In the 3 years since I “became” disabled – (this is not as definitive an event as one might think given that I’ve been pushing through fatigue, injury and autonomic dysfunction since forever), since I started being unable to stand and walk without pain – I have often thought “if only there were a walk-through of advice on adapting to this existence that bears little resemblance to my “previous life”.
The reason for this absense of information is almost certainly that every person’s experiences of becoming disabled/unwell is different and will depend on factors as far ranging as geographical location, source of income and existing familial situation all the way through to specific symptoms, the training of the healthcare practitioners encountered and their biases (conscious, or unconscious). All of these things and many more will impact on an individual’s journey.
Of course, there are commonalities too. Humans often follow similar patterns when grieving a loss, or when socially isolated or hurt…
