Living Independently? You just said folks like you require assistance from others in order to live out your physical life. How can that be living independently? Okay, maybe you, yourself, didn't ask that, but I am imagining someone reading this might have. It's a valid question after all.
How can, I say that I and others similar to me, live independently, when we require assistance every single day and night, no holidays? Requiring a hand with all or some daily living tasks, such as, getting out of and into bed, personal hygiene, bowel and bladder routines, all kinds of housekeeping, shopping, pet care, cooking... all aspects of running a home, as well as assistance with employment? Trust me, that question is out there.
So let me clarify what some, I said, some people misunderstand. When someone says they live independently, many picture living without the help of anyone else. The answer is and always will be from many of us is...We live independently because of the arms and legs or assistance of others, helping us with what we can not do on our own, we are able to live independently.
That assistance, for me, is made possible by the PCAs, that God blesses me with each day and night, decade after decade. I was blessed with a bonus, thankfully my husband, who also uses a wheelchair, has what I call "regular muscles." He also takes care of my physical tasks where he can. You should see all the wrinkles he smooths out for me so I can sleep. Not to mention, moving strands of hair out of my eye, and all the other tasks I can no longer do where he can. Cooking is great fun, he is awesome at taking my directions, made possible by all the teaching I received in my four years of high school home economics cooking classes, dear Mrs. Agombar.
I lived on my own since I was seventeen, those classes helped me to not just eat Kraft Dinner, (I actually preferred No Name mac and cheese) Independent living was possible back then, thanks to PCAs and my family.
It is a wonderful thing to be able to live on your own single or married. Yes, we clearly depend on others to carry out the physical aspects of life, but it is as if we are doing it on our own, thanks to the arms and legs of other, who help us to do things the way we like them to be done.
A beautiful thing in my life.
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