Thursday, August 14, 2008
Share your stories!
I have wanted to start a discussion board like this for a long time. Throughout the process I looked for children and adults who have parents with disabilities and it was not until recently when it was brought to my that i fit into this category. I did not even realize that I am an adult who has a parent with a disability. My dad had Multiple Sclerosis and has had it since about 10 years ago. I vaguely remember when he was diagnosed but I do remember being upset and scared because I did not even know what it meant. I just knew that it was not good and not supposed to be happening to him. Through the years he got worse and worse but I never ever once heard him complain. It was not until I got older and more recently that he has been telling me more and more about his condition and about the pain he is in. He says that he does not see it as a disability and he has such amazing courage and strength that I could only hope to possess one day. But it is still really hard to watch him walk around on crutches, in constant pain, knowing that there is nothing I could possibly do. This has had a lot of effect on my family and I but...I will talk about that in the next post.
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4 comments:
I don't have children, but I do have parents and a brother and sister. I am a brain injury survivor. I know from personal experience that my family has really been puzzled as to what to do. I have experienced varying levels of functioning over the years, but I think their inability to understand, or learn, about TBI, makes them feel inept. It's a very subtle thing, a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury.
I would say that only my wife at the time educated herself enough to be truly supportive.
Great topic.
Don
I find the people who endure the most are the most inspiring. They seem, more than anything, not to want to be defined by what they can't do, same as anyone else. I hope your dad is doing better.
It can be extremely hard for some people to live with such a condition. It's amazing to hear that your dad did not complain, he must of really dealt with it! Such strength~!
If you have children’s who are growing or are in the grown up stage, you must be giving all emphasis to their needs and requirements. Remember that all parents need help with certain aspects of parenting in some stage of life. How difficult it would be for you to become a parent because of the nature of their disability, but because of the difficulties, privations, and skepticism that has been placed on your shoulders often makes them unaware of how they can help. May be there are some limitations associated with disability, but the fact is that where there is a will, there is a way. You don’t need to lose hope and there are numerous ways by which you can take care of your loving off springs.
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