March, 2006
I'm one of those news junkies that has to read a couple of papers each morning to keep up with what is going on in the world. In recent years I've begun to include some of the on-line news services to assuage my habit during the day. Last week one of the stories about the goalie for the Women's Olympic Ice Hockey team was titled "Goalie defeats Epilepsy". This article caught my eye, but after reading it I was left with a major question; "How does one defeat a disability?"
The word "defeat" generally means the failure to achieve victory over something, or when used as a transitive verb (defeated, defeats) to win a victory over something or someone. Either of these assumes that there is a winner and a loser, like in a football game or contest of some kind. But try as I might I can't seem to associate victory/defeat with having a disability. This is not a win/lose situation. Unfortunately many in our society still seem to think that if people with disabilities can just work hard enough the disability will go away/no longer affect their lives. It just doesn't work that way.
The life of a person with a disability will always be affected by that disability. We don't defeat it - we learn to live with it. Our choice is how that disability affects our lives. We have a choice of letting the disability dictate how we will live our lives or finding ways to live our lives with our disabilities. When my son was diagnosed with a developmental disability we knew there was no "cure". This was not a cold that he could take some medications for, spend a couple of days in bed and then it would go away. He could not defeat this disability - it was going to be there permanently. However, he could develop the tools/skills necessary to live independently in our modern world. This is no different from people without disabilities.
I remember vividly my stepfather telling a little boy almost nightly to "Stop that nervous twitching!". Yea, Right Dad. Don't you think I would if I could? Maybe if I could just not let him see me when I have the urge to twitch. I needed to figure out some ways that will allow me to be myself and still remove the constant demeaning comments. Of course back in the 50's no one had heard of Tourette's Syndrome or Tick disorders.
The woman in the article hadn't defeated Epilepsy, she had learned to live with it. Maybe she took medication to lessen the seizure frequency and severity, maybe not. In any event she is achieving her goals and dreams - living independently and enjoying her chosen sport. She and her team have defeated their opponents in their first two games. I wonder if the headline would have been "Goalie Loses to Epilepsy" if her disability had prevented her from making the team, or perhaps if they had lost those first two games? If you have epilepsy, or know someone that does, the Epilepsy Network of Santa Cruz County is here for you. Since this is a small all volunteer organization, their resource center is open by appointment only. You can check out their information and link to other Epilepsy related sites at www.epilepsynetwork.com, email them at info@epilepsynetwork.com or call them at 831- 475-9110.
Everything in life doesn't have to be a win/lose proposition. Remember - Disability is a random
event that can occur in any life, at any moment.
- Michael Bradshaw, Central Coast Center for Independent Living