iamblueraspberry

The kid was picked up by an ambulance 30 minutes later.

Now as an adult working in security I get SO MANY folks- upper-middle aged mostly- coming to me to 'rat out' people they think are faking it.

I was once sent into a bathroom because a client demanded that the "fucker won't get out, so go drag them out"- I was NEVER going to do that, so I did a wellness check instead. You know who it was? A person recently released from the hospital after a car accident. They had a hole in their skull and major hearing loss. They couldn't answer the owner because they couldn't HEAR the owner.

Another time about a homeless man who got around town by kicking the ground from his wheelchair. "You know he doesn't actually need that thing, his legs work fine, it's just for pity points"- Oh, so he's not paralyzed, his wheelchair is performative? Funny story Dale, I actually know that guy, he was backed over by a truck and has chronic pain from his shattered pelvis. But sure, let's make him stand up and walk everywhere so nobody feels too bad for him and tries to help him or something.

"She doesn't need that scooter, I've seen her get out of it."

"Look how fat he is, because he just rides around and refuses to get up."

"She doesn't really need that cane- she comes here without it all the time"

I have been experiencing chronic leg and back pain for years. I only realized it wasn't normal verrry recently. I've been using a cane since October. On especially bad days I use crutches or a walker.

No one had said anything to me yet, but I have gotten several weird looks when out in public. I've had many old people give me a scornful side eye when I'm using the motorized shopping carts at the store. Yes, I understand it can look strange to see a 25 year old using a mobility aid, but that is no excuse for being rude.

I've started to think of potential comebacks in the case that someone DOES say something. Like, if someone tells me I'm "too young to be disabled/not old enough to need a cane (or other mobility aid)," I plan on firing back with something like, "Wow! I didn't know being disabled was age restricted! Now I can tell my doctors and physical therapist that some stuck up jerk cured me by telling me I'm too young!"

I shouldn't have to live in fear of someone treating me with cruelty because of my disability. It's not fair!!!

And all this doesn't even begin to cover all the stupid things people do for NON-PHYSICAL disabilities!

I'm AuDHD! I have been diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety since I was 13-14! I have PTSD from being emotionally abused by toxic "friends" in elementary school, plus the time a classmate sexually assaulted me in the 1st or 2nd grade (I can't remember the exact year. The memories around the incident are kinda fuzzy...)! And I have been told so many times that I'm "overreacting," or that I'm "making excuses." It SUCKS. There are so many people in my neighborhood that I've known and loved for years, and I'm TERRIFIED of telling them about my autism because I'm sick of people treating me differently when they find out.

When I went to my first Pride, the security volunteer searching my bag threatened to confiscate my anxiety meds. She said the only reason she was letting me keep them was because her daughter took the same medication, so she knows what it does/knows what it's for. I was so confused and scared and overwhelmed. I didn't know what to do! I didn't think I'd have any issues because I kept them in the original prescription bottle, and I had my ID in case they wanted to make sure I am who I say I am. I didn't know that this was ILLEGAL. What she did was not allowed by ANY MEANS. She was just being an ableist pile of sewage.

I have had physical therapy ELIMINATE the following medical and pain problems, solely or in large part:

Lower back pain so severe I could at first not even walk to the bathroom (sciatic)

Foot pain whenever I walked (plantar fasciitis)

Three years of a fucked up ankle that was at times seriously impacting me

Pain when typing (carpal tunnel), at least twice

Widespread nerve damage that caused massive chronic pain and left me housebound for two years

The physical pain/fatigue/other results caused by having to recover from that kind level of pain and inactivity (cough being housebound) for so long

I try not to talk too much about my health on here, for a variety of reasons, but I am being newly reminded of how much basically every single person with chronic pain should be referred to physical therapy imho

If literally nothing else, because being in that much pain for that long causes a lot of inflammation and makes your body get stuck bracing and moving in ways that ALSO cause chronic pain, so that has to be addressed too.

If you don't have access to physical therapy, there are some really good resources, exercises, and videos online that can at least get you started (but be cautious if you can't get assessed in person), but I'm not qualified to vet or recommend any of those.

But if any of this sounds like it might help you, and you can go to physical therapy, please go to physical therapy.

I am AuDHD, so I kept forgetting to make an appointment (plus my work schedule has me on the clock during the call center hours, so by the time I get home they're closed...) I only managed to get an appointment because I had to call in sick from work.

If you could choose a game to live in, what would it be?

Feed your dashboard by answering my question, blogger.

Sky Children of the Light

It's such a beautiful world filled with wonderful people. Plus I get to fly :D Just avoid the Golden Wasteland at all costs lol.