I'm paralysed from the waist down. AMA

[BlossomIsSoPretty]

Female, aged 64, paralysed from waist down following car crash when I was 9 years old.

AMA

I don’t know what to add or ask, but you have my utmost respect.

I just want to say, without being patronising, you are amazing and a fine example to many. It's encouraging to know you lead a fairly happy life with a good husband.

Is there anyone who has influenced and encouraged you, whom you admire and read a lot about, who is disabled?

Thanks for posting this thread.

Did you know that you can get electric wheelchairs that weigh less than 20kg and fold up like a suitcase very easily. There are some which are even lighter, fold very easily. They all go in car boots.

They are also acceptable on flights. They cost from hundreds to £2-3K depending on where you get it and what the make is, and whether you accept a used one.

Are you just morbidly curious about how other people manage. Has some who obviously works in the health sector I am quite certain that there are colleagues with whom you can discuss this rather than ask people on a public forum.

Who is this post directed at?

A poster asked "Do you believe in God"
You answered NO

Is this belief a result of what happened to you? Do you think you'd still have this belief if the accident hadn't happened?

I would still love to know how long it took you to learn sign language & become an interpreter. It sounds like such a rewarding & worthwhile occupation 😊

Just want to say thank. Like many, I am curious about people's lives when they are so different from mine To have daily life explained in such a matter of fact way is so admirable.

I hope this isn't an odd/too personal question. I'm just wondering what it is you can't do for yourself that requires carers? Is it to do with personal hygiene/toileting? My daughter has spina bifida and is currently in a wheelchair/can't walk, although she can move her legs and is working on standing. As she gets older I'm worried about how we will deal with things like baths when she starts wanting her privacy. She is also catheterised (intermittent catheterisation), which she will learn to do herself eventually, but what about physically getting on to the toilet, for example.

I am so glad you are happy now. 😊 what an awful story. Its heartbreaking. You sound like an amazing woman and I wish you all the best.

No questions but couldn't read this without commenting.

@BlossomIsSoPrettydid your extended family pull together after the accident or was it just your grandparents? Did your grandparents have a good relationship with your patents?

you have had so much tragedy, but you genuinely sound like you have made the best of it and found acceptance/ peace/ happiness.

I'm a wheelchair user too and have enjoyed reading your responses, in particular your openness and positivity - thanks!

Do you have a view about reclaiming the word "crips" and militant folk insisting on the identity-first phrase "disabled people" rather than the person-first phrase "people with disabilities?

(You might be able to guess my own view from the phrasing of the question, though in the latter case, I use the terms interchangeably! 😊)

Apologises, haven't been very well. Will reply soon!

@Pupinskipops
I work in international development sector (mostly Africa and Asia) and depending on which country am working in I am sometimes told off for saying persons with disabilities and told to say persons living with disabilities (I've never heard of the word crips before your post). However I noted in the UK disabled persons is commonly used. So thanks for asking this question. Keen to hear the answers.

I think she is just raising awareness about her life and knows it might be difficult for people to ask questions in real life. She is not seeking advice

(In case you're interested from another disabled person) I think the word order varies a bit by region, like most other aspects of the English language. I have noticed though that sometimes what people are told in training doesn't line up with prevailing usage amongst disabled people in that country/ service users! But tbh I don't mind either way, except that "disabled person" is a heck of a lot less clunky than "person living with a disability" lol.
Crip is a slur for physically disabled people that's been reclaimed in some circles, especially campaign circles, e.g. Crips Against Cuts. As opposed to say, the r-slur, used against ppl w/ learning disabilities, which has emphatically not been reclaimed by those people. Possibly to do with amount of time since it was deemed "acceptable"? R-slur is on the up in derogatory usage atm, especially in the USA.

No feeling at all

I have no feeling what so ever from waist down

I'm lucky that when my husband and I got married we both had properties to sell and we built a new bungalow for my needs

Do you belong to SCOPE? They are circulating an email about the government discussion on PIP.

You are an inspiration, thank you for sharing your story, it puts everything in to perspective 🫂 xx

you sound a very brave and inspirational person I read earlier about there was a thread about how you came to be paralysed. could you please link me to it thank you