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Showing posts from July, 2019

Am I Disabled?

This article has been going through my head quite a lot recently and I’m feeling a little self indulgent so bear with me. As a kid I was on the special needs list throughout school and given a classroom assistant to help with my tracheostomy care. I was considered disabled enough to warrant disability benefits right up until I turned 18 when they decided that I wasn’t mentally incapacitated enough and too independent. A panel of bureaucrats sat across the table and said “we can see you are but there’s nothing we can do.” I didn’t tick the right boxes. I’ve worked since I was old enough and supported myself as much as I could and excluding a few short absences from work I have been successful in that. Until now. Now I can’t support myself. I struggle with self care. I’ve had to give up my home and I’ve lost my independence. I’m back to getting surgery’s every 6-8 weeks. They were usually just day cases but the last few have been fairly severe with extended stays (I get to have ano