Ms. Wheelchair Illinois 2026 Carrie Mulderink

10/28/2026

I've been waiting for this! Episode 16 of Whit's Grit: She Refused to Let Fear Stop Her is out now! In this conversation, we dig deeper than I ever have before into my experiences of caregiver abuse. Please watch, like, share, subscribe to both of our channels, and let me know what you think in the comments! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owf9bkOlsss

What does it look like to keep pursuing your dreams when the person...

10/27/2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWR7byHlyko
Something very special and meaningful to me is being released tomorrow morning! You won't want to miss this! Stay tuned!

🚨 The wait is almost over!We’re in the studio recording the first...

10/24/2026

Please contact Illinois U.S Senators, Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, to support national legislation against caregiver emotional abuse. No one should have to choose between their safety and survival like I did.
Since there were no laws to protect me, I do not want anyone else to experience what I did. This is why my mission matters.
You can contact Senator Duckworth by visiting the link below and Senator Durbin by visiting https://www.durbin.senate.gov/
Here’s a form letter that you can use, but please feel welcome to write your own and/or add your own experiences to what I have written.

Dear Senator Duckworth/Durbin
I am contacting you today to bring your attention to a serious problem that impacts millions of people across the United States of America: caregiver emotional abuse.
Specifically, people with disabilities are four to ten times more likely to experience emotional abuse than those without disabilities. They are also emotionally abused more frequently, for longer periods of time, are less likely to access the justice system, and are more likely to stay in abusive situations. Additionally, while some states, such as Illinois, hold laws against caregiver emotional abuse, the United States still lacks a federal comprehensive law that protects people who endure caregiver emotional abuse nationwide.
Take Dr. Carrie Mulderink’s story as an example. Dr. Mulderink currently serves as Ms. Wheelchair Illinois 2026 with the platform of bringing awareness to and criminalizing caregiver emotional abuse on the national level. While studying for her doctorate about 1,000 miles away from her family at the University of New Mexico, she was emotionally abused by her caregiver, who anonymously sent her hundreds of hateful and violent text messages every single day. The abuse affected her mental health, delayed her doctoral studies, and caused her to lose her scholarship.
Although her family helped identify the caregiver as the source of these messages, local efforts to prosecute were extremely limited. The process was slow, and eventually the Mulderink family had to hire someone to serve her with the court-ordered restraining order. To date, this person is still employed as a caregiver, taking care of clients who most likely have no knowledge of her background. This injustice angers me every single day. Furthermore, I am horrified that there are potentially millions of emotionally abusive caregivers out there who slip through the cracks, because the United States does not have a comprehensive federal law that establishes caregiver emotional abuse as a crime nationwide.
Please support Dr. Mulderink’s efforts to further ensure that every person with a disability can live with dignity, safety, and independence. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Email Address

The Official U.S. Senate website of Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois

10/23/2026

FROM EXPERIENCE TO ACTION: My Story and Mission

People with disabilities are 4 to 10 times more likely to be abused than those without. Victims are less likely to access the justice system and more likely to remain in abusive situations. Federal laws do not explicitly criminalize caregiver emotional abuse; instead, the federal government leaves criminal prosecution to state laws, which are not consistent and often don’t prevent future abuse from occurring.

Dr. Mulderink knows this reality firsthand. While studying for her doctorate more than 1,000 miles from her family, Dr. Mulderink was emotionally abused by her caregiver, who anonymously sent her hundreds of hateful and threatening text messages every single day. The abuse affected her mental health, delayed her doctoral studies, and caused her to lose her scholarship.

Although her family helped identify the caregiver as the source of these messages, local efforts to prosecute were limited. The process was slow, and eventually the Mulderink family had to pay someone to serve her with the court-ordered restraining order. To date, this person is still employed as a caregiver.

Dr. Mulderink uses her voice and position as Ms. Wheelchair Illinois to advocate for stronger consistent federal and state laws that:

· Protect people with disabilities from caregiver abuse

· Hold abusers accountable

· Ensure every person with a disability can live with dignity, safety, and independence

Does anyone have questions for me, based on what I've shared? If so, post them in the comments!

