The Word Among Us

October 2023 Issue

A Companion, a Friend, a Brother

Raphael Has Been My Arms and My Legs

By: Bill Zalot

A Companion, a Friend, a Brother: Raphael Has Been My Arms and My Legs by Bill Zalot

Change is a constant in life. Everyone changes over time, and most people adapt well to those changes. But change for me has never been easy. Part of the reason is that I was born with spastic cerebral palsy, which means that I use a wheelchair for mobility. So while I have gone through the same changes that everyone else has, I have gone through other changes as well, like getting used to a new wheelchair, learning how to navigate places that aren’t very accessible, and seeing friends and family grow in ways that are different from me.

One major change happened for me in September 2000, when I was assigned a caregiver for the first time in my life. Gail [not her real...

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