Ifrequently catch myself thinking of what the future will bring. I specifically think about how my good ’ol spinal cord injury will hold up, worrying that my abilities will get worse as I age. And I’m pretty sure eating an organic diet rich in Omega 3’s and Vitamin C won’t save me.
It’s purely an aging thing, really; my worry, since a spinal cord injury doesn’t get progressively worse over time (like MS or Muscular Dystrophy), but even so, aging WITH a disability is without question an unnerving yet unavoidable undertaking. I really don’t want to lose the ability to sit in my chair fourteen hours a day, or have to start wearing a chest strap whenever I’m in my chair all by the time I’m 50.
The way I figure it, I’ve already used up all my allotted life manna points from figuring out how to mentally recover from the initial accident that landed me in this chair in the first place (a diving accident at age 14). I did it and I did it brilliantly! And I’m not sure I can do it a second time. I probably can, but it won’t be as easy. It took a lot of patience to be okay with my current limitations – the not walking thing, the not-being-able-to-move-your-hands thing – but it all happened in one fell swoop; not slowly over time, like aging. And the prospect of losing even further use of my already limited body is nightmare-inducing.
My adaptive yoga teacher Matt Sanford is a paraplegic who’s in his ‘40s. During a recent class, he asked my age. I replied, “31, almost 32 and ugh I feel old.” To which he scoffed, “You are a youngin! I would love to be your age again! Only in just the last few years have my shoulders started to hurt (from pushing his chair around all day for the past 30+ years).” I could tell by looking in his eyes that he truly meant that, and it was then when I realized that aging with a disability is no party in the park. By a long shot!
Here’s the pickle: When your shoulders start hurting, what do you do as a solution? Do you stop going out as much, or do you get a power chair? Or even more aggressive solution: Do you go to physical therapy and refuse to accept that aging can’t be fought? Everyone I know with a disability would have a different answer to this question, and no answer is right.
They say aging gracefully is the way to go. I just really hope that as someone with a disability, I’ll be able to do that too, and with as little pain (and Glucosamine) as possible.
What do you do to cope with the inevitable prospect of aging, both physically and mentally?
when they cancel socail security Ill be homeless or dead
Your mind is the strongest and most reliable thing left,make it stronger.