the Crip Guy

Do you like fishing, good stuff, and fireflies? Then this week might be perfect for you. It’s been a while since I posted an illustration, so I hope you enjoy it. My posts have been a little, let's say dark. They had to be with the subject matter. Life can be sad, unfair, and cruel sometimes. Brothers fall, friends pass away, and people you thought would always be there, leave. It feels like the bad stuff outweighs the good and it's easy to get discouraged. Still, it's important not to stay there. I don't want to stay there. Being sad is a part of life but so is being happy. Even during the worst parts of my life, there has always been something good I could focus on. I wish those good things were bigger and more frequent but that might be a universal human desire. I want to try to focus on the happy parts for this post. So, I am going to tell you some of the good things that have helped me get through the bad stuff. I'll let you know now most of the good stuff in m

  I will give a complete end-of-2022 post soon but until then here is a post about music. When I look back at the previous year, music played a huge role. I think 2022 has been my favorite year since I got my trach. Everyone one of my favorite memories has involved music. Whether it has been an orchestra in the park during a rain storm or the debut show of the Shut-Ins at FBC. Open mic nights, new bands, and a birthday. The Halloween and Christmas show. Practices at my house (I was in a dark place at the time so, sorry for being weird) and just quiet conversations. It was a year of music. Two people helped me a lot that year but I think these small moments saved my life. I think life is weird, funny, lovely, bizarre, hopeful, full of pain, and sometimes you get small perfect moments nestled in the absurdity. I hope these moments come when you most need them. I hope you use them when life is hard and unfair. I hope you don't waste it (that goes for me as well). I think that is enoug

In case you were wondering I will be posting twice a week until all of my previous content is in one place, this blog. A new introduction will be added to most of my old posts to keep them interesting and maybe give you some new information. I know the last post was not incredibly happy. Believe me, I am not all doom and gloom all the time. I just write what is on my heart love, friendship, loss, hope, death, life, faith, legacy, and many other topics. Sometimes it will be sad enough that I will want to give up and just cry into my pillow. Other times I am filled with enough joy that I can't contain it with the words I write or the pictures I draw. Even if it's heartbreaking I am glad I have the opportunity to share my stories with you. I love you all and please enjoy the rest of the post. Do you like Kill Bill, fart jokes, and mailboxes? This week I will give you a look at what it’s like to be disabled, specifically the best and worst parts. Being a Crip is not all doom and gl

Hi everyone I hope you are finding something in this blog. At some point, I would like the people who read this to pick the topic from time to time. I think that might be a little way in the future. I just want to thank everyone that reads my ramblings and likes my amateur art it means a lot to me. As much as I hope I am helping you; you might be helping me more. You give me a schedule and a place to put all my thoughts, it keeps me sane. I appreciate and love you all. Now please enjoy (I think that is the right word) the rest of the post. I’m posting a painting I did a while ago this week (thought this was a comic page). Do you like trees, moons, and blue? If not, you are barking up the wrong tree this week (sorry…pun). I should have a comic next week. I know you are disappointed but that brings me to this week’s weird motivation, Disappointment. Is he ok? First, he talked about failure, hopelessness, loss, giving up, and death. Now he is talking about disappointment(bummer?). The sho

Since no one has read this yet I can say whatever I want. Umm...SHIT! I turned 33 this last Saturday. It was one of the best birthdays I can remember due to my friends and family. It might not seem like a big party to most people just cake, pizza, and going to a bar with a few close people. However, having the people I care about most in the world all under one roof for a few hours was the best present I could ask for. I would like to thank my parents, brothers Brandon and Kenton, and my friends Jacob, Trista, Thomas, Ally, Nick, Aryona, and especially Megan.  I know I talk about her a lot but she went above and beyond for my birthday. She shouted (didn't really shout) things like if I pee my pants she will pee her pants (never had someone willing to pee their pants for me before). I should probably explain. Drinking makes you pee and I can't do it without help. Luckily mutually assured destruction did not occur. Like most heroines, she came to my rescue and saved me from a uri

This week Crip Guy does some extreme sports. Do you like rock climbing, dark humor, helmets, and profanity? I am happy with how the hands turned out. I hope you like it. Now it’s time for some inspirational falling metaphors. I think it’s appropriate considering this week’s comic. First some background information I have something called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Basically, all the muscles in my body get weaker as I get older. This means that at one point I was able to walk, breathe, and be annoyingly good at video games (the important things). The transition from walking to a wheelchair was unsteady for me. Before I got my first wheelchair I would fall at least once a day. I think this makes me an expert in falling. If you have any disease questions, message me or leave a comment, nothing is off-limits. I can't do much but I can be uncomfortably honest. Alright back to falling. Sometimes you fall and it barely hurts. You get right back up and continue on your way. Other times y

Well, that was a heavy first issue. I can promise you that this issue won’t be as heavy, I think. Do you like hats, fights, and concerts? The title of this comic is Free Hat Guy. The title might be misleading this week because it is not about a guy or a crip. I hate to get your hopes up like that. This comic is based loosely on a true story my friend told me. All you need to know is there was a fight, and a hat was stolen. If you don’t find this one funny that is okay, I think it is hilarious even without crips. Sometimes when you try to inspire people you need people that inspire you first. This issue is dedicated to some of the friends who have inspired me; my family gets their own issue. I think I lied about this not being a heavy issue. The first person is Jacob. I want to keep this post relatively short so I will not tell you all the things he has done for me, just two. The first is he went to nursing school for me. When I was going through one of the worst times of my life, he we

Welcome to the Crip Guy Blog! You might be wondering what this blog is all about. Well, I have a Genetic disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It's a pretty shitty disease, think ALS lite. I started off walking, climbing, and breathing. Over the course of my almost 33 years, I have lost the ability to walk, stand, breathe, and feed myself. I can't move most of my limbs luckily I still have movement in my hands, all my writing and art are brought to you by crippled wrists. If you hate my drawings I am blaming the cripple thing don't you feel terrible now?  Despite an awful starting deck, I have lived longer and done more than I thought possible. I went through mainstream school, graduated from RIT with an Electrical Mechanical Engineering degree, lived independently twice, worked as a data scientist, and had my heart broken on more than one occasion. Even with all of those accolades on most days I still feel like I failed, I wasn't able to keep my accomplishments