RBC Bluesfest & Whimble partner to assist PWD at this year’s festival

 The 2023 RBC Ottawa Bluesfest is just around the corner, and if you’re a person with a physical disability, I have some AMAZING news to share. I will get to the good news in a moment, but first, I want to tell you about the company/organisation helping make this possible.

The cost of voting municipally if you’re on ODSP

 I planned to cast my vote last weekend at city hall, but I was sick. Even now, I’m still feeling rough. For me, Ottawa City Hall is an ideal location. Not only is it near me, but city hall also has wheelchair accessible bathrooms, a small art gallery, and space

A look back at when I ran for mayor.

 ABOVE: Ryan Lythall makes his pitch for the city's top job during a 2018 interview with CBC.  (Photo: cbc.ca)  With the municipal election fast approaching, I figured this would be an excellent opportunity to talk about my experience running (or rolling) in the 2018 municipal election. As some of you know,

An open letter regarding public transportation for PWD to those running for office.

 With this year’s edition of the Ottawa Transit Challenge still relatively fresh in our minds, I wanted to take the time to highlight some of the ongoing concerns that Para Transpo users face. I’m also hoping that some of the local councillors, new candidates, and other participants who are still

Trying to survive in a broken system can be costly.

 ABOVE: As a result of the government-appointed agency leaving Ryan Lythall helpless, his friends suggest he start a GoFundMe campaign to pay for the caregivers he must have to live on his own.  Recently, I had a big meeting regarding the shortage of caregivers. Over the past two or three months, I’ve

The end of summer can only mean on thing for some PWD.

 Well, it’s that time of year again. Kids and adults are returning to school and, for some, back to work. The days are getting shorter and cooler at night. Yup! summer’s almost over, at least according to the calendar. With all the crazy weather events we’ve experienced lately, perhaps we’ll

PWD & seniors have rights too, and Doug Ford needs to be reminded

 Last week, I came close to needing to go to the hospital. I wasn’t sick. One of my evening caregivers called in sick, and nobody was available to work. I was notified just as I was about to head out. To be fair, the people in charge of managing the

Rolling on the floor laughing my wheels off

 — a review of wheelchair accessibility at Yuk Yuks Ottawa Recently, I had the chance to check out Yuk Yuk’s Ottawa. When I posted that I was going on social media, a few of my friends and followers were surprised. The reason for that is because up until last year,

How are we supposed to feel safe when our healthcare system is on life support?

 We’re living in scary and dangerous times. We’ve been bombarded with news about our broken healthcare system for far too long. Topics range from level zero paramedic service, long wait times in the ER, temporary closures of ERs and ICU in smaller hospitals, and severe nursing shortages, just to name

The Access 2 Card: A PWD’s ticket to fun in some places

 On Friday, I checked out Banksy 360°, which is at the Aberdeen Pavillion, until October 7th, 2022. The immersive experience is fantastic. I highly recommend checking it out if you can. If you’re a PWD, the event space is very wheelchair accessible. I had tons of space to roll around

Events big or small should be accessible to all

 Events big or small should be accessible to all Let’s start with some good news. Last Thursday, I was able to get my fourth shot. The process was much easier this time. I called the pharmacy around 10:30 am, and a spot was available at noon that day. I rolled

Music is meant to bring people together, not push them apart

 ABOVE: The wheelchair-accessible platform at RBC Bluesfest left OLM contributor Ryan Lythall feeling like a second-class citizen.  (PHOTO: www.facebook.com/ottawabluesfest) On Friday night, I went to Bluesfest. I went for two reasons. Reason number one was to see Rage Against The Machine. In case you’re wondering, the show was amazing. The second reason I went

Feeling disconnected from the world can give you the blues

 As we’re all aware, last Friday was interesting for Rogers customers nationwide. Perhaps, interesting is an understatement. While I wasn’t personally affected by the outage, it significantly impacted several people with disabilities, and that’s pretty scary. I’ve seen stories where local PWD couldn’t book rides or even call Para Transpo

A broken chair in a broken system can leave you in a dangerous spot

 I have a quick update regarding last week’s article. Last week, I wrote about a friend being stranded at the hospital because Para Transpo initially refused to pick her up, and Westway Taxi never showed up. A person from OC Transpo reached out to them to apologize and mentioned that the

A PWD’s thought on the results of the 2022 provincial election

 The past few days have been rough on my mental health, and I know I’m not alone. Since last Thursday’s provincial election, I’ve felt a mixed bag of emotions. Anger, frustration, sadness, and even fear have seemingly taken over my thoughts. Well, more so than usual. To be honest, I

My experience thusfar with trying to vote in the 2022 provincial election

 Last week, I received my voters' card. At first glance, I saw the word Field House, and I assumed Elections Ontario was referring to the Bethell Field House, located at 166 Frank Street. This is where I typically vote, and I live about 10-15 minutes away, and generally, really easy

Feeling like a stranger in an able-bodied city

 ABOVE: The crosswalk at Pretoria and Queen Elizabeth Driveway. (PHOTO: OLM STAFF) Let’s start with some good news. The warmer weather has finally arrived here in Ottawa, which means I’ve been out and about recently. That’s the good news. Shall we say the bad news or the bad part is

We’re different, but yet, we’re the same

 First of all, I want to thank you for the kind words and the congrats. For those who haven’t read last week’s article, I talked about leaving the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario 28 years ago after living there for 19 years. Throughout those 19 years, I moved around several

28 years later: A look back at how I changed the system

 ABOVE: Ryan Lythall holds the keys to his new apartment with CHEO nurse Lisa Rouleau. (Photo: Ottawa Sun, March 17, 1994) . . . but the fight continues. On March 16th, 2022, I celebrated my 28th anniversary of living independently. It wouldn’t be a big deal for most, but for me, well, I’m not

As the world keeps spinning, so do the wheels

 I feel that I didn’t say enough last week about what’s happening in Ukraine. So, this week, I’ll discuss it a bit about it. I’m not an expert on the subject. I keep up with the news as much as my mental health allows me, but that seems petty to

The convoy: How quickly we became prisoners in our homes

 As I’m typing this, it’s early afternoon on a Sunday. I can hear cars and trucks honking in the distance. This has been the soundtrack to my weekend. On YouTube, people have been live-streaming what’s happening on Parliament Hill, as well as on the streets nearby. On social media, people

My close encounter of the Covid kind

 Last week, I received an email from one of the caregiver agencies that provide nurses that one had tested positive for Covid, and I had to self-isolate. Almost instantly after reading the email, I went through many emotions, but fear and anger were the main ones. My fear stemmed from

Feeling frustrated about Covid, imagine how LTC residents feel.

 Full disclosure… I’m frustrated at what seems like the world right now. Truthfully, it’s mainly at the province of Ontario and, in general, the continuation of people not thinking about others. By now, most of us have heard about the party that took place recently on a plane full of

The toughest battles are often the ones we fight silently

 Please forgive me if this article seems a bit different. As I type this, I’m not feeling 100 per cent. I’m currently on antibiotics due to a sinus infection, and my allergies are acting up. Initially, I was going to talk more about the Paralympics, but plans fell through, plus I’m

Yet another example of how the healthcare system and the City of Ottawa fail people with disabilities

 Perhaps I’ve already shared this with you before. Please forgive me if I have. About five years ago, I had a feeding tube put into my stomach. Don’t worry, I won’t go into details about the procedure, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience. The reason why I had the procedure