10/22/2026

I am happy to officially announce that I am running for a seat on the Lyons Township High School Board of Education! I am excited for this opportunity and ready to use multiple facets of my background (LT alumna, student with a disability, PhD in Intercultural Communication, to name a few) to ensure that LT and the community continue to work towards becoming a more inclusive and equitable environment.
The election is in April. I am still gathering signatures on my petition sheet, so please let me know if you reside in the LTHS district and would be interested in signing. A signature on my petition is not a commitment to vote for me; it's simply so my name can be on the ballot.
Thank you in advance for the support!

10/20/2026

Stay Safe: Avoid Caregiver Emotional Abuse!

-Remember that they are your caregiver, NOT you friend!
-Don't allow them to use your personal computer or mobile phone for any reason.
-Don't leave your cell phone unattended EVER while they are with you, even if it's for a short period of time.
-Keep it professional. NEVER discuss your friends/family with them, or your interests. This information is not necessary for them to know, and it can be used for further manipulation in the future. They are there to do a job; that's it. Be respectful, but leave it at that. I distinctly remember an example of this after I cut off communication with my former caregiver when I knew all she had done. She used another fake cell phone number to send me a picture of my favorite album, and she told me that listening to this album would help me be less angry at her. I never regretted sharing personal information with a caregiver more than I did in this moment.
-Anyone can seem nice. However, this DOES NOT mean they actually are. People are very capable of extreme amounts of manipulation and deception.

Another piece of advice that is not on this list but is important: NEVER let your caregiver stay in your home without you being there. Even if they frame the situation as a positive for you, be very suspicious of any caregiver who asks to stay in your home for any reason while you are not present. My emotionally abusive caregiver put me in this situation, and let's just say that I am never letting this happen again.

This advice may sound strict to some people, but my situation taught me the importance of protecting yourself by setting firm boundaries with caregivers.

If you have any questions about what I've shared today, please let me know.

Which tip do you find most helpful?

10/18/2026

It is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As a survivor of extreme caregiver emotional abuse, I want to share the level of manipulation that is often involved in such cases. From my perspective, this even makes the intent of the perpetrator more malicious. These text messages from my former caregiver are from her actual phone number. When this whole case first started, she was not a suspect and actually asked me to change her name in my phone book, because she was "afraid of the scary stalker." I proceeded to change her name in my phone. I did think her choice of an alias (Baby Bop) was strange, but I had no other reason to suspect her at that time. Even when I was home on breaks, she would text me just to see how I was doing.
I know now that this was all a lie. She acted in a friendly way towards me to further trick me into thinking she actually cared about me. What is also very interesting here is that she would communicate normally in these text messages from her actual phone number. However, her true self would come out, sometimes even minutes later, when she would send me extremely threatening text messages using fake cell phone numbers. I could go on about this, but let's just say the amount of manipulation in my case was unreal.
I know my story is not just about me though. It is about people with disabilities who are 4 to 10 times more likely to experience emotional abuse than those without disabilities, are less likely to believed, and less likely to get justice for the agony they are put through, often by the very people they trust to assist them in their homes. I will continue my fight for as long as it's needed to ensure that emotionally abusive caregivers are held accountable across this nation. I'll be back later this week with how we can move forward from here, both in our own lives and on the federal level.

10/18/2026

10/18/2026

Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I will be sharing more about my story and also my mission to criminalize caregiver emotional abuse on a national level. Here is another very brief glimpse into the emotional abuse I experienced from my caregiver. While I was receiving these text messages, I was also working on my PhD, teaching two classes, and about 1,000 miles away from my family. To me, this made the abuse even crueler than it already was. While all of these text messages I am sharing today are from the same fake cell phone number, hundreds of different phone numbers were used throughout the abuse. This made it impossible to block. Stay tuned for another post tomorrow.

10/14/2026

People with disabilities are four to ten times more likely to experience abuse: physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional and psychological abuse, economic/financial abuse, and stalking and harassment. NONE of these forms of abuse should be accepted and tolerated. Unfortunately, these forms of abuse are tolerated for people with disabilities. We are less likely to be believed, and there is no comprehensive federal law that protects us from abuse, specifically emotional abuse.
While I was completing my PhD program, I experienced severe emotional and psychological abuse, economic/financial abuse, and stalking and harassment from my caregiver. She was never held accountable for a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that caregiver emotional abuse is not criminalized across every state in this nation. I won't stop sharing or advocating until this is a reality.