Quilts and Queers

Having a Job With Chronic Illness and Disability

chronic-illness-support:

Job Hunting for People With Disabilities 

On Gaining Power in the Workplace

Book: I’d Rather Be Working

Top 10 Jobs You Can Do From Anywhere

Tips For Job Seeking With a Disability 

Job Accommodation Network 

Cancer and Careers

someone please tell my dumb ass that even if I have a massage later, if I’m screaming in pain I should take my pain meds. 

BUT I AM STRONGER THAN THE PAIN. 

I DON’T NEED YOUR STINKING MEDS. 

*sigh*

dinnerpartydan:

That awkward moment when you ran up the stairs and now you’re trying to hide your heavy breathing like it’s no big deal but you’re actually pretty winded and dear god you need to work out.

That awkward moment when you shuffle up the stairs like an old person, leaning on the railing and making dying whale noises and you can’t even make it up one flight of stairs without panting and dear god sometimes you forget how disabled you are. 

My mobility scooter was stolen tonight. 2/10/13

inexplicablebeauty:

My electric scooter wheelchair was at 910 SW Yamhill on the street. Someone drove it away. An officer from Securitas said that when he went past the address at around 7:30 pm it was there, but when he came back around the block it was gone. The guitar player across the street said that he saw someone drive it away going up 11th Ave.

The scooter is a red Pride Victory 10. It is a 4-wheel model. It has two rearview mirrors affixed to the handlebars, which is a bit unusual. It has a fabric cane holder that goes across the back of the seat, like a quiver for arrows. The seat is black. The front bottom fender is missing. It has bike lights on it. The white light on the front has one brown/burnt bulb. There is a red light on the cane holder on the back. There is a sticker on the inside of the steering column, faded green, that used to say Rosemary, but I think the mary part broke off. The right arm rest is broken on the underside, the white fabric lining shows through. The back tire has a chunk missing out of it, but it still works because it is solid. The rubber bumpers on the side are loose. The front fender is missing.

You can reach me at tisoto@gmail.com or just call non-emergency police.

Please reblog and thanks. Please help me get my scooter back.

Shit like this pisses me off. Because let’s get real. You’re not stealing a power scooter, you’re stealing someone’s LEGS. If you wouldn’t break someone’s legs, then don’t steal their mobility aids. Because that’s more than just an aid or a pay check for you because those fuckers are expensive and sell for a fortune even used, THAT’S SOMEONES LIFE. That’s their freedom, their ability to get out of the house and go do things. 

So just don’t do it guys. Seriously. Don’t. 

My body is starting to take more of the things I value

I can’t be as cuddly when touch hurts. 

I can’t read when my brain is all scrambly and the words on the page are swimming. That one sucks a whole lot. 

I can’t study when my head hurts from trying to read. I can’t study when I can’t concentrate and when my memory doesn’t work. 

I can’t go out and be social, go to parties, go clothes shopping. It all just hurts too much. Even with my power scooter, it hurts. 

I can’t go anywhere without my power scooter, just about. It’s hard and tough and it sucks. 

I couldn’t quilt when I went home and I was looking forward to that so much it’s not even funny. I couldn’t stand up for that long, couldn’t make my brain work for that long. I spent most of my vacation on my couch, watching Doctor Who. Which, don’t get me wrong, was really fun, but it wasn’t finishing the quilt project I had been day dreaming about since I got to school. 

And I’ve never been a real big athlete. I’ve never been someone who has a zillion extra curriculars. I tend to like to have a lot of time to myself but now it feels like so much of my time is spent recovering from really simple things and it makes me sad. 

I was disabled before and I couldn’t do certain things, but now it’s starting to feel like LOSS. 

Is it just me…

Or do lots of chronic illness diagnosis sound similar?

Like me. I could have Marfan’s, I could have fibro, ME, probably other things I haven’t looked up. 

So just frustrating. Surely people can refine the diagnosis criteria more? Or come up with better treatment?

Crutches

There are some things that make me angry. Ableism is one of them. 

And one of those things that make me super angry is when people say things like “But surely your depression meds are just a crutch!” or “Your service dog is just a crutch!”. 

But you wouldn’t go up to someone with a broken foot or a sprained ankle and say “But that’s just a crutch, surely you don’t need it!” 

Some people need crutches. Some people need depression meds. So trying to tell them that it’s just a crutch is sort of invalidating your own argument. 

tl;dr Some people need crutches. Don’t tell people that things that they need for their mental health are “just a crutch” because of this.