Living with a disability
Nearly everywhere you go there is someone held under the clutches of a disability. I know, you’re probably thinking about the guy you saw in a wheelchair last week or the blind old lady next door with the massive dark shades that look hysterical; along with the rest of her wardrobe.
A disability in actuality, is anything in your body that prevents you from doing a task over a long period of time. It could be as simple as constant pain or impaired speech, or a person’s state of mind. A lot of disabilities cannot be seen at first glance and a lot of people suffer as a result.
I understand people will take advantage of disability schemes and benefits if the definition was that simple. However, making it complicated does more harm than good. Hans Hoffman said; “the ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak”.
“The necessary” is, people with a disability are not disabled, they just need more care and support than abled people. Most people with a disability do not feel incapacitated or underprivileged because of their condition; on the contrary, their condition helps them find that one thing they can do and pursue it regardless of the obstacles.
From personal experience, I‘ve had chronic pain for over ten years now and it has taken different forms since then. Doing basic tasks like walking, standing and even getting up from bed were difficult. Since what I had was an invisible illness and I looked heathy, I was not taken seriously. Honestly, there were times it completely immobilized me; but I mostly had to deal with it alone.
Seven months ago, things took a sharp turn, not for me, I was used to it; but my condition started becoming visible to those who didn’t see it. I went to a compulsory camp in my country and we had to stand for hours. Unfortunately, I started to believe there was nothing wrong with me and it was just pain. “Everyone standing now was in pain and I was no different; it will be over soon,” I thought to myself.
It wasn’t over, it has become a lot worse than I could have imagined, as far as physical evidence goes. The second week after that incident, I went to the hospital to see a specialist. I looked healthy, sharp and handsome, probably too handsome because the attendant looked at me and asked; “where is the patient? She didn’t believe me until my right hand started shaking(spasms in medical terms). In a second, I became an urgent case; instantly she moved my name from fifteenth to fourth on the waiting list. In reality, my condition did not change, she just couldn’t see.
Now, I suffer from functional neurological disorder amongst other things. I am limited but not incapable. Every human being wants to live a fulfilling life, people with disabilities are no different. When we conclude people are incapable or capable from how they look, we create a vacuum for regret, loneliness and depression. Everyone deserves a chance until they say they can’t. Don’t say it for them even when they say it.