DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Angela Parker-Brown may be unable to speak but that hasn't stopped her from using her voice.
The mother from Truro, N.S., received a diagnosis for ALS in 2018, a disease that gradually paralyzes a person, affecting their motor skills and speech.
But with the help of technology that tracks her eye movements, Parker-Brown has been able to put her experiences into words, writing the memoir, "Writing With My Eyes: Staying Alive While Dying," set to be released next month.
"What I hope people take away about ALS, or in any life-limiting disease, is to keep living," Parker-Brown told CTV's Your Morning on Monday. In order to more easily communicate, Parker-Brown received the interview questions beforehand so she could prepare her responses and play them for the segment.
"At times it's difficult, but try to stay positive. Find something that makes you happy and do it. Find two or three things, even better. Go out of your way to make memories with loved ones."
ALS, short for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and sometimes referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, results in a person's brain being unable to communicate with the muscles of the body, eventually limiting their ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow and breathe.
In order to communicate, Parker-Brown uses technology called PCEye by Tobii Dynavox, which tracks her eye movements and completes the words and sentences she needs to talk, text, browse the web, use social media, stream movies, and write, including poetry and now a book.
Through a Facebook group called "Angie's ALS Journey," Parker-Brown was able to post updates on her progression.
That writing, she said, became "therapeutic" for her and over time, she received messages encouraging her to write a book. "So I wrote a book," she said.
A single mother to twin girls, Parker-Brown said she was upfront and honest, in an age-appropriate manner, with them about her situation.
"I encourage them to always ask me questions and I do my best to keep them informed of any changes," she said. "I like the no surprises approach."
Among the things Parker-Brown hopes readers take away from her book is the importance of family, friendships and community for living a "happy life."
"Enjoy the little moments, as simple as a warm hug coupled with, 'I love you,'" she said.
"Do not put limits on yourself or let others put limits on you. We are all capable of what we allow ourselves to believe we are capable of. Don't allow traumatic secrets to damage your soul. Seek help."
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.