Disclaimer
This is not going to be an inspirational story, and I should warn you that I am a terrible advocate for the community. I’m more of a discount Stephen Hawking, if he traded intelligence for function; not as smart, not as crippled [see: evidence of first statement].
It’s hard for me to write a lot of this without sounding like I am complaining. I promise I am generally happy, but these struggles are inseparable from my experiences. Also, you should know that the majority of the time that I am talking shit about other people, it is typically because I see something in them that I recognize and dislike about myself. That said, sometimes people are just awful and it has nothing to do with me also being awful. That said, there are obviously lots of amazing people out there and I will do my best to highlight them; some by name and some by category, neither more or less important than the other.
I can only tell you what happened to me and how I dealt with it. Along the way, I hope some part of my story is relatable to you or that you find some utility in what I found helpful. If nothing else, I hope it at least entertains you. But, if you are looking at getting insight on how to engage with the handicap community or be a good role model, I’ll have to point you towards some of the truly amazing people out there who are actually doing things to help people in the handicap community and inspire them like Quinn Brett (@quinndalina), Eric Hjelnes (Craig Hospital), Shawn Fluke (@livetoroll), Jo-Marie Lawrence (@jomarie_lawrence), and so many more. Originally, I began writing this just to work through some of the more difficult memories from the hospital and try to parse out where the blank spots in my memory were. After some incredible encouragement and support from a few friends, I ended up writing far more than I ever expected, and now, here we are.
These are simply the ramblings, thoughts, and experiences of a highly isolated individual. I don’t speak for the handicap community, not even if I claim to at some point.
