A couple of months ago I met Andrea van Vugt for a coffee. This was pre-Covid. She had requested a meeting after hearing me banter back and forth on stage with Dave Kelly during a podcast recording at the GRAND.
I wasn’t sure what the meeting was about but I assumed she wanted to inform me about her project called Disability Pride and ask for some help.
From her website I found this description:
“Disability Pride is about being happy with who you are and sharing yourself with the people around you! We have a mission to celebrate and empower the disability community. Hosting community events provides an opportunity for people with & without disabilities to celebrate diversity, inclusion and pride. Let’s celebrate what makes each of us unique and how much we have in common!”
I learnt a lot in the meeting with respect to what is considered a disability and what isn’t. And towards the end of the meeting I asked Andrea how I might be able to help.
She said she was happy just to inform me but thought maybe I’d like to talk about my experience. I of course was happy to do so and said it would feel odd writing something as I didn’t consider myself to be disabled.
And then the philosophical conversation started. Who decides what a disability is? How do you define a disability? Are there categories of disability? Does a positive mindset preclude you from feeling like you have a disability?
And when I said I wasn’t disabled she thoughtfully looked at me and said ‘if you think you have a disability, then you have a disability.’ But obviously I didn’t think I was disabled so I kinda parked it and was happy to have learnt about an organization that was celebrating those that felt they were disabled.
Still, I promised I would write something from my perspective. She loves the discussion from all angles. Well, today as I had my second nap, was struggling to walk and felt nauseous all day I thought maybe, just maybe I am disabled physically. I used to be full of tons of energy, played sports all the time, ate pretty much anything and was always good to go. But now I have to be thoughtful how I use my energy.
And I’m actually quite proud of my positive mindset and ability to keep chugging along with a challenging chemotherapy program year after year. And the longer I do it the harder it seems to get physically and mentally. The longer I am on chemotherapy the more disabled I feel.
But at the same time I’m proud that I can often push the side effects and the relentlessness of the disease aside in order to find joy in each day. So with this mindset I don’t think I’m disabled.
So, it’s taken me a couple of months to think through how I would follow through on my promise to Andrea, and today it came to me.
I can accept I have this disease and that the therapy causes challenges. And I can accept that could be seen as a disability when compared to the Jim of five years ago.
And I can accept my mind has expanded with respect to the term disabled. I imagine that all people that have been labelled disabled could have the same mindset as I do. That your perspective on your disability is all dependent on your mindset.
So I’m proud that I keep on chugging along even when the going gets tough.
And I’m proud that my positive mindset allows me to feel like I’m always moving forward, although a bit slower these days.
This was quite the philosophical introspective journey and I am a better person for having a new found perspective on disability and people with disabilities.
Thanks for the spark Andrea, and thanks for providing a wonderful support for a group of thoughtful people.
For more information on Disability Pride - http://disabilitypridealberta.com/