Ableism.

​If there is one thing that really gets my back up, it would be ableism. This weird belief that by being disabled, it somehow diminishes our need for anything that can actively make our lives easier or less of a painful slog. I’ve had my illness for a long time and as it’s progressed, I’ve seen more and more discriminating behaviour. Whether it was people pushing past to get their buggies on the bus before I could get my wheelchair in or someone actually deliberately nudging my wheel while waiting in a bank queue. Yeah. That happened. I had to learn very quickly how to “self advocate” and hold my ground against anyone who thought they were more entitled than I was to something.

Ableism is a harmful thing. Like any kind of prejudice. It’s difficult and it can be extremely cruel. No one wants to be disabled or unable to take care of themselves or do things they used to love. It’s hard enough to live with any kind of disease, whether it’s physical or mental, but when we have to spend time explaining ourselves to people who don’t have the capacity to just accept that some people just can’t do what they expect of us.

My journey through going from a somewhat normal life, just having to take inhaler and being able to live my life as I wanted to, to what my life is now hasn’t been easy. Not being able to feel the wind in my hair while riding my bike or being able to sing as much as I want or play the flute. These are things I miss. I look at old pictures of myself 10+ years ago and I feel sad. Like that girl in the pictures was a completely different person and I’ve been almost grieving for that person. 

It’s hard enough to feel like I’ve lost that person and in a lot of ways my freedom. I don’t need to spend time explaining to someone why I’m in a wheelchair or on oxygen. Being told by an elderly lady about how she didn’t need anything to help her get around at 84 while on a bus was nothing short of insulting. If you see someone who has either a visible illness or a more obvious disability, please remember, we are trying to keep ourselves going and don’t need to be treated like a freak or be questioned and shoved aside. We just need people to accept us and treat us like equals.

That’s all everyone really wants deep down.

Til all are one.

Wendy xx