Who’s the chick behind “Ask Maddie?”
Hello people of cyberspace! My name is Maddie (Madeline) and this is my first installment of “Ask Maddie.” Since it is my first article, I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Where to begin? Well… I’m from Philadelphia and am a recent grad of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, there I earned a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology. prior to that I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in general psychology from Villanova University. I had initially began my college education at University of South Florida. My mother father and brother graciously agreed to pick up their own lives and come along with me. You’re probably saying to yourself: “What the hell? Why on God’s green earth would you take your family to college?” Good question. The answer is quite simple, I have Cerebral Palsy, this disability affects all four of my limbs but mostly my legs. This has left me a wheelchair user, which let me tell you, made for an interesting college experience. For my freshman year at USF my mother fought tirelessly to get me round-the-clock care so that I could live in the dorms with my peers. After an entire summer of letters and scathing phone conferences my wish was finally granted. I moved in, full of excitement and hope for a bright future which quickly ended after I met my roommates and aids. My roommates did not even give me the chance to know them and wouldn’t even eat dinner with me when I asked, always having a lame excuse like: “oh I’m too busy “ or “we already ate” ok, that’s fine if you’ve already eaten, I would say, but do you want to come down with me and hang or have dessert? “no” they would simply say. eventually, I stopped asking and went on my way. Now my aids…. oh my Lord! What ladies they were, the majority of them were mentally abusive and lazy as all get out, barely taking care of me. I did have one aid, who became my mom away from home and loved me as her...