tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post115774225230795566..comments2024-01-26T10:20:37.836+00:00Comments on Diary of a Goldfish: Illness, Impairment and DisabilityThe Goldfishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1158423462619045492006-09-16T17:17:00.000+01:002006-09-16T17:17:00.000+01:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Gordon Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14546981874540082790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1158049217782171522006-09-12T09:20:00.000+01:002006-09-12T09:20:00.000+01:00ah, you mean things like the infamous mezzanine fl...ah, you mean things like the infamous mezzanine floors<BR/><BR/>(and yes, I'm just being a bit devil's advocatey.)Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11639094548415759560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157968832084357352006-09-11T11:00:00.000+01:002006-09-11T11:00:00.000+01:00I don't feel it is the responsibility of the world...<I>I don't feel it is the responsibility of the world to rearrange itself around me as an individual</I>.<BR/><BR/>No, me neither. When I talk about this definition of disability, I am always talking about <I>unnecessary</I> obstacles. And of course, I know folks did not put steps their just to spite me (although I have suspected it, at times ;-)), that was probably a careless turn of phrase. <BR/><BR/>So you're totally right about cash machines; if all cash machines were at our level, then we'd have many more disabled people in the world who had developed back pain and injury leaning down to get their cash out from even iaverage height - similarly with lots of other things.<BR/><BR/>However, inequality does exist and makes our lives that bit more limited than they actually absolutely <I>have</I> to be (and impairment <I>does</I> limit them for real). And that's what I mean by disability. <BR/><BR/>You do come across folks who feel that if the world was a fairer place, they wouldn't face any disadvantage. And certainly some people with certain impairments would achieve something pretty close to that. But clearly, you and I would still have difficulties in life even if the world was as fair and accomodating as it possibly could be... niThe Goldfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157964328618888092006-09-11T09:45:00.000+01:002006-09-11T09:45:00.000+01:00"Disability is the experience I have when my impai..."Disability is the experience I have when my impairments interact with the world in which I live."<BR/><BR/>Yes...<BR/><BR/>... but...<BR/><BR/>... I don't feel it is the responsibility of the world to rearrange itself around me as an individual. What would make something so, so, so much easier for me could make it awful for someone else - why should I take precedence?<BR/><BR/>An example could be cash machines. Put them at a level where I can use them from the scooter? Grand. Now my 6foot6 stepfather, who has enough difficulty stooping to use the standard ones, would have no hope in hell of managing.<BR/><BR/>I promise stairs were not put there to make it difficult for you or me or anyone else, although it sometimes feels that way. They were a solution to a problem. Most places here that have a doorstep are towards the river, where a house being raised a few inches stopped it getting flooded every year. <BR/><BR/>To be frank, I can understand people a hundred or so years ago weighing up the odds of their home or shop getting flooded and their stuff being irreparably damaged and the cost of replacement each year, versus the chance that someone on wheels might come visit and wanting to keep them comfy, and finding in favour of having a four-inch step.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11639094548415759560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157865335574486212006-09-10T06:15:00.000+01:002006-09-10T06:15:00.000+01:00I feel that illness is something temporary, someth...I feel that illness is something temporary, something that, while nasty and resulting in temporary impairments, will go away. The flu, a stomach virus, a sprained ankle.<BR/><BR/>Disability is living with an illness that will not go away for various reasons.<BR/><BR/>That's my opinion.<BR/><BR/>Now, would I want my disability/illness/impairment to go away? If I were offered a magic pill to fix my genes, would I take it? I am not my disability. But it is a very important part of my life. Who I am today was formed over the years as I continued to live with my disability. Who would I be without it? What would I do? Would I continue to work from home as a writer? Would I lose my caustic/raw/real sense of humor? I don't know.<BR/><BR/>Life with a disability is extremely personal. The conversations in my head and my thought processes happen the way they do because of that close relationship. What would life be like without chronic pain? What is it like to wake up and just roll out of bed and get on with the day? What would I be like if I could do that?<BR/><BR/>Lorna was a technical writer for 15 yrs. One day she went into work and was told she, and fifty others, were laid off. Suddenly, she wasn't a technical writer any more. She didn't have to dress up. She didn't have to work with books and jargon all day. Her apartment went from neat-freak to borderline chaos within just a few weeks. Why? That order and precision that was her job was now gone. The order and precision that had leaked into the rest of her life no longer had the reason behind it.<BR/><BR/>What kind of person would she be today if she had not been laid off? Would she still be anal and precise and orderly? Or would she be the more relaxed and flexible person she is now?<BR/><BR/>What kind of person would I be today if I hadn't inherited <A HREF="http://ednf.org" REL="nofollow">EDS</A>? Hadn't lived with chronic pain for the past 26 years?PaulaOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08681950187439812455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157841143667738062006-09-09T23:32:00.000+01:002006-09-09T23:32:00.000+01:00I love the picture of the cat and goldfish. I lov...I love the picture of the cat and goldfish. I love cats. I hate every minute over every day and I hate network marketing. Gordon MossGordon Mosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14546981874540082790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157754214392768742006-09-08T23:23:00.000+01:002006-09-08T23:23:00.000+01:00Well indeed, and the Social Model can be effect th...Well indeed, and the Social Model can be effect the way we are treated, medically.<BR/><BR/>For example, lots of us sickie types find that medical staff are totally preoccupied with us regaining the ability to walk. Now, I would love to be able to walk a long distance, but I would <I>much</I> rather have the cognitive capacity to hold down even a part time job - who cares if I had to do it from a wheelchair?<BR/><BR/>Concepts of "normalisation" are not always consistent with what is most likely to improve quality of life.The Goldfishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15213378454070776331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157749660868437802006-09-08T22:07:00.000+01:002006-09-08T22:07:00.000+01:00In case a future doctor is reading this, I should ...In case a future doctor is reading this, I should make it clear that I would have every credible medical treatment going for cancer. However, I hope I wouldn't be so desperate as to go for the more wacky options.James Medhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15953493585646108206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157749267229510312006-09-08T22:01:00.000+01:002006-09-08T22:01:00.000+01:00The distinction between illness and impairment is ...The distinction between illness and impairment is one I haven't really thought about. My immediate feeling is that anything that can lead to some sort of political disadvantage (i.e. disability) is an impairment even if (like, say, cancer or depression) I would certainly be suffering and would certainly want to get better. <BR/><BR/>An illness is something, such as say the flu, where you wouldn't mind being denied the right to work because you could put your feet up and watch 'Deal or No Deal', and you know that it won't last very long.<BR/><BR/>The social model is not inconsistent with wanting to be cured - it just says that it is not the be all and end all. If I were dying of cancer, I like to think that I would have a good death, and not be clinging to false hopes.James Medhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15953493585646108206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10557263.post-1157743437332762672006-09-08T20:23:00.000+01:002006-09-08T20:23:00.000+01:00It took me awhile, but yes, I happen to experience...It took me awhile, but yes, I happen to experience most of my impairments as defined above...It's not the impairment itself that mucks up one's life...It's the altered attitude of others, and even the now forbidding physical landscape of public places or homes, that can become adversarial that "disables" people. It's not the moment of impairment that begins "disability"...it's that first barrier, social or physical that marks the beginning of "disability"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com