When life deals a rotten hand
I wasn’t born deaf, I had normal hearing and eyesight, as a child I didn’t even know deaf people existed, though I’d seen a blind person before.
My parents took us travelling round the world, living a privileged life, meeting famous people, doing amazing things. I scored high in school and was a happy child without problems.
Living in the outback of Australia for a time I was given a vaccine shot after being bitten by a spider. The vaccine was faulty, we didn’t know that at the time but it caused damage to the nerves in the ears. Time passed, I went from top student to getting into trouble for not listening or paying attention, When my parents were told I had some hearing loss they tried to pretend it wasn’t real, didn’t think I needed a hearing aid and sent me to a normal finishing school where I struggled to keep up grades.
My self esteem was low and I foolishly married the first guy to ask me out.
My husband was like my parents refusing to accept I had some restricted hearing, so I continued trying to ignore it too, struggled through university and brought up my family.
My husband was an aggressive violent man, but with my low confidence I put up with the abuse and unhappiness. Till one day my world changed forever.
He attacked me, this time worse than ever before. I awoke in a hospital room, I could smell the hospital odors, but my vision was hazy and the already dulled sounds were now muted almost totally. He's used a table to attack me, fractured my skull, damaged one of my eyes badly, ruptured my ear drums and caused further damage to the ear nerves.
I was aghast, frightened in one fell swoop the world had becaome darker, silent and sninister. Recovery was slow, but if nothing else I’m a survivor like so many of us. I’ve long since moved on from the man who did this, I’ve reluctantly accepted my status as deaf/ blind.
I‘ve been offered very little support in coping with my circumstances, and unskilled in sign language I’m in a limbo between the deaf and hearing worlds.
At first, when people spoke to me and I couldn’t understand them I would say, ’Sorry I’m deaf can you repeat that’.
I thought about the statement and what I was saying.
Why should I say sorry that I cannot hear as they do….I’m not deaf blind through choice, but I am not ashamed of who I am and the deafness which is now a part of me.
I dislike the term ’disabled’ I prefer to say I’m ’physically restricted’…I’ve come to the conclusion that most physically restricted people are better than many able bodied people, with the other senses becoming sharper and a stronger empathy for others. I am able to hold my head up and announce…I’m proud to be part of an empathic understanding community.
I wasn’t born deaf, I had normal hearing and eyesight, as a child I didn’t even know deaf people existed, though I’d seen a blind person before.
My parents took us travelling round the world, living a privileged life, meeting famous people, doing amazing things. I scored high in school and was a happy child without problems.
Living in the outback of Australia for a time I was given a vaccine shot after being bitten by a spider. The vaccine was faulty, we didn’t know that at the time but it caused damage to the nerves in the ears. Time passed, I went from top student to getting into trouble for not listening or paying attention, When my parents were told I had some hearing loss they tried to pretend it wasn’t real, didn’t think I needed a hearing aid and sent me to a normal finishing school where I struggled to keep up grades.
My self esteem was low and I foolishly married the first guy to ask me out.
My husband was like my parents refusing to accept I had some restricted hearing, so I continued trying to ignore it too, struggled through university and brought up my family.
My husband was an aggressive violent man, but with my low confidence I put up with the abuse and unhappiness. Till one day my world changed forever.
He attacked me, this time worse than ever before. I awoke in a hospital room, I could smell the hospital odors, but my vision was hazy and the already dulled sounds were now muted almost totally. He's used a table to attack me, fractured my skull, damaged one of my eyes badly, ruptured my ear drums and caused further damage to the ear nerves.
I was aghast, frightened in one fell swoop the world had becaome darker, silent and sninister. Recovery was slow, but if nothing else I’m a survivor like so many of us. I’ve long since moved on from the man who did this, I’ve reluctantly accepted my status as deaf/ blind.
I‘ve been offered very little support in coping with my circumstances, and unskilled in sign language I’m in a limbo between the deaf and hearing worlds.
At first, when people spoke to me and I couldn’t understand them I would say, ’Sorry I’m deaf can you repeat that’.
I thought about the statement and what I was saying.
Why should I say sorry that I cannot hear as they do….I’m not deaf blind through choice, but I am not ashamed of who I am and the deafness which is now a part of me.
I dislike the term ’disabled’ I prefer to say I’m ’physically restricted’…I’ve come to the conclusion that most physically restricted people are better than many able bodied people, with the other senses becoming sharper and a stronger empathy for others. I am able to hold my head up and announce…I’m proud to be part of an empathic understanding community.
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