A Few Questions for Taylor

1 – How did you come to know God’s love for you and that He had a plan for you in your life?

I was raised in a non-religious (nominally Catholic) home. Although faith was not discussed or practiced openly, *something* about these traditions still mattered to my family…enough that I was baptized and placed in our province’s Catholic school system. There, students were taught about the existence of a God who loved us; this planted the seeds for my conversion in middle school. I made my First Confession and First Communion along with my classmates. (I remember, in the way an eight year old could, wanting to hold onto these things when they happened. If Mom was letting me do this, it must be important, right? Yet because there was no support at home, it never stuck.)

As a kid, I was a bit of a medical nerd – probably because my physical disability meant that I was immersed in medical language/procedures when I was very young. (I have cerebral palsy as a result of being born 3 months early.) I read everything medical that I could get my hands on, which is probably why I was drawn to a headline in MSN’s “Wacky News” in February 2005. (I would turn 13 in May.) It said something like “Man Wants to Discontinue Life Support for Wife, In Coma for 15 Years.” How could a coma last that long? I had to find out. I remember nothing except that the article bored me to death.

A few weeks later, I was home from school on March Break and flipping through endless TV channels in my room. I got to channel 36 – CNN – and saw a headline like “Schiavo’s Feeding Tube Being Disconnected Today.” I understood what a feeding tube was; I had known people who used them. The name and face of this woman, whom I would soon know as Terri Schiavo, were the same as the piece I’d seen online…now I was curious. I kept watching and came to a horrifying realization:

She’s not in a coma at all. Her eyes are open. She’s responding to her family [although with very severe physical and cognitive limitations]. And the only “life support” she needs is a feeding tube. Don’t we *all* need to eat?

So they’re taking the tube out. When are they putting it back in? Oh, wait…they’re NOT!? She’ll starve that way.

And that was the point. (See her family’s website for more info.)

Over the next two weeks, I was glued to the TV. The interviews, the court hearings, the protests…I watched it all. I began to see a clear divide. On one side – those who thought Terri was no longer alive, or at least better off dead than in her compromised state. On the other – those who wanted to protect Terri, and saw that relying on nursing support and the care of her loving family was normal. The folks in this second group just happened to be openly Catholic, pro-life advocates, or disability rights campaigners. Many referenced the God-given dignity Terri possessed, which no court order could take away.

When I wasn’t watching the news, I was pondering those deep questions. Does God have a plan for Terri? And if he does, does he have one for *me*? It was an intense thing to do at not-quite-13, but I didn’t know any better! The activists’ prayer soon became my own: God, if you’re out there, please save her!

March 31 was probably like any other day in Grade 7. What happened when I got home from school, though, was very different. I remember making a beeline for the living room couch and turning on CNN – breaking the house rule of unpacking bags and taking off shoes before anything else. “Terri Schiavo Dead at 41.” the broadcast said.

I was shocked, though I shouldn’t have been. Terri had lived 13 days without eating or drinking a thing…and now it was too late. She was gone. I knew one thing for sure: I never wanted to see another person treated so cruelly. So I made a promise – to myself, and to the One who made both of us – that I would stand up for vulnerable people in her position.

Catholic Answers soon became my best friend. If the Church I was exposed to was right about the value of each person, what else might they have to say? I hungered for knowledge…and for Him. By God’s grace, my Confirmation was a few weeks later. I haven’t really looked back since.

2 - In your testimony for Campaign Life Coalition Youth, you mention “human value” which is being threatened/taken away for people with disabilities here in Canada and other countries. Tell me how this personally touches you having cerebral palsy. How did coming to know the Lord help you to discover your own human value?

It’s important to note that the value I mentioned in my video can be recognized by all people, regardless of their beliefs. (Such notions form the bedrock of modern human rights philosophy.) However, I – and most of the people reading this, I presume – believe that the value all people can only be seen in its fullness from a perspective of faith.

Canada is very proud of its efforts to promote human rights. However, our country is failing people with disabilities in some key areas right now – housing, poverty, immigration policies, and the introduction of legal assisted suicide, to name a few. That last one is a particular concern of yours, and you know I’ve done quite a bit of advocacy against assisted suicide before.

A lot of people ask me “Are you afraid for your life?” No. At the time I write this, I am a healthy woman in her mid-twenties, more independent than many others with physical disabilities. Use of a walker and wheelchair is considered relatively normal…but will societal perceptions keep it that way? As I told the Ottawa Citizen, “By the time I am 43, 63, or even 83, I wonder if that will have changed. Especially for progressive conditions that can affect mobility, I can see a doctor advising someone…that it would be better not to live than to experience some of what I have.”

As for where the Lord fits into this, I wouldn’t say I had no idea of my own value before He showed up. Instead, He affirmed that value and gave it a foundation that could not shift. That foundation was especially important for the middle school student I was at the time of my conversion, and has remained so in the dozen years since.

3 – Do you believe that having cerebral palsy along with all the gifts the Lord has given you helps your witness for Him to others?

It’s hard to say. One of my personal heroes, Gianna Jessen, is known for surviving a saline abortion procedure while in her mother’s womb. As a result, she was born prematurely and has what she calls “the gift” of cerebral palsy. I have never understood that sort of language. For me, CP isn’t something good or bad – it just is. It’s part of the body God gave me.

That said, throughout my time as an activist, my disability has helped me to stand out. I would rather receive attention for my message than my body. Telling the difference, and calling people out if they land on the wrong side of that divide, is never easy. However, if noticing my physical difference is only a stepping stone to what is really important, I can’t complain. As long as the conversation goes deeper, I can’t really tell God not to use that to get someone’s attention 

4 – I first had the privilege to get to know you at a CCO Rise Up Conference which has brought many thousands of Catholic young adults to Christ. What do you think drew you to attend such an event?

I first heard about CCO through a family friend whose daughter had been part of its Ottawa U community. I was in Grade 12 at the time, and my friend was unaware that I was going to be completing my Grade 13 year. Lucky for her, she had a whole extra year to do the first two faith studies with me, talk about how great Rise Up was, and take me to youth conferences in our area.

I’ve always thought the conference “experience” was wonderful. You get to hear fantastic talks, learn new music (one of my favourite parts!), and meet new friends from across the province/country. Two things stopped me from attending as soon as I moved to Ottawa - finances, and being able to navigate the host city easily. Thanks to my friend’s persistence, actually going one day was a no brainer. Rise Up was held in Ottawa in 2013, and that’s where we met.