What do we as humans think of life... Do we take it for granted that we will, despite all the hardship, war, hunger and disease that goes hand in hand with us that we will survive and live to a ripe old age. Do we learn as we grow up that out of all that plagues humanity there is an eagerness, a desire to fight back, among some of us, and that this desire, this striving for a good life, a life free of all the above is to be had at some cost.
The cost comes not in wealth but the lost of will-power, health, dignity and the ability to have what is rightfully yours/ours.......LIFE.
We all love life in many ways and with me it is now the right to be looked at as a person who still has all his faculties, still able to hold a conversation and not looked on as someone, who being in a wheelchair is a wee bit gar-gar. Not so.....Just because I / you, use a wheelchair does not condemn us to a lower standard of living, as a person to avoid in the street or someone to poke fun at.
We are all human and we all have the same basic fundamental right to be individuals, regardless of our sex and age. Who is to say that because I have Motor Neurone Disease I no longer have that right. I DO and so do you. Claim what ever you can out of society and take anything that will make your daily living easier. Enjoy what you can, go out and travel, see the world ( as someone I know of with MND is doing) and know that regardless of the severity of your disease that there is a time and place for all of us in this race that we call Man. Even the simple act of going for a 'walk' in your chair, maybe with your spouse / children or even the family dog can bring to you peace of mind and a breath of fresh air.
It is the fact that you can get out and into this flow of humanity and know, that without any doubt, on your part, that you belong. I BELONG and it is that feeling that will keep me going, knowing as I do that my body is slowly deteriorating, that I will become at some stage house-bound and maybe bed-bound .
But I also know that I am not alone. I have many friends in a like situation and that together we will win, maybe not the fight for life, but the right to be one of the human race and face whatever comes our way with determination and dignity and to be proud of who we are ..
If we have the love of family and friends and their support what more can we ask for in life...
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