To start, this is not an attack on anyone. This is more a dissection of the situation at hand than a low-blow or a pathetic passive/aggressive barrage. I want to make people think about what they are sharing, not berate well-wishes and honest attempts.
I was sent something the other day showing a kid, after seven years, getting over his quadriplegia. It was amazing, to be sure, but the person followed it up with something along the lines of ‘look what he did! you can do it, too!’
Was that intended as a slight? Hell no. It was from a good friend who I have known forever, and I love them very much and hope they love me the same. Was it without forethought? Absolutely. The video they shared had many things different from what I experienced.
1. Accident implies spinal issues. I have brain damage. They are two very different things.
2. The equipment being used in the video are things that I have never seen before, let alone used. It is actually impossible to say “hey: this kid learned to walk in seven years. why can’t you?” in this situation because I don’t have access to everything this guy did.
3. There is no information on the personal goings on with this kid. Is he poor or rich? What kind of healthcare does he have access to? What other consequences other than the quadriplegia did he experience?
I am far from ragging on this kid. He went from having no fine motor skills to walking (with a walker, but still). It was impressive, but to turn around and ask me why I am not doing what he is doing is saying that we have the exact same experience. That is diminishing what I have been dealt, and is trivializing what he has accomplished.
-RANT-
While I have your attention, my book is available some places! I have links that can be found here, but it’s still being pressed and I don’t even have my copies yet! If you wish to order it, that’s amazing and I hope you enjoy! I will post way too much when I get my copies and even more when I have actual order information that I trust!
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