A couple of weeks ago, my health worsened dramatically and it changed me even more than my body did. The little steps that I walked, the spontaneous dances and my humour were suddenly not the things that characterized me.
I tried to stay positive and arranged a wheelchair from an local neighbor renting website. After two days, a lean and friendly man was standing in my doorway to retrieve the wheelchair.
With an upbeat voice he said;
‘Hi Naomi, I’m Thomas I heard a lot about you! Are you able to come downstairs to meet my wife Shannon?’
I truly wanted to go downstairs, especially since my girlfriend, Joy told me about their situation earlier. They are both diagnosed with the same illness I’m being examined for.
After I declined his offer he called his wife on facetime and we talked about our similar interests like gaming and arts & crafts. They immediately offered us their help and we set up a dinner date to discuss everything that has to be done to make our lives easier.
In less than a week we moved into their home where I could use everything, from an electric wheelchair to a medical bed.
It was such a big change for us, overwhelming to be honest. We were used to our tiny room with all it’s flaws, the big stairs and the shared toilet I had to crawl to with all it’s three heavy doors. We even were used to the fact that because of all this, it had made my girlfriend more my care taker than the love of my life.
While days passed and the home carer came almost every day to do household chores, get Shannon dressed and help her back in her wheelchair. I more and more began to realize that there’s a big possibility this could be my future, more than I wanted to admit.
We shared so many similarities, that it frightened me to the core. Bit by bit I began to see myself as an disabled person, something I’ve been trying to deny for so long.
The days after that I saw myself struggling. I couldn’t laugh, listen or even just act normal. After a while I decided I couldn’t take it anymore. The changes, my illness and the people around me.
So we returned to that tiny room with just the two of us and our pet rabbit, Tina Turner. Watching the time pass by and trying to arrange all of our appointments ourselves. We are not experts in it, we don’t know what to do but, with my girlfriend cooking us delicious meals while she sings and me fighting for disability rights behind my laptop.
We are perfectly ourselves, and the obstacles are less important again.
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