Yesterday I was finally able to do my show-and-tell for Kinesiology, so I can now cross that off the to-do list! Hooray! I awkwardly went to the front of the classroom, holding a mug because that was the only thing I could think of to bring. I love tea and coffee, and the mug has a quote about baking, which is another love of mine. Perfect. I talked about those things for a minute and then people were allowed to ask questions. There was some silence so my Professor stepped in.
“Since this is a class about disabilities, and you have a disability (although that is just one small part of who you are, of course), could you please tell us about that and how your life has changed because of it?”he asked. I had sort of expected this, since my crutches/leg are obvious and I have had some conversations with my Professor about RSD/CRPS in the past few weeks. I gave my usual five second speech about what this pain disorder is, blank stares on everyone’s faces. Nobody had heard of it before and I’m sure that in my nervousness I didn’t do a great job of explaining.
But then my Professor wanted to know more. He wanted to know some ways in which having CRPS has caused my life to be different. I thought about it for a second but still didn’t give a great reply. I said something about having to adapt and become humble, asking for help more often. As I left the class later that night I thought about the question some more, knowing that there are more ways than just the few I listed.
So, here’s a list of some of my “Side Effects” of having CRPS:
- Creativity –> I’ve had to come up with numerous creative ways of getting around challenges, such as figuring out how to carry things while on crutches or learning how to put pants on while standing on one leg.
- Empathy –> Instead of simply seeing people with pain and thinking, “oh, sucks to be them,” I can now relate to them and somewhat understand what they are going through. {As a side note, I will never know exactly how someone else feels, because, after all…I’m not them! But I can try to understand their situation when I’m in a similar one}
- Friendships –> I have met so many amazing people along this journey. From hospital buddies to Ronald McDonald House families to people who also have CRPS, it’s been great to get to know wonderful people.
- Talking to Strangers –> Okay, this might not always be good (ya know, “stranger danger!”), but for the most part, it has been interesting to talk to random people who ask about what happened. True, sometimes it’s annoying or too invasive, but I’ve been able to have some great conversations while out shopping or sitting in a class.
- Spreading Awareness –> When I talk to people, I usually encourage them to look up RSD/CRPS so they can become informed about it. This has been especially good here at school since I have a lot of people going into the medical field in my classes, so I hope that some of them can take my story and learn for future patients. I’ve educated clueless doctors, family members, friends…and hopefully they’ll tell others, spreading more awareness about this horrific disorder.
- Experience –> Well, I can only help that this journey will make me a better Occupational Therapist one day. I’ve had plenty of experience as a patient so I am hoping that this enhances my abilities on the other side of things.
- Dependence on Others –> While I don’t particularly like this aspect, having RSD/CRPS has caused me to humble myself and ask for help. I’ve learned that I can’t live in isolation because people are very important, especially when you can’t do everything on your own.
- Strength –> They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And while sometimes it makes you wish it would kill you, the strength that blossoms out of struggle is beautiful.
- Respect for my Body –> There was a time in my life when I hated everything about my body. I didn’t want to look at it and just wanted to hide from the world. Now I can truly appreciate the functions of my body when things are working properly, because I sure do miss them when they’re gone.
Well, I know there are a million other lessons learned and “side effects” of my RSD/CRPS, but I’ll leave it at that for now. I have lots of studying to get done before Spring Break finally starts on Thursday, so I’d better get on that!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
College on Crutches 