Mike Ervin: Ruben Navarro and Rethinking Donation of My Organs

January 27, 2009crime and punishment, mike ervin, NSCIA, organ donation, Our News & Commentary Blog, Ruben NavarroStephen Drake

…NKIN’ HANDS OFF MY ORGANS!!! It’s all because of the recent acquittal by a California jury of Dr. Hootan C. Roozrokh. He was charged with abuse of a dependent adult and could have gone to prison for eight years in connection with the 2006 death of Ruben Navarro. Navarro’s disability was adren*]}*al leukodystrophy (ALD), which was depicted in the movie “Lorenzo’s Oil.” He was a nursing home resident and one day he was rushed to the hospital because he…

New Mobility: NDY quoted in story on U.K. Airing of Ewert Suicide

February 3, 2009assisted suicide, media coverage, New Mobility, Our News & Commentary Blog, Switzerland, United KingdomStephen Drake

…ty concerns – the arts, lifestyle, leisure, politics and advocacy. Roxanne called me for comments on the airing of a documentary that featured the suicide and actual death of a “suicide tourist” – the name given to U.K. citizens who travel to Switzerland for the express purpose of killing themselves, using the somewhat expensive services of the organization Dignitas. The short article, unavailable online, summarizes the situation concisely and als…

Calif. – Ed Roberts Day Declared – his impact on disability rights and his relationship to NDY issues

July 30, 2010analysis, ed roberts, kenneth bergstedt, life-ending decisions, mary johnson, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, right to dieStephen Drake

…aragraphs from Wendy Edelstein’s “Ed Roberts, disability-rights leader and Cal alum, gets his own state day“: BERKELEY — January 23 has been named Ed Roberts Day in California, in honor of the Cal alum who pioneered the disability-rights movement on campus and nationwide. Roberts, who was the first Berkeley student to rely on a wheelchair when he arrived in 1962, is recognized as the father of the independent living movement for people with disabi…

Two More Tributes to Paul Longmore

August 16, 2010disability history, disability rights, disability studies, in memorium, media coverage, Our News & Commentary Blog, Paul LongmoreStephen Drake

…alties were soon lifted — including one preventing him from earning royalties on books — in a policy change that became known as the Longmore Amendment. And – appropriately – there is another long obituary in AHA Today – a publication of the American Historical Association. I’m still working on putting together at least a few of Paul Longmore’s NDY-related writings for the blog. It might take a bit since some things that were once online seem to h…

My Favorite Robin Williams Movie – Awakenings – The One That Always Makes Me Cry

August 13, 2014Awakenings, movies, Oliver Sacks, Our News & Commentary Blog, Robin WilliamsAwakenings, Oliver Sacks, Robin WilliamsStephen Drake

…usually write here. I won’t feel offended if no one wants to read biographical info. 😉 Here – mostly – is what I wrote ten years ago: My stories tend to reflect both my life and my thought processes. Linearity is not one of the major themes in my life. Peter Knoblock, my advisor as a masters student, gifted me with the term “divergent thinker” – “divergent” tends to characterize my life and stories like this as well. In 1990, the movie Awakenings…