Lovely Poem

This is beautifully written and so true!!

Taken from: http://rainflowermoon.wordpress.com

I am the woman in the wheelchair who sits for four hours in a state clinic because private doctors who take Medicaid are dwindling.
I am the mother who has to bounce from pediatrician to pediatrician because no doctor I’ve found will treat my child as a human being.
I’m the person on crutches who has to miss a vital doctor’s appointment because their cab was late.
I’m the kid in school who got called names because the other kids thought I was different.
I’m the caregiver who has to deal with a despondant and/or combative person on a daily basis because it’s tougher to get services. There are too many barriers and not enough advocates.
I’m the person who can’t get help because I “make too much” even though I don’t work.
I’m the person who sits at a table in a restaurant and gets more stares than a movie star because of how I eat/drink, and who I’m with.
I’m the person who gets stares of wonder when I tell them I smoke, drink, have sex, or what have you and have someone(s) in my life who love me.
I’m the person who has been institutionalized because I was considered “different” and I should be “locked away”
I’m the person who can finally live on their own, and in their own home because people cared enough to help me defy the odds.
I’m the sibling who fought against the other kids so that my disabled brother/sister could see that there are good people in the world besides our family.
I’m the activist who won’t remain quiet until all people with disabilities are seen AS PEOPLE rather than entities that are shuffled from place to place with rights just like everyone else.
I’m the person who can’t get into a woman’s shelter because there are none that are accessible.
I’m the person who has to be treated with eggshells because the support system has no experience dealing with a survivor that happens to be disabled, regardless of gender.
I am the person who has to fight for what others take for granted.
I am the person who doesn’t want pity, but gets it anyway because of my disability.
I am the person who has to say, “No thank you, I can do it myself.” and mean it, because people don’t seem to take me seriously.I wrote this, because I felt it need to be said.

~ by Jess on April 24, 2007.