Inspirational videos, a woman with intellectual disability denied a transplant, and other Stuff Worth Knowing About

Video inspiration from a young woman with CP: The unstoppable AZ of AZ is Amazing has been chronicling her first year at university in the series Able To Go To College. Check out her latest video (and the first one, too).

A worthy campaign to create children's books: The ever-amazing Shasta from Outrageous Fortune—mom to twins Jaden and Malachi, who has CP—is writing Dark & Light, simple board books aimed at very young children inspired by ones her kids loved. Here's her Kickstarter campaign.

Healthcare and disability: Why does the national discussion about healthcare so rarely focuses on disability? Excellent article over at Salon on the topic (thanks to Julie for sharing it).

World's easiest pasta! OK, in the scheme of things it doesn't take much to whip up pasta (which I know very well, because it's a basic food group for Max). But Barilla's Microwavable Meals are a total no-brainer. Made of natural ingredients, you store them on a shelf and they heat up in a minute. Barilla sent us some to try, and they are genuinely tasty. Max particularly loves the Whole Grain Mezze Penne with Tomato & Basil Sauce. They run about $3.30 a package (and there's a $1 coupon here). 

A woman denied a transplant for being intellectually disabled dies: Misty Cargill, an Oklahoma woman with intellectual disability, died last week at the age of 30. She was on a list for a kidney transplant. She'd first made headlines back in 2006, an NPR post notes, when Oklahoma University Medical Center turned her down because they did not believe a woman with ID had the mental capacity to decide on a transplant. Yet another troubling case of discrimination against people with special needs. Sorry, I don't have an update for Amelia Rivera, the little girl with Wolf Hirschhorn syndrome denied a kidney transplant by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia because a doctor said she was "mentally retarded." (Last I heard, the hospital apologized and was assessing a transplant).

Gotta-know info: Sabrina has been poring over the latest Big Book of What?, which I received for review, and sharing it with Max when the spirit moves her. It's 192 pages of colorful photos and eye-openers, with kid-friendly answers to questions like "What is a ghost town?" and "What is a boomerang?" and "What is a solar eclipse?" I adored these sort of books as a child, and this one's particularly fun and fascinating.

And from my Babble blog: Ever been a Pregzilla? Roar if you relate.