The Disability Diaries With Steven Vine

Send us Fan Mail Steve talks with Michelle Hewitt from Kelowna, current Board Chair of Disability without Poverty, a non profit organization. A former public school principal, Michelle was diagnosed with aggressive multiple sclerosis in her early 40s, and is a full time power wheelchair user. Fatigue limits the amount of time she spends out of bed each day to less than 8 hours. “We have a large ch...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks with Evan Schwerbrock (all the way from North Carolina) who developed Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, and became legally blind in 2014. As health & fitness was very important to Evan, he continued working out feverishly, learning to adapt to his new needs. Despite visual impairment, Evan moved on to earn his Master’s degree in Kinesiology with...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve has a very candid conversation with Dayna Wilson who has autism. Dayna grew up in the 90’s a bit isolated in Whitehorse, Yukon. She was treated differently, because as she describes it – she was a bit weird. She was officially diagnosed with Autism when she was in her 30’s, which she describes as cathartic. She also has autistic children, which are a blessin...

Send us Fan Mail Steve interviews Ean Price from Kelowna, British Columbia.  Ean is the Peer Support Manager at Technology for Living, a non profit group from Vancouver that works with people who have severe physical disabilities and helps them to live as well and as independently as possible. TFL provides people who experience physical barriers with peer support, innovative technologies, respirat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steven and Chris talk with Penn and Moses Street from Colorado. Penn became blind as a young child from a rattlesnake bite, developing Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. Her family of 12 moved to Colorado from Arkansas because Penn could get better care from the children’s hospital in that area. Penn had a tomboy spirit, and refused to accept that she couldn’t do something...

Send us Fan Mail Today we have an internationally acclaimed singer. If you are a Vancouver Canucks Fan, you certainly don’t need an introduction to Steve’s current guest. He has been a frequent singer of the Canadian and American Anthems before the hockey home games at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. Jugpreet lost his sight from retinoblastoma eye cancer when he was only 6 months old.  He started his m...

Send us Fan Mail Steve talks with his friend Iris, whom he met through the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) when Steve first went blind. Iris and Steve share the rare condition of being 100% blind. While Steve’s was sudden, Iris slowly lost her vision, starting when she was a teenager. She had various operations without success but eventually accepted her non-vision as her lifestyl...

Send us Fan Mail Scott has been in the Prosthetic and Orthotic profession for over 30 years. He completed a 2 year residency with Russell Prosthetics in New Westminster, BC. When the founder retired, he took over the clinic and has continued to serve patients ever since. Scott continues to stay up to date with the latest techniques and technologies in this rapidly changing field. Scott’s volunteer...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks to Monica Gartner. Monica is 3’ & 1.5” foot tall in stature, but 10X taller in gumption! When Monica was born, she was affected with scoliosis and a bone disease. She tells some stories about growing up, some of her hospital experiences, and her family support. She has a degree in Business, has done some acting, as well as wrote a book! Monica is t...

Send us Fan Mail Steve has a very lively conversation with Marco Pasqua. Marco was born with Cerebral Palsy, but that is hardly the story. When he was only 10 years old, Marco was invited to be the ambassador/host of the Timmy’s Christmas Telethon with local radio legend Red Robinson . This was his first opportunity to speak in front of a large audience. Later in life, he pursued a career in techn...

Send us Fan Mail Steve and Chris talk to Liz Hunter, a Community Librarian at the New Westminster Public Library in New Westminster, British Columbia. We talk to Liz, because she helped teach us in learning about Podcasting. This is an initiative Liz started at the library, including procuring equipment and a space that library card holders can use to facilitate their own podcast. Liz also talks a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks to Joey Hsieh – who has a son who is disabled. Her son Matthew has a rare disease, is nonverbal, blind, and in a wheelchair. As a child, he was misdiagnosed with Autism. Joey is truly a loving mother full of positivity and acceptance. She gets her strength from Matthew, and she prefers the term different ability over disability. Joey also talks about t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks to the listeners about his experience with depression. He shares intimate details of some of his experiences and what led up to his depression. He also shares some of his coping strategies and what worked for him to try and cope with some of the negative thoughts he had using positive strategies. Steve does not claim to be the expert in this topic but...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks to Lelainia Lloyd who was diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) in 2012, after initially being misdiagnosed with MS in 2007. As Lelainia describes it, her immune system has gone rogue. This disability can lead to blindness and paralyses. In spite of her physical struggles, Lelainia is a passionate advocate who writes, did a podc...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve and Chris talk to Bonita Zarrillo, who was elected as the Member of Parliament for Port Moody-Coquitlam in 2021. She is currently the NDP Critic for Infrastructure and Communities; Disability Inclusion; and the Deputy Health Critic. They have an informative and thought-provoking discussion, including such topics as advocacy, accessibility, infrastructure, po...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve has a conversation with Innocent Ali; one of Steve’s caregivers. Innocent tells the story of moving to Canada from Africa and how he came to be one of Steve’s caregivers. They also discuss caregiving tips and strategies for a disabled person and share personal stories about working together for the last year, as well as Innocent’s own personal journey and fu...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks to his family doctor, Dr. Gurdeep Manhas, also known as Dr. Rick. Dr. Rick and Steve talk a lot about Rick’s background, his medical practice, and many other philosophies Rick lives by and practices as he helps people who visit him at his 2 medical clinics in Coquitlam and New Westminster, BC. Steve and Dr. Rick have a very special relationship that go...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks with his friend Robert Pascal. Robert has been a quadriplegic for over 36 years, due to a devastating car accident where Robert was a passenger. Robert gives an honest account of his transition to relearning most aspects of his daily activities. Robert Pascal is an example to anyone who is living a full-abled life that a sudden, severe disability can t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Steve talks with Joseph Resendes, who has Cerebral Palsy. Joseph talks about some of the challenges he faced with CP as a younger person. But Joe has not let his disability stop him from travelling, working with kids as an Educational Assistant, playing soccer and his involvement with the Paralympics. He shares his story with enthusiasm, humor and positivity. Joe...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode, Steve talks about his journey from an able-bodied individual to a person with multiple disabilities. Steve shares some intimate aspects of his life and how it changed for him from a sudden devastating medical condition. His story may not be for the faint of heart, but it’s Steve’s story. This episode is the beginning of more stories about individuals involved...