Travelling Interstate for My Sister’s 50th — And Doing It With a Body That’s Eternally Exhausted
I knew when I bought my flight to Sydney for my sister’s 50th that it would be an exhausting experience. Since my stroke, the debilitating fatigue I experience is only amplified by travel. Not only the airport lines and airplane, but the packing, planning and...Read moreI was adamant about still having some control over my new home. I refused to listen to therapists’ recommendations that I purchase an electric scooter to replace the rusty manual silver car that I no longer could drive, or modify my bathroom and install rails around my new home. In my state of denial I continued to stubbornly believe that putting in ugly disabled equipment was a waste of money and unnecessary when I was on my way to a 100 per cent recovery. Accepting any modifications to my home symbolised permanency and disability confinement, and suppressed any chance of hope. Those around me would assume I was no longer improving. I don’t think my therapists understood my state of mind, and often took my refusals personally. Of course their suggestions were right and in fact did seed the ideas. For example, after a while of getting around in cabs and trams and depending on lifts, I decided that a funky- looking scooter would improve my independence.