My Disabilities
I was born several weeks premature. When born, I was literally the size of an adult hand.
This has caused a few long term problems for me, notably the need to have spent a lot of my time in my younger years at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital in Oswestry having my leg bones, muscles, and tendons surgically altered to allow me to walk reasonably normally.
I also suffer from a very mild form of Cerebral Palsy which affects my movements, balance, handwriting and fine motor control. Amusingly it also robs me of any temperature sense at all-I’ve set fire to my feet without knowing before!
It could be quite feasibly and truthfully said that as it goes, I’m a bit of a wreck to be honest. I fall over at the drop of a hat sometimes, my legs live a life of their own on occasion, and my brain..well…lets just say if I was a house, my wiring would be condemned. My condition affects a lot of daily activities-my motor speeds and reflexes are incredibly slow sometimes to the extent where I get really frustrated at myself because I’m unable to do some quite simple things.
I also have less that great co-ordination skills. Give me a soldering iron and I will be dangerous. My hands shake if I try to do precision things like that. If I try to pour a full kettle or pan of water, or even carry a drink through anywhere, most of it will spill. I can manage it given a lot of concentration and effort, but I can tell you this: Spilling a kettle of water on yourself gets old, VERY fast.
Luckily for me, my upper body strength is 99% unaffected, so I can still do almost everything a “normal” person can do..thats piloting a wheelchair and crutches for you I suppose. Builds you up. The only thing I have to watch is that I don’t overdo things-the lack of temperature sense means I’m usually unable to tell how hot I am, and I easily get dehydrated to the extent where I nearly pass out.
However, I work in IT, in an air conditioned environment. Suits me fine. :) The only other problem I really have physically is the need to watch my legs as I use them, because one of my knees is quite weak and will dislocate very easily, and because I can tear my feet to shreds and not feel it and realise. It’s happened frequently.
I cannot thank the hospital enough for the work they did on me-If it wasn’t for them I’d most probably be wheelchair bound now. As it is, after chairs, crutches, walking sticks, physiotherapy and sheer bloodymindedness the only noticeable oddness is that I walk with a mild limp, and turn one foot very slightly.
To be honest, I’m happy with my lot. As they say..shit happens. All you can do is get on with it. I’m disabled, and I’m proud..nothing annoys me more than people who will hopefully never encounter these problems, trying to “do things for me”, instead of letting me try in case I balls it up. I learn by finding my own limits and making my own mistakes, same as everyone else.
Oh..did I mention that I also have a certified fear of failing at things? I’m getting better..;)