There have been a lot of topics I've wanted to write posts about, but I've been fortunate enough to see such continual (slow, but continual) progress, that my blog has turned into a platform to update everyone about what is going on, rather than to advocate and bring awareness to the issues I'd like to write about. I have a list of these topics: relationships I've made, the amazing SCI community, traveling with a disability or wheelchair, and the latest-- how to treat a person with a disability and how to teach your children. I'm hoping to touch on all these topics and more at some point, especially with how much positive feedback I've received from my latest blog. This is what I originally envisioned when I started a blog...Granted, I really started it as my "therapy" because I was tired of all the psychologists that kept coming by my hospital room, insisting that I talk about my feelings. I realize how important it is to sort through your feelings after something life changing happens, but I wasn't connecting with any of these doctors, and I really felt like they were pushing themselves on me. I hadn't been home in three months and was getting a lot of messages, questioning what had happened to me and how I was doing...so that's when the idea of a blog started. I wanted to inform everyone what was going on with me, but I started to discover that it really was therapeutic. By writing out everything I accomplished each day, which was a lot, I was able to focus on the positives I was experiencing instead of how much I felt like a rug had been pulled out from under me and left me in a heap on the floor. I say that I accomplished a lot each day, because I literally couldn't even hold my own head up when I got to rehab. If you look back at some of my first posts, I wrote things like "I cut my own sausage patty at breakfast!" and "I got a pair of socks on by myself!" Whenever I get frustrated, I look back at some of those posts to remind myself how far I really have come...it's a little different rereading it and hearing it in my own words instead of hearing other people cheerfully tell me how "blessed" I am and how "inspiring" I am. (I know people mean well, but sometimes I just want to have a pity party...not a long one, but just let me take a dip in the pity pool! I'll get over it and bounce back with even more determination, I promise...but I need to have my weak moments now and then). But also, as time went on, I realized that I was letting people into a world that I didn't even know existed. I was teaching others about spinal cord injuries and this whole new world I hadn't even heard of.
Whenever I finally find time to sit down and write, it turns into a "catch up" session, talking about therapy and updates about school, instead of the other things I've become so passionate about. ADA laws and accessibility have become two things I care so deeply about, and it's not just because it pertains to me. I can't believe I've studied science, almost completed graduate school, and worked in healthcare for ten plus years and I've never heard the term "spinal cord injury." I've never heard much about quadriplegia, paraplegia, and definitely not the words "autonomic dysreflexia" (I'll go into specifics on what that means at a later time). And you know what's scary? Not many nurses, doctors, or ER staff have much knowledge on these topics either!
I've learned so much on this journey that I've decided I'm going to get my Masters in Public Health once I finish my Doctorate in Optometry. I learn something new about accessibility and disabilities every single day and it has made me even more aware of how absolutely clueless our society is. I've already done some advocacy stuff on capitol hill because that is what optometry is all about. It differs from state to state based on what the optometrists in that state have lobbied for the rights to do. For example, doctors in Massachusetts couldn't prescribe glaucoma medications until more recent years...they could diagnose it, but then patients had to see an ophthalmologist (who went to medical school instead of optometry school) to get the eye drops. So, I've seen what it's like to fight for what you want and to advocate for different laws..and while I'm passionate about my future career (I mean, it's what I've wanted to do since the THIRD grade), my heart is even more dedicated to fighting for everything ADA laws encompass. I've seen and experienced it first hand, and I really don't think it's asking too much to have a bathroom stall that everyone can use in local businesses...to have more than two accessible rooms in a hotel that has HUNDREDS...to have a smooth curb cut to get into different stores and on/off the sidewalk. I wanted to be an eye doctor because it was something I could relate to. I've had glasses since the third grade and I distinctly remember the feeling I had when I went outside and could see the leaves on the trees for the first time. (I also toyed with the idea of being an orthodontist for the simple reason that I had braces for seven years, but I'm glad that didn't stick with me for long!) I think when someone has a personal connection with what they're doing, they accomplish more..they actually know what they are talking about and can get people to listen to them, not to mention how much more motivated they are to succeed. I'd like to think that I would've been an advocate for disabilities even if this didn't happen to me, because it just seems right. But I also think that I will accomplish more having first hand experiences. I'm excited to bring awareness to these issues, because I think half the battle is that people really just don't know. We, as a society, aren't educated. And unless it personally affects us, we don't even really care to be..
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