Intermittently Awesome

I was 35 when I first identified myself as disabled, but that choice came with two realizations: first, that I had been disabled to varying degrees most of my life, and second, that I was now more disabled than before.  I'll be discussing the details in future posts, but one defining feature of my experience is the unpredictability of my symptoms. I don't know from one day to the next what work I'll be capable of doing. I don’t know what time I'll begin to function on any given day, how long I'll be able to sustain any activity, and how much time I'll need to recover from it. Tasks that come easily today may prove impossible tomorrow.  I've accepted that some of the activities I once enjoyed, such as ice skating, martial arts, and horseback riding, now pose too great a risk. However, it’s been more difficult to recognize the things I can still do safely but only occasionally and not necessarily when I'd prefer.  I earned my PhD in five years and complete