Writings about Ataxia, being DeafBlind, family life. The best life can offer!


There is always a first time

Hello my readers!

I live in Vancouver, commonly called Raincouver, well because it rains! A lot! Meteorologists tend to call the rain we get here an atmospheric river! I’ll let you figure that out.

You also know that I have a power chair. I love to use it, and try to do so every day, but when it rains cats, dogs, goats, hamsters, and even tigers, I get discouraged and not want use CJ-3.

However, my wife bought be a big poncho; one that covers me, CJ-3 and keeps the rain off me & CJ-3. Naturally I balked, no way was I gonna wear a giant dark blue tent on wheels!

But, today, for the first time, I did use this poncho/tent! At first I struggled to get it over me, and the chair. It seemed to be a two-person job… luckily that second person was walking by and offered to help…

Phew, I was dry, through unfashionable!

I zoomed to a skytrain station, did a search for my mask, which jumped ship somewhere along the way. I actually took off the tent to look in all my coat pockets.

Then, I decided to go back home. I was frozen, I didn’t have gloves… and I need a sweater under my coat!

So, there I was: zooming back home, wearing an oversized tent, dry, working the joystick with a frozen hand, dry still, splashing through puddles and, yes, still dry.

Wait, I was not recklessly zooming home, the tent had a chimney for my head to pop out. Yet, my vision was more obscured! Blind spots aplenty. I did not zoom, but went slowly, carefully, observantly.

And I did my best to parade… “Look! Mr. Mitchell, there is a moving tent!” “No, Ralph, that is not a moving tent, that is a person in a wheelchair. Can you see his face?” There was a fourth grade class at the Skytrain station…

So, because I was dry; I will use this tent more often. I might even give it a name: How about Tent?

Thank you for reading! Stay dry!

As, I am getting ready to publish this, the sun pops out and says “Hello, you don’t need to wear that tent!”

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About the author

Craig MacLean is DeafBlind with ataxia, a rare condition called CAPOS. He & his wife of 22 years have two sons, the oldest of which has CAPOS as well.

Craig uses American Sign Language to communicate. He is an avid writer, friend, Hot Wheel collector and intervenor advocate.

Craig sits on many committees, boards and associations as a DeafBlind rep. He graduated university with a BA in psychology in 2000.