Getting through the Holidays Despite Trauma, Addiction or Family

As Doug Dormer, raised by two blind parents, now CEO of White Pine Systems, a health IT company, "My mother put it best:  ”I can’t see.  That is a physical condition.  I can deal with it.  But I am also blind.  That is a social condition.  It refers to how other people see me.  That is the bigger challenge.”

So, what is a TAB?

In his words: "Our family was pretty much like any other family.  As a kid, I was like any other kid, sometimes compliant with my parent’s wishes, other times less so.  As a parent myself of four children, there are times when transgressions are significant and need to be addressed accordingly, but far more often a very soft reminder is sufficient.

"In the house where I was raised, I think the gentle reminders were by far the most common.  I’d break some rule or commit some transgression and my parents would feign anger.  I cannot say that I never took advantage of my parent’s inability to see what skulduggery I was up to.  Eventually busted, my mother would furrow her brow that her mouth would betray with a smile as she’d say with disgust “Ah!  Your nothing but a silly TAB–you’re just Temporarily Able Bodied.”  Then with a confiding, knowing voice she’d softly say “Sooner or later you’ll be one of us.  Then you’ll get your comeuppance.”  And we’d all laugh.

So there it is.  I am a TAB–and hopefully I will be for a long time to come.  After all, life itself is a chronic medical condition, so taking personal control is what healthcare is all about."

Clearly a story we don't want to miss.