My Supports

When I wake up in the morning, I am grateful for basic supports such as air-conditioning because I live in a very hot country, running clean water because I know what it is like not to have water all day long, food in the fridge and electricity for that fridge.  Those are basics, but life would be hard without them.

Having a car to get me to work every day is a support which is easily taken for granted, and then the financing that is needed to purchase petrol and food and pay all the bills is also essential.

To get down to some small but important supports: I am grateful for my reading glasses since my eyes have deteriorated in the past year, and I am grateful for my exercise shoes that allow me to stay fit with running and tennis. The support of health insurance allows me to get my checkups and medicines.

These supports allow me to survive in today's world and in my current lifestyle, but there is the more meaningful support of family and friends that keep us striving for our lifestyles and wanting to survive. My husband, my best friend, my parents, siblings and my children are all a source of support to my well-being. They offer the support that money cannot buy, which is emotional support.

Beyond that, I am fortunate to have the luxury of more support in my daily tasks. The support of our housekeeper who can clean, cook or shop for us when I am too busy, is an absolute treat on the hectic days. The nursery manager, who is a very capable and reliable lady, is a massive support for me in our daily responsibilities and for the days that I cannot be at work.

Without any of the above supports, I would struggle to find the time to get everything done, or to get everything done to the quality I would like. There would be more demands on me and there is a limit of how much we can each take on every day.

Without the support of my husband, and the rest of my family and friends, I would struggle to stay motivated and interested in all the tasks we need to tackle every day.

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The disability that came to mind immediately is being blind.

I feel that in addition to all the supports I already have, I would have a very hard time with such a disability and a lot more support would be needed.

I would not be able to drive to work, and so I would need transportation as a major support for my daily tasks. I would not be able to work as I do now, with computers and child observations and moving around as I do. That would require a change in work tasks and the support of other staff members to take on these tasks.

I would need a walking stick to get around at home and at work, and I would need a walking dog to get around in the neighborhood. I may even need to move to a neighborhood that caters to such disabilities with a beeping crossing signal and brail labeled packages in the grocery store.

I would need a replacement to my phone which I utilize all day long; I wonder if there is a phone which has brail keys and reads out messages. I think I would need an assistant for my daily home tasks of cooking, taking care of my kids and all the responsibilities that we have.

As I am looking at the screen and typing away, I see that my career, my studies and a lot of my duties as a mother and wife would be jeopardized with such a disability. Without the necessary supports, a blind person could not live the life we consider normal day to day life.