So I was taking lil Tyler to school
and I got to meet one of his friends!
Tyler was so excited to introduce me to him,
but that poor little babe!
He was in a wheelchair!

Bless my son's heart for looking past this kid's...
um....
Well you know it takes a special kid to have a crippled friend!
Wait
I mean
Not special! My son is not special
No, wait, I mean he ain't SPECIAL special
You know?

Anyways, so I met his friend and I'm not quite sure what to do here
I say
HELLO I AM TYLER'S MAMA
and this little kid looks me dead in the eyes and told me
"Hello ma'am, there's no need to yell"
I was in awe
He didn't sound handicapped at all!
I mean I didn't know if he would be able to understand me
But he did!

Who would have thought a wheelchaired kid
could speak and think just like any other kid who wasn't gimpy!

I am just so so proud of my son
for looking past this poor victim of
um...
deformities...
Cuz you know it's probably good for the disabled
to have a regular normal friend like my son!

Hopefully my son can make that kid happy
you know since people like that usually have such sad lives.
Golly I am just so proud of my son for taking pity on that kid!
I am such a good mother!

Speaking is an art
words like paint
we smear and spread out our ideas onto canvas

If you paint too fast-
**** it
you might make a mistake

Did you know paint can expire?
you think come one, paint?
paint can't go bad!
then you try and use it and its separated and chunky
and boom
your whole piece is ruined.

Words can expire too.
did you know that?
phrases and metaphors age turn ugly and contaminating just like the paint
they might have been usable once, but now
you'd better get some new words.

Like, when referring to someone who uses a wheelchair
people don't say they're crippled.
because that word has expired!

The same way simpleton was used to
refer to someone with intellectual disabilities
was is the key word there.
please for the love of god don't call anyone a simpleton

Lunatic was once used to refer to people with psychiatric disabilities
don't say the teacher who gave you homework on a Friday is a lunatic!

******* was used to refer to people with intellectual disabilities
but now you should NOT call anyone or anything *******!
because it is inappropriate and insulting

This isn't about taking away your words
it's about what you are taking away from people with disabilities
when you use language like that.
what you are stripping away from people
when you decide to use a word like

*******
gimp
deformed
disfigured

Freak
insane
lame
******

*****
spaz
stupid
whacko

Knock it off!
when you decide to use those words
it takes away from anyone who has a disability
or anyone who every will.

Use a different word
use swear words
find a thesaurus.

Get some new **** paint

Oh wow lookie there!
What a marvelous creature

If you look closely over there you'll be able to see it
a wild hidden disability!

Usually they are invisible to the untrained eye
But I, Stene Irwiv will show you how you can sometimes spot them!

Now all of them look different, but here are a few examples.

See that buddy over there? I've been watching over this lad for a while now
Notice how he walks slowly almost like a waddle?
He also stops to rest more often than the usual guy
He's not lazy! just sore.
Make sure to be careful and don't touch him unexpectedly!
See my friend here has Fibromyalgia, it causes widespread chronic pain.
It can also cause migraines, mood swings, and memory issues
but remember, since these symptoms are usually invisible on the surface
this disability is often overlooked or even called fake by strangers,
but also doctors! ******!

This next one is a doozy
my mate right here looks pretty average on first glance,
but if you look closer you might be able to spot what makes her so special.
This lovely lady right here has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.
Because of the defect in her collagen,
her skin and ligaments are unusually stretchy.
if you were to touch her skin you might feel that it is very soft and fragile
and when she stands you might see her knees and other joints bend back farther that usual.
She's not just 'double jointed' though,
because of the stretchy ligaments, she and others with EDS are at risk of joint dislocations and chronic pain everyday!
EDS doesn't just cause pain though,
it can also increases a person's risk of ***** rupture or heart problems!
Double ******!

Remember though, these disabilities can't always be seen
so don't judge people prematurely.
You see, the person you think is lazy for sitting in the handicapped seats on the bus,
or maybe the person parked in a handicapped spot who appears to be fine,
or even just the people walking down the street,
any one of them might have an invisible disability.
but just because they are invisible, that doesn't mean they aren't real.
I hope you all enjoyed the show.
I'm Stene Irwiv, and this has been Chronic Illness Hunter.

When did your symptoms start?
Listen doc, it's a funny story
I thought those 'symptoms' were normal
they've been here since I can remember
The question you should be asking is
when did I realize the symptoms were a problem?

When did you realize the symptoms were a problem?
I'm not fully convinced all of them are so bad
yeah I could do without the pain
but what you call my disability
I call my special abilities
Who else do you know can tell the weather with their body?

When did the pain start?
pfft I'm not sure
It started out so quiet
and then began to grow
as time goes by
I begin to realize that the pain
is the only constant in my life
but don't worry Doc
it only hurts when I'm awake

My Cat jumps up onto my lap
I feel sharp pain
my rib goes snap
I cannot move I cannot *****
For in my chest is an awful stitch
My Cats behind is a lil too thicc
For my joints are as strong as a brittle old stick
It’s not her concern
How I wiggle and turn
I’m just trying to put back
That rib that made me go ack

Mama always said my body is a temple but if this is a temple then I never want to worship again
I was born into this temple with the foundation already cracked
The ceilings are caving in
The floor boards wail in pain even with the most gentle of steps
I reach for the handle of the front door to get out but the hinges crack and break leaving nothing but agony in my wake
the widow screen is ripped and the wires are sticking out
the glass is either in shards gripping to the windowsill or in a pile on the floor
I can’t get out of this **** temple but staying here is killing me
Temples are meant for praising God but I only want to curse him for trapping me here
I wish I could tear down this place buts its already doing a pretty good job of doing that on its own.
Let me out of this **** temple.

I wake up to an alarm set ten minutes before I need to get up because I never know how long it will take me to get out of bed.

My leg is asleep because at some point in the night my hip did the hokey pokey and turned itself around right out of its socket

But hey, my joint problems make me cool because like a transformer I bend and expand putting my joints back into their place.

See I'm like a cheap Halloween decoration,
Because my skeleton is falling apart at the seams
and if that's not bad enough, the only person it's scaring is me.