I have three older brothers. I sometimes wonder if my disability has had any impact on how they see their little sister.
My eldest brother always seemed a lot older than me. He was protective and used to try and tell me what to do while advising me that it was for my own good. I never listened. When we where growing up he liked to wear a leather jacket and sneak out a lot, just because he could.
Parental Guilt. We all know it, we are all aware of it. When you have a physical disability you will have encountered it from time to time.
I was diagnosed with CP the day before my first birthday – an infection in hospital after I was born etc., etc. I think it affected my parents’ life just as dramatically, if not more so – emotionally. They had aspirations that turned out very differently, whereas for me this is the only life I’ve ever known. I’ve never expected a different outcome. It was more of a shock to them than it ever was for me.
You know them. We all know them. They start off looking harmlessly curious, then concerned, then … oh, there we have it, the blatantly obvious, headlight intensity stare.
It’s not the children, their brains are still being hard-wired. You can understand that they might genuinely be curious and innocently perplexed by ‘difference’ … No, it’s the ones above the age of 12, more interestingly the biggest culprits seem to be those above 60 years of age.
Freya
Welcome to freefall… I'm in my late twenties. My great loves are the creative arts, particularly music and creative writing. I have cerebral palsy (CP). In my case it means that I can't walk very easily - I use a chair most of the time. More about me…
Angels & Saints
Have you ever heard a complete stranger comment that you are an angel? I have and I always wonder where they assume I hide my wings.
People who think such things mean well. I think for the most part it’s intended as a compliment, but from personal experience it’s one that can leave you feeling kind of weird on the wrong day and make you die in fits of laughter on the others.
Read more: Angels & Saints
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