An observation, of sorts.

[oh_kimberley]

As someone who suffers from an 'invisible' illness, I often struggle in coming to terms with the use of crutches for necessity. When I first started requiring additional support for getting about, I was about thirteen years-old and it was more a matter of if-and-when I needed them, rather than consistently. When I relapsed several times over a

Comments

[adamant_turtle]

Hi there! *waves* Just surfed on in, via my Google alert for "invisible illness," and just wanted to tell you I felt I could've written this all myself! Having had several serious chronic illnesses since about age 21, resulting in big-time mobility issues (while I can technically climb stairs, it's really hard, esp. if it's more than just a few). Everything can set me off, even a tiny breeze sometimes that will push me a bit off balance as I'm simply walking on level land; and stepping up on a curb? Forget it :-/

Anyways, you wouldn't believe the number of times people have come up to me and asked, "What's wrong with you? A sports injury or something?" As in, because I'm young (30 in a few weeks) it has to be something temporary, AND I have to be ok talking about it? (In these cases, I admit to being a bit mean...I tell people, "No, I'm always like this." And I watch them become uncomfortable, heh.)

Also, as much as the world has become so-called "handicapped accessible" these days, it's not until you have special needs yourself that you realize just how much it still ISN'T. Sure, there may be a ramp somewhere in a shopping plaza, but you may have to walk all the way out of your way, to the front of one particular shop, in order to get up on that curb, and then walk allll the way back to where you wanted to go in the first place. Little stuff like that, and I suppose that having a ramp at all is better than not; but it's hardly making a disabled person's life easier, is it?

I could go on and on, so I'll just shut up now... :-)