I can’t stop thinking about what I heard
last night regarding the people who are faking having a disability. My first thought was very naïve. Why would
they pretend to have a disability? I and
others that I know would give anything to not have a disability or the pain
from an illness or injury. I know it is
all about money and not wanting to go to work.
They are at home enjoying life while collecting workman’s
compensation.
The clip that was on the
news was about the lady who could not work due to a shoulder injury. They
showed how she could spin the wheel two times using her bad shoulder on the
Price is Right show. She said that she
had great pain after that. She could be
telling the truth. Those with
disabilities do things they probably should not even try. There are consequences for those who try
things, but then there are the accomplishments.
I sure know about consequences and accomplishments. So far my consequences in dealing with this
limited vision have been small: just a burning oven mitt, sliced finger tip,
broken drinking glasses to name a few. I
solved the oven mitt by replacing it with a silicone oven, slowed down to peel
potatoes, and replaced clear glasses with colorful heavy mugs. Pat now hides his McQuinn Yankee replacement
drinking glass up in his office. The
first one broke while I was just cleaning off the kitchen counter.
When I was teaching young adults with
disabilities, I would show them videos of people with disabilities overcoming
their disability while facing a challenge.
I still remember the video of a young adult with a cognitive challenge
applying for a job and then becoming a valued employee. She was so happy to be working and making
money. Plus she had something to do, and
she was making friends.
That is another reason why I got so mad
about those faking, and not working.
There are so many people that want to work, but cannot find a job. Some employers just don’t want to hire one
with a disability. They are worried
about liabilities, accidents, and accommodations, just to name a few. It took me a year before I realized that I
needed to retire because I could not do a job like I had in the past. Productivity and quality would not be there. I
had too many things to relearn such as spelling, reading, writing, and use a
computer. Every day I worked on getting
better and relearning. I took classes from the Commission for the Blind and the
Med Center for Visual Impairments. I had to do homework that looked like
something that Easton age 5 would work on.
It was tracing pages to relearn to write. Finding letters and circling when found. I am still working on things like increasing
my short term memory. Just today, I could not remember how to turn on Pat’s
laptop. I tapped on the start icon over
and over and it still would not work.
Then Pat had to ask me if I was using the curser? No I had forgotten that was what you
needed. I use an I Pad most of the time
and all I do is tap on the icon.
If I went back, I would be a special
education teacher with a disability. It would not be fair to my students and
the staff. I did talk with a blind teacher
that told me that the district would have to make accommodations. They could get someone to do the computer
work, someone to drive me to job sites, and whatever else I needed. The district was fine with me retiring, and
even encouraged me to do that. Deep down
I would be worrying about the job stress causing another stroke that could do
even more damage to my brain, if I went back to my teaching job. I was also encouraged to apply for social
security. I did but knew I would not be
accepted. I was not disabled. I guess being legally blind is a disability
and was accepted on my first try. I had
worked two jobs most of my life, so I had a good work history that paid into
Social Security those many years.
I am
always thinking about what jobs I could do.
I think I could work in a laundry folding laundry. We do not live on a bus line, so it would be
hard to get to work. I would have
troubles with crossing streets. Pat does not want me to work, because he would
then be the one worrying about me. A blind lady told me about trying to cross Q
St and a car began honking and then yelling, “What are you blind lady.” All she could do was shake her white cane at
him. A blind man was killed on Center
St. a few years ago, so I do have a little fear of crossing busy streets.
Working and earning money for a job well
done helps one feel a sense of accomplishment.
When I worked in group homes, the guys would get their very small
paychecks, and were so proud of making money. They could not wait to go shopping
to spend that paycheck on a new CD or video.
Those disabled fakers lying to their doctors, employers, and the
government are missing that sense of accomplishment. Instead they just relish on the fact that
their lies are making them money.
Meanwhile there are those with real disabilities who cannot receive
services. They cannot find a job and
have to live with parents or in shelters if they have out lived their welcome
at home. Those are mostly the ones with
mental disabilities. Some end up doing
prison time having been used by others to break the law. Plus we help pay for the lying fakers through
our taxes and high cost of goods. We are
sick and tired of supporting you lying fakers!
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