(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . My Able-Bodied Privilege. [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-25 I like my little town. After living here for four years I've come to love the rural quiet and wide open spaces, the wildlife and natural beauty all around me. It's a nice place to live. Small enough that the few local businesses recognize their regular customers on sight and remember each one's preferred brands of beer, pop, and cigarettes. The post office will hold a package for you even if the PO box on it is incorrect, because they remember your name. There's two gas stations, a couple of bars and restaurants, a feed & hardware store, a dollar store and a pretty park down near the river. And not a single automatic door. Which I never noticed until last year. When I had an experience that ended up changing my life. I wrote about it here. When the Americans With Disabilities Act, or ADA, was passed in 1990 I never really thought about it. I was 28 years old and strong and healthy. My parents and grandparents were strong and healthy. My time as a caregiver for each of them in turn was many years in the future. None of us yet needed the ramps being installed in public spaces or the accessibility modifications appearing on public transportation. I was eventually grateful for those things, they made my caregiving days a little easier. I didn't yet need them for myself. Everything changed for me on Memorial Day weekend 2023. The year that has passed since I was in the hospital has been one of numerous adjustments for me. For a while I was the one being cared for by younger, strong and healthy people. I wrote about that experience here. About a month later I started physical therapy. My therapist, a really delightful young lady, was a little surprised to meet me; her clients tend to be younger people. Athletes whose injuries were caused by over exerting themselves while playing sports or running a 10k. Not little older ladies who hurt themselves while clearing piles of rubbish from their shed. She taught me how to stretch and exercise in ways to help myself regain some strength and mobility. She advised me to go outside each day and walk around, even if it was just a few turns around my driveway. And so I do, nearly every day. If my few neighbors could actually see me they might think I was a little bit strange. (They'd be right, though not for that reason). And she warned me that the condition I was diagnosed with could be recurring or even chronic for some people. Turned out I was one of those people. Maybe my age had something to do with it. ••• I remember when I'd wake up without any pain at all, going about my day doing everything that needed to be done and still having time and energy left for fun stuff. Being able to stand for over eight hours and repeatedly lift heavy things and only have mildly sore feet at day's end. Climbing up and down stairs and ladders was no big deal. If I tripped and fell I'd cuss, get up, dust myself off and go back to whatever I was doing. These were things I'd taken for granted all my life. I remember not having to worry about forgetting or misplacing my cane, and not needing to locate the ramps when approaching the entrance of a building. I remember not struggling to maneuver a shopping cart through a non-automatic door while keeping myself upright and moving. It wasn't even that long ago. In a world which is still arranged and ordered primarily for the strong and healthy, I was sufficiently equipped to navigate ordinary daily life without repeated extra planning and effort. I miss that. Some things I've curtailed or simply stopped doing because I know I'd slow it down for everyone else or cause them stress from worrying about me. Other things take a lot longer for me now. I get tired more easily these days. My kids have been on my case about getting a disabled parking hang tag for my car. I'll probably do it soon. The pain is there when I wake up, and there when I fall asleep. It never really goes away. I need to be prepared for the times when it gets worse. Because sooner or later, it does. And it will. All the rest of my life. What I'd once enjoyed without ever realizing it, was Able-bodied Privilege. I never even recognized it until it was gone. I was very fortunate to have had it as long as I did. And I wish now that I had appreciated it more while I still had it. Last August when I was venturing out into the world again. ••••••• Thank you for reading. This is an open thread, all topics are welcome. 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