Thursday, January 22, 2009

Blessed

I am lucky and blessed in so many ways. Compared to most people I know I am relatively unaffected by the CP. Sure, I use a wheelchair to get around and have difficulty with fine motor tasks and there are times when I cannot transfer by myself but there is so much that I can do and this has given me opportunities that many people with CP don’t have. I can communicate and function without a lot of physical support (I can feed myself and take myself to the toilet as long as it is set up with rails etc). I understand that I am lucky in these ways and I think I show that by not complaining about the things that I cant do yet society seems to be set on reminding me of this fact at every chance it can.
Take the other day for example. I had travelled into a nearby city. I had some shopping to do so we hit the shops for a couple of hours and in that time I had no less than 11 people tell me I was lucky because of something in relation to my different abilities (I don’t like the word disability). Your so lucky to have that wheelchair was a common comment. I wish I had one was another. I’m not quite sure why people think it is so great to have a wheelchair, mostly I think they were tired of walking around the shops, but I just wish they would be careful what they wish for: it might just happen to them one day. I guess if this happened to some of the more influential people (a politician for example) that have made similar comments to me then it could be a good thing because I bet that services for people with different abilities would be greatly improved if those people who control such services needed them. Am I being selfish to think this way? I hope not for I am truly grateful that I have had the opportunities I have had- I just want to ensure that I have more in the future and that future generations do as well.

1 comment:

AZ Chapman said...

sounds like a hard day hugs. Pa this is written by someine who also has mild CP