Disability

A debate on a chat board I post on got me thinking about the phrase disability and what it means to me. From a medical model I do have a disability: my ears do not work as they should. From a personal viewpoint I am not disabled.

A disability is something that hinders a person's life. My hearing loss enriches my life. It is as much a part of me as my brown curly hair, my Russian heritage, or my long second toe. Some may say that my hearing loss is a disability because it affects my ability to communicate. That is a struggle I have. But it is only a struggle to those that make it a struggle. One on one, I am usually fine. It is noisy or crowded places where I run into trouble. However this is also how I know the people that truly care for me and respect me. They are the people that make these kinds of situations work for communication. The problems are only for spoken communication, however. Any environment with light works for ASL.

Even as a child I didn't accept myself as impaired. I won't do so as an adult. If my ears were perfect I wouldn't be writing this blog, I wouldn't have my current occupation, I would not have met my bridal party members, I would not have a deaf cat. I have no idea who I'd be
today with "perfect" ears, all I know is I would not be me.

So I'm perfect the way I am. The only thing wrong with me, in my mind, is a kidney functioning at 30% and a bulging disc in my neck. The rest is as it should be.