What’s your definition of resilience? My life took a drastic change in direction in 2018. I certainly never could have imagined I would go from being a healthy, active, twenty-two-year-old girl to being an individual living with multiple disabilities. Bilateral leg amputations, a spinal cord injury, a traumatic brain injury, and so much more; all […]
Giving Voice to a New Perspective Read More »
This blog and my partnership with the North Country Chevy Dealers began as I learned how to drive again, this time with hand controls and in a new, adapted Chevy. You followed along as I navigated the initial driving lessons, the first and slightly nerve-wracking solo drives down the road, and, as I gained confidence
Together, let’s drive the North Country Read More »
Driving in a New Direction We all know that I love a good road trip. As someone who loves to travel, this is one of my favorite ways to spend a day, an afternoon, or a weekend. It helps, of course, that Vermont is so beautiful to drive through. You are never stuck on a
My Chevy Road Trip to Mt. Ascutney Read More »
From Graduate to Commencement Speaker In 2018, I sustained my injuries. In 2020, I graduated from Castleton University. And this year, 2024, I was asked to be the commencement speaker at the university’s graduation ceremony. It was a full-circle moment. Even though I am an alumnus and have done many public speaking events before, I
My 2024 Commencement Speech to Castleton University Read More »
My Adapted Chevrolet Equinox My #StefsDrive journey began five years ago when the North Country Chevy Dealers came up with an idea. An idea to give me a gift. And that was the gift of freedom, found in a Chevrolet Equinox with adaptive hand controls for driving. At the time, I knew nothing about adaptive
Chevy Hand Controls and How They Work Read More »
It has been quite some time since I’ve written here. While I have been sharing my journey on social media, it’s been a while since I’ve taken a deep dive into any of it. Today, I’m changing that! A Lot Has Happened Since the Last Chapter In my last blog post, Chapter 2, I looked
Chapter After Chapter — Catching Up With Stef Finds New Roads Read More »
“Three years later, each moment in my car brings me happiness. These moments, now frequent, remind me of how far I’ve come.” If you’re local to the Vermont area, you’ve probably seen me driving around. If you’re following along from a distance, you’ve probably seen my social media posts. Either way, whether through a post
“I found everything I expected to find in Claremont, California. I also found so much more.” When I pictured what this blog entry, reflecting on my time in California, would read like, I assumed it would focus on my physical recovery during my time at The Perfect Step Paralysis Recovery Center. But each time I
Everything I Was Looking For – And More Read More »
“Some lessons are a privilege to learn, no matter how challenging the course.” I wrote that sentence down a long time ago to keep as a reminder. What do I mean? Simply that we would likely choose to avoid the pain and challenges of life if we could, but when we can’t… we have the
California, Here We Come Read More »
Does anyone else feel like recently the days have been slow-moving, but also speeding by? Like there’s no ‘scheduled events’ and yet the days are packed full? I certainly do. I’ll admit, the StefFindsNewRoads social pages have had fewer posts these days than they once did. Still, when I send a post out there to
A Whirl-Wind of Updates Read More »
