People today view individuals with disabilities as different people based upon their appearances and behaviors. I find these kinds of viewpoints very derogative. I say this myself because people have doubted me and my own abilities.
For instance today is karwa chauth and this is my tenth year of fasting for my dear husband. And so like any other woman I too had plans to celebrate the festival. Being confined on my wheelchair I had requested my neighbours and maid to find someone to come home and apply the henna designs in my hands which is considered as an important ritual in this festival.
The first reaction I got from all the aforesaid people including the girls who came home for applying henna was one and the same...shocked!!! Disbelief that can l with these weak limbs, one and half eye, and energy barely to reach the washroom and breath, take this fast and complete the rituals? "Do you really want to do this? It's ok god can understand... how will you climb the stairs to the terrace and see the moon?. Can you do the puja which requires your arms which is partially paralysed? "
Well well well..here I am...started my fast already...hee hee. Yes the application of henna hurt me a lot to keep my arms in a particular position for longer than three minutes (that's the time I can hold my arms up without hurting myself). I was exhausted after getting all the arrangements for the puja done. But I am in it finally..sharing pics!
I have Myasthenia Gravis, an incurable disabling auto immune disorder alongwith various other disorders that hinders a normal life like an abled healthy person.
But I have promised myself I will never let either of them stop me from doing anything. To people who don’t know me well, I look just like any other person out there, a bright fat smiling woman. When people learn about my Myasthenia, they are shocked because I don’t look like I have a disability at all. To be compared to other individuals with disabilities is just insensitive since I am able to relate to their struggles in life.
The struggles I face in life are challenging, but I do not see myself being limited by my disabilities. Instead, now I have different abilities that play important roles within our communities and work environments. Though people doubt my abilities, I often prove them wrong about my capabilities.
There are some people who still doubt about my abilities. However, I take those negative thoughts and turn them into motivation and drive.
I have learned that I have a different ability not a disability. That different ability of mine can make a difference wherever I will be in life. We all have different abilities and we should use them for what we are truly passionate for in life.
It took a lot of hard work (mentally and physically ) for me to finally believe that I make a difference in the world, no matter how little or big the difference is.
Lots of love to my adorable mom-in- law, my darling husband and beloved parents with whose blessings and support I can prove the world, doubting me, Wrong!
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