Canadians are living with spinal cord injuries, according to the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, which supported Kaiser's education through a scholarship. Roughly 100 new cases occur each year, and most are among people in their child-bearing years. While some are already parents, a growing number are choosing to start families post-injury. Kaiser says it's the result of improved social acceptance and accessibility, and the growth in specialized fertility and obstetrical services for the disabled. I have heard many people question why a mother with a disability would ever become a parent? How could they be that selfish to their child? I believe this couldn't be further from the truth. My best friend is the only child to a mother who is paralyzed from the waist down. She has limited use of her arms and hands and has many other health issues that are the result of an automobile accident that happened when she was 17. His father also suffers many physical problems. They met after high school and married, both taking on each other's health issues. Both could not be more amazing parents if they tried. Their son is my son's godfather. He is my best friend. He is close friends with most of my family. He is one of the most amazing human beings I have had the honor of knowing. If they would have stuck with the selfishness of NOT having children just because of their disabilities, my family and I would be without one of the most important people in our lives. I truly believe that disabled parents are just as capable as able bodied people. I think they even appreciate what they are able to do that much more. It was a miracle for my friend's mom to carry him. It was a miracle that they both survived. It is a miracle all around. I am grateful regularly for his place in our lives. This article just makes me appreciate what his parents did that much more.
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Hello, Im the friend from the post about disabled parents. It made me blush