The first day my eyes were opened I was at work and had to go to the bathroom. I had just gotten my walker, so it was the beginning of August. But backtrack to July for a minute… Once my hands were completely numb, I couldn’t pull my underwear up or down by myself. And due to my balance issues, I was walking very slowly, holding onto walls. There were several times I made it to the bathroom but peed in my underwear over the toilet or I sometimes had to choose between getting over the toilet and closing and latching the door. Eventually, I began going to the bathroom once per hour no matter what and I had to resort to going commando. Luckily, I exclusively wear dresses, so pants weren’t an issue. This was embarrassing so I didn’t tell anyone, and I was horrified I would fall at work and expose myself to everyone! At this point, as awful as this was, I didn’t think about myself as differently abled or think of others who are differently abled as having these issues. It wasn’t until the first day I took my walker to work. By this time, my arms were numb and weak too. When I tried to go to the bathroom, I had three barriers… three heavy doors (one with a security scanner) were between me and the bathroom. I struggled to push them open even just a little so I could shove the walker in to wedge it open while I tried to get through. I asked permission to wedge the two outer doors open while I was there, and my supervisor immediately went searching for two doorstops to wedge the doors. But guess what? The next time I went to the bathroom, someone had unpropped the doors! We put a sign up, saying “if you unprop the doors, please re-prop them or your secretary can’t use the bathroom.” The doors were continuously left unpropped despite the sign. I continued to struggle and didn’t complain, but it was exhausting.
I don’t think that people did it intentionally. They just didn’t think about it. I’m sure they saw the sign, but it went in one second and out the next without registering. My takeaway from this experience is to be more aware, more intentional about noticing who and what is around you. This is important for so many more reasons than just for the differently abled people who cross your path. Being aware and intentional helps all of your relationships and interactions. It allows you to be more open to new things and you experience more, which allows for new growth and understanding. Additionally, it helps you to be others focused which allows you to be more compassionate, empathetic, and caring. Others are drawn to people who are not focused solely on their own needs and desires because they intuitively feel that the others- focused individual is open and available to them. All of this brings deeper engagement with the world and a greater sense of fulfillment and happiness.
