Friday, February 17, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
What Spina Bifida is
Spina Bifida is a birth defect that affects 1 in 1000 babies every year. Now days doctors can detect it before the baby is born and often encourage the parents to abort, unfortunately. I am sad for all of the babies who didn't get a chance to live but I am sooo thankful that my parents gave me birth. Of course, since I was born in 1976, doctors didn't realize I had Spina Bifida until I was born. They didn't suspect anything was wrong and did not do ultra sounds of the babies unless there was a problem.
My Family
My immediate family consists of me, my brother Bob and his wife Angie, my Dad Danny and my mom Lois. Dad has 3 brothers and four sisters and Mom has one brother and one sister. I have 30 first cousins between the two sides. Yeah! I said 30. :) Mom and Dad both have 14 or 15 cousins a piece. Our holiday gatherings (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.) are crazy but I am sooo blessed to have them! :)
My Favorite things
My favorite pass times are: singing, reading, writing. I love to sing whatever comes to mind. My favorite song genres are: contemporary Christian and country. My favorite types of books are mysteries and romance (specifically Christian fiction). I write poetry and short stories.
Favorite foods: Italian (any sort of pasta, especially with Alfredo sauce), seafood, American
Favorite movies: Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, You've Got Mail, Fireproof, Courageous
Favorite TV shows: Dukes of Hazzard, Matlock, Murder She Wrote, Saved by the Bell, Growing Pains, Charlie's Angels, Diagnosis Murder
Favorite foods: Italian (any sort of pasta, especially with Alfredo sauce), seafood, American
Favorite movies: Annie, Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, You've Got Mail, Fireproof, Courageous
Favorite TV shows: Dukes of Hazzard, Matlock, Murder She Wrote, Saved by the Bell, Growing Pains, Charlie's Angels, Diagnosis Murder
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Jeanne's Life with Spina Bifida: Introduction: My name is Jeanne Knapp
Jeanne's Life with Spina Bifida: Introduction: My name is Jeanne Knapp: Hi! My name is Jeanne Knapp. I am 35 years old and I have a disability called Spina Bifida. I can walk with a quad cane for the most part b...
Monday, January 23, 2012
Introduction: My name is Jeanne Knapp
Hi! My name is Jeanne Knapp. I am 35 years old and I have a disability called Spina Bifida. I can walk with a quad cane for the most part but I use a power chair, manual wheelchair, or a walker for long distance. I walk with my knees bent so my knees started hurting in 2002 after I had worked for the Shawnee Mission School District for a year which is why I started using wheelchairs, etc. I have no braces on my legs but I do have inserts in my shoes so I have to wear shoes that are big enough for my inserts (a women's size 6).
My insides are the parts of me that have been affected by SB the most. I have nerve damage to the bladder, kidneys, and intestines. I have a shunt in the left side of my head which is a small fiberglass pump that drains excess fluid from the head (a condition called hydrocephalus) but my shunt probably isn't needed anymore. I haven't had any problems with it since I was 5 or so.
Even with all of my problems (irritable bowel, knee pain, etc.) I accepted Christ as my Savior at age 4 or 5 and God had seen me through all of them and given me joy. I still live at home with Mom and Dad and have been surrounded with loving, supportive family and friends. I was able to get through K-12 and graduated with honors from high school and college (two college degrees: associates in applied science with an emphasis in business office management and a bachelors in the area of early childhood special education).
God has seen fit to give me opportunities to date and have as much of a normal life as any single lady would have as possible. I would like to get married and raise a family (adopting kids, not having kids naturally due to the health issue I deal with). However, if God does not want me to get married then I will try to be content with whatever God allows me to experience in life.
In the coming days, months, etc., I will try to shed some light on my life, SB, etc. Please feel free to ask questions. If you have any suggestions for future blogs, please feel free to contact me. Thanks for reading. :)
My insides are the parts of me that have been affected by SB the most. I have nerve damage to the bladder, kidneys, and intestines. I have a shunt in the left side of my head which is a small fiberglass pump that drains excess fluid from the head (a condition called hydrocephalus) but my shunt probably isn't needed anymore. I haven't had any problems with it since I was 5 or so.
Even with all of my problems (irritable bowel, knee pain, etc.) I accepted Christ as my Savior at age 4 or 5 and God had seen me through all of them and given me joy. I still live at home with Mom and Dad and have been surrounded with loving, supportive family and friends. I was able to get through K-12 and graduated with honors from high school and college (two college degrees: associates in applied science with an emphasis in business office management and a bachelors in the area of early childhood special education).
God has seen fit to give me opportunities to date and have as much of a normal life as any single lady would have as possible. I would like to get married and raise a family (adopting kids, not having kids naturally due to the health issue I deal with). However, if God does not want me to get married then I will try to be content with whatever God allows me to experience in life.
In the coming days, months, etc., I will try to shed some light on my life, SB, etc. Please feel free to ask questions. If you have any suggestions for future blogs, please feel free to contact me. Thanks for reading. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)