Trip to Washington, DC

Hey everyone! 

I hope you are having a great week and are healthy and strong. 

So I went on a little mini vacation with my dad and brother last week and it was really really fun. We went to one of my absolute favorite places to go to in the United States. We went to Washington DC, the Capital of our nation. I do not necessarily agree with all the politicians choices', but I can enjoy and marvel in the roots our great nation.

Let me also start by saying how much I absolutely love visiting the Monuments and Smithsonian museums. No matter how many time I go to visit, every time I return there, I always learn and discover something new and exciting and I love that. We were in the city for two and a half days and visited the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the WWII Memorial, The White House, The Smithsonian Natural History Museum, and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. I love how for us who are in wheelchairs there is an elevator so we can get inside the Lincoln Memorial and be at the top of the steps! My dad ALWAYS gets nervous and says "Don't get to close to the edge Noah!". It's funny how after 21 years he still feels the need to tell me these things. I know however he only does it because he cares.

One of the other aspects of DC that I love is how it is completely handicapped accessible. The reason I feel the need to say this is because you would be surprised (or at least I was) at how many places aren't that accessible. Luckily in this day and age, rules and regulations are changing but I just love how accessible DC is and totally recommend it for a wheelchair user. Everything from public transportation to accessible sidewalks are perfect for OIers.

One of the things that struck me, and you would think at age 21 I would be used to this by now, is how many people just stared at me. When I say stared, I mean STARED. Usually I can ignore the glares but for some reason when you are on vacation you just do not want to deal with the ignorant people. One thing I can somewhat laugh at is when I was crossing one of the streets in center city DC and a tourist bus went by and literally every person on the bus stared at me as they passed me. It's astonishing to see how far someone will turn their head to get a "rare" look at someone in a wheelchair. How do you guys deal with people who will say nothing and just stare at you? After the first day in DC, I refused to let the glares bring me down. I did my best to hold my head high as all OIers and people who have a disability should.

So all in all I had a really marvelous time and totally recommend it for anyone who hasn't been there yet! Please feel free to add a comment or share this blog. Come back next week when I will talk about one of my [many] near death experiences. It without a doubt changed my life forever and I look forward to sharing it with you all. Thanks again!

Until Next Time,

Noah Cook

Birth

Hey everyone!

Hope everyone is healthy and doing well. So this is my first blog post after my introduction so as I pondered what to write about I thought where better to start than with my birth and the details and experiences that surrounded that troubling and concerning time for my parents.

It was at my momma's first ultrasound that my parents were informed I was unique. The doctors at our local hospital really had no idea what could be wrong but they undoubtedly knew something wasn't quite right. At that point they suggested that my mom receive a 3D ultrasound which would hopefully give some more conclusive results as to what could be my medical diagnosis. After the ultrasound, the doctors unfortunately couldn't really provide many more details for my desperately concerned parents. The doctors did however confirm that I could have one of the two hundred types of dwarfism. The doctors also suggested many other possibilities, one of them being OI, but because OI is so rare, they never pursued that thought. The doctors also knew my bones were shorter in length, that my bones weren't growing properly, and that my bones had a slight curvature to them.

After receiving the little news that the doctors could provide my parents, they had so many emotions and thoughts running through their minds. On one hand they were thrilled to be having a baby but they were also really concerned about my health. Fear of the unknown I am sure creeped into their minds. Medical professionals really had no medical diagnosis to give me so the only thing my mom and dad could do was wait until I was born.

When I was born at my local small town jersey hospital, I had roughly a dozen broken bones. I was a natural birth since the doctors had no idea I was so fragile.  If they had known how fragile I was, they could have performed a C-Section. Several hours and broken bones later, I was taken to CHOP (Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia). The doctors left my broken bones untreated because they were still so unsure of my diagnosis. My doctors gave my parents' news no parent wants to hear. Unfortunately far too many parents with children with Osteogenesis Imperfecta receive this news. My doctors had told my parents I would most likely not live to even see my first birthday.

It has been 21 years and a lot has happened in between. Needless to say, I am most grateful that my doctors wrongly predicted my life expectancy. I am grateful for all the experiences I have had, both the good and the bad. They have made me who I am today. I have certainly learned a lot of things throughout my life. That's one of the things I think life is all about. Constantly learning. Having OI has certainly provided me with that. I look forward to writing more of my countless experiences about living with Osteogenesis Imperfecta.

So thank you for whoever is reading this and following my blog. I appreciate the comments and feedback so feel free to do so. :)

Until Next Time,

Noah Cook

Intro...Getting to know Noah

Hey erbody!! 

My name is Noah Cook and I am 21 years old. I am currently going to a community college on the east coast of the United States. I am majoring in Computer Science and so far, I love it! I was majoring in Biomedical Science but recently changed my major. That's a whole different story though. Oh and I almost forgot, I have Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type 3.

I love hanging out with my family and friends. They are my life! Although they sometimes get on my nerves, deep down I love them more than anything. I would like to think I am a funny, fun, and most importantly a trustworthy guy to hang around. 

So I am writing this blog for a few reasons. One of them being to share my experiences and the things that have happened to me in my life, but also so I can keep a record for myself. Having a life with Osteogenesis Imperfecta can be very interesting sometimes..jk all the time..so I thought it wouldn't hurt to share my stories with the world. Maybe I can help someone else through the things that I have learned throughout my life. Another reason I am writing this blog is because I want to show people that do not have OI that we are regular people just like everyone else. I am not gonna  say "normal" because that is such an empty word. No one in the world is "normal" because everyone is different in some way or another. Who decides what is normal anyway?

So although we may look different on the outside, we are exactly like everyone else on the inside. Feel free to give me feedback and leave a comment! That way we can all learn and grow together. I hope you will follow along with my blog because at the end of the day, you can always Trust Noah.

Until next time,

Noah Cook

me at work...slacking off of course lol. and trying on the awesomest stache ever!