From earlier today...
CIJS
Yes, middle-aged Russian phlebotomist lady, I know how to drive my own wheelchair. No, really. I've been driving electric wheelchairs since I was 5 years old, which was 32 years ago. I'm, essentially, an expert in the field. So, no, I don't need you to tell me to watch the door, watch the other chairs, turn on my brake (electric chairs don't work like that, but whatever). That's like me telling an able bodied person to lift their foot, bend their knee, and so on while walking.
Just because I'm in a wheelchair, that doesn't mean I'm stupid or mentally disabled. I went into 1st grade when I was 5, and graduated high school at 17. Graduated from UNH with a B.A. in Communication, while also completing minors in Music and Computer Information and Technology. I've essentially taught myself web development, primarily focusing on back end programming. I'm not the smartest guy in the room, but you bet your ass I'm one of the most tenacious you'll ever meet.
Everything I've accomplished was done while undergoing surgery, missing school, and having to rehab, only to have surgery on something else and start the process over again. The majority of the surgeries I had were osteotomies, which are incredibly painful. I mean constant morphine drip, press the button for more, we're sending you home with a couple weeks of another opioid painful.
It was done living with a mentally abusive child molesting (not me, but another family member... we didn't find out until years later) father. I was that kid who liked going to school. Not just because it gave me a sense of normalcy, feeling like a kid rather than a patient, but because it was a safe place away from him.
So, no, a wheelchair doesn't mean I'm incapable. It simply means mobility is a PITA. Fuck off for thinking otherwise.
CIJS
Yes, middle-aged Russian phlebotomist lady, I know how to drive my own wheelchair. No, really. I've been driving electric wheelchairs since I was 5 years old, which was 32 years ago. I'm, essentially, an expert in the field. So, no, I don't need you to tell me to watch the door, watch the other chairs, turn on my brake (electric chairs don't work like that, but whatever). That's like me telling an able bodied person to lift their foot, bend their knee, and so on while walking.
Just because I'm in a wheelchair, that doesn't mean I'm stupid or mentally disabled. I went into 1st grade when I was 5, and graduated high school at 17. Graduated from UNH with a B.A. in Communication, while also completing minors in Music and Computer Information and Technology. I've essentially taught myself web development, primarily focusing on back end programming. I'm not the smartest guy in the room, but you bet your ass I'm one of the most tenacious you'll ever meet.
Everything I've accomplished was done while undergoing surgery, missing school, and having to rehab, only to have surgery on something else and start the process over again. The majority of the surgeries I had were osteotomies, which are incredibly painful. I mean constant morphine drip, press the button for more, we're sending you home with a couple weeks of another opioid painful.
It was done living with a mentally abusive child molesting (not me, but another family member... we didn't find out until years later) father. I was that kid who liked going to school. Not just because it gave me a sense of normalcy, feeling like a kid rather than a patient, but because it was a safe place away from him.
So, no, a wheelchair doesn't mean I'm incapable. It simply means mobility is a PITA. Fuck off for thinking otherwise.