Mobility Issues - Tumblr Posts
This is a friendly reminder that none disabled people often do benefit from the same accommodations disabled people benefit from.
Wheel-talk
I'm flaring, severely. Everything hurts, the world is spinning, nausea is overwhelming, and I'm dizzy from blood loss, along with a myriad of other things: it's not fun. But I went to a museum with mum today, and instead of being stubborn and walking it on a cane, asked if they had a wheelchair that I could borrow.
It was amazing.
As embarrassing as it is to be a teen in a wheelchair (I got some stares and commentary from strangers), it was so freeing. Instead of hobbling around, leaning on things and trying not to faint, I could explore. Look at things. Read. Do wheelies (much to my mother's horror). Spin around and move at a speed I hadn't in years, as my body usually wouldn't let me, and I wasn't tied to leaning against walls and feeling sick.
and I had energy left over to complete chores.
I wouldn't be able to visit a museum, or for that matter.. anywhere, during a flare. But today? Because I had wheels? It was amazing.
It was nice having that freedom. So much so I talked to my mother and asked if we could discuss getting a wheelchair for when the pain is bad…
That went less well.
// slight ableist talk //
She doesn't want me relying on it to get around. She doesn't want me to rely on wheels to get around because she doesn't want me being bed bound, to lose muscle or something like that.
I understand where she's coming from, but… it's so frustrating when that was the first time I felt good in weeks… and having that option might actually give me more time to do things I enjoy.
but she doesn't want me being “that disabled”
a cane is bad enough in her eyes
(and don't get me started on how my father would react if he knew I'd used a wheelchair)
and I don't know what to do...
help?
Why do people think it's tragic when you use mobility aids? Can't you see that this is giving me freedom, that it's giving me my life back, that without it, I wouldn't be present? Let alone functional???
how can't you see this
it's giving me my life back.
Even when it's short term mobility aids like crutches for a broken bone, it's still giving freedom... it's allowing the bone to heal and for you to live as usual...
let alone people with chronic pain, paralysis, and long term injuries!
without them, I wouldn't be here!
how can't you see that is a good thing!?!? 😭😭
disabled system asks: 1-4, 10!
1. Is your disability invisible, visible or both?
Both: invisible in the way that there appears to be nothing outwardly wrong with us (as doctors kindly keep reminding me) but visible in the way that we use mobility aids almost all the time. We wear a sunflower lanyard in public, and use a mixture of a cane, crutches and a wheelchair depending on the day.
I wish to add, as someone who has looked able bodied, and disabled in various fonts.. people don’t treat disabled people better if they’re in a wheelchair or visibly ill, and some are arguably worse to young wheelchair users.
2. Do you use mobility aids? If so, what for?
We do! As said above. We have a mixture of issues (ranging from endometriosis to POTS to hEDS to fibromyalgia) that create.. well, a mixture of issues XD. We’ll use the wheelchair on bad pain and fatigue days and carry the crutches.. or, on better days, just use the crutches to take some pressure off our knees, and aid as balance. As cool as our cane looks (photos later), we stopped using it as it was giving us pretty severe hip pain on one side from the way we had to lean to get support from it (still my fav visually though).
3. Is there a specific alter/part/headmate who fronts to deal with pain? How do they manage it?
Yes, that would be me. I split when we were very young to deal with injury, particularly blood. As our chronic pain increased, so did the amount of time I spent fronting, until I slowly became our most common fronter. Sucks though, cuz that was never meant to be my job, I was supposed to stay sitting on the sidelines only appearing to deal with first aid and other protector things. Instead, I’m here, and somehow I make it everyone else’s problem.
My appearance as most common fronter got us outed as a system because I’m so drastically different from the common fronters of the time. {its a little more complicated than that but you get the idea}
I manage it with a combo of pain killers (including medicinal CBD, THC, and flower, pregabalin, panadol, ibuprofen, codeine and morphine amongst other things… happy to answer questions about any of them if you’re curious), dissociation, weaponised tears and sheer fucking willpower… I wish I could say sheer fucking will was still working, but it is not very well anymore. There’s only so much one can deal with, and our pain has been getting steadily worse for the past few years with very little support (most of our illnesses have no cure, only management). We’ve reached the point where our doctors and specialists aren’t sure what to do with us and are wondering if there’s something they have missed…but uh, our tests, bloods and results are coming back clean. Looking into that at the moment lol.
4. Do you experience pain variety based on who’s fronting?
Oh hell, do we ever. Certain members of the system *cough* Kyle *cough* have dreadful pain tolerances - I always know when one of them is cocon because our pain skyrockets into impossible levels, even if I’m trying to keep it under control. Certain other members of our sys have average pain tolerances, some age regress to cope, others just curl up in a ball and sob.. depends on the alter - and the cyclical nature of parts of our pain make it difficult to manage, and to recognise how each alter is affected. Plus, it’s hard to compare pain tolerances when each of us have no other/barely any frame of reference.
10. Do you decorate your aids?
YES. We use a combination of spray paint, cheap nail polish, stickers and in the case of the wheelchair, holders designed for prams and bikes (water bottle holder, clips, bells, reflective stripes etc).. aids start out super boring and for us, decorating them and making them prettier is the only way to make them tolerable. And political - if the government is going to make our life into a political ‘issue’, we will turn right back around and make them aware of our existence ;)
the pic doesn’t grasp it very well, but we painted the chair’s spokes rainbow (and they look super cool when we’re driving it)
Thanks to @disabled-systems for the game <33
So it's fine when I walk around with a cane, but when I run on all fours it's "unacceptable" and "terrifying"
How I fulfill zoomies with mobility issues
(Individual panels under cut ↓)
Sorry this sucks my zoom meter was low and I was vibrating the whole time. I have never drawn so fast or had this much fun while drawing. I love drawing feral faces :D