Thanks for reading my 1st post as I begin fighting for proper consequences for disability-related discrimination!
I'd like my blog and my campaign that it's linked to to expose what has been, for me, the most horrible thing of my tumour-experience - the way I am often treated now my tumours have made me "dis-abled" - what a lovely word!
I now work as a freelance musician which I really enjoy but which can be exhausting, particularly with the enormous fatigue which has affected me since my last tumour - over 10 years ago!! I finally stopped for Christmas only a few days before and headed home for a nice Christmas break with my family - sometimes not relaxing when around my annoyingly energetic nephew and neice but nice all the same.
However, only a few days after Christmas Day I was reminded that my sightloss apparently means that I apparently shouldn't expect the same treatment as other adults.
During a nice girl's shopping-day with my sister and mum my sister was stopped by a friend and I was introduced. Polite greetings were exchanged between us and then the conversation moved to other stuff about people I don't know. I stayed for a few minutes out of politeness and then when I still didn't know who my sister and her friend were talking about I went to look at something else in the shop - cushions, I think.
Apparently when I left, this stranger demanded to know "Is your sister totally blind? Only she's wandering off."
It's lovely to know that your personal information becomes everyone's public business when you're dis-abled isn't it?
And that it's OK to talk about you as an errant little child that needs to be kept under control.
Obviously this on its own was disgraceful. Even worse was that my sister didn't seem angry about it when she told me about it later, In fact she seemed to find it quite funny.
As you can see from my blog-title these social insults are by far not the worst I've had to deal with!
I'm writing a musical show - called "Facing The Music" - about my experiences since my 2nd brain-tumour as a teenager, about how I was treated socially while facing death.
But - even worse - how I'm expected to accept that sometimes I'll be treated in a way most people would find totally unacceptable.
Because I am dis-abled.
What a load of rubbish!
Please listen to the attached script-excerpt and please do get in touch.
I didn't survive 3 brain-tumours to be treated like this!
I'll keep working on Facing The Music and blog as it progresses but PLEASE get in touch if you'd like to get involved with this as it develops. I can't campaign on my own!
