My Supports

As I reflect upon the supports in my life the first thing that comes to my mind is that of the emotional supports that I depend upon.  I have been married for 26 years and the emotional support that I get from my husband drives me to believe that I can achieve my goals.  As I have spent many of the past years in school he has never given up on me and was always willing to do whatever was needed to help out so that my schoolwork was done.  Next, is the support of my siblings and children.  The relationships that I have with them are very important to me.  I communicate with many of them on a daily basis and consider them to be a huge part of my life.  On my time off I am typically hanging out with someone in my family.  

Another support that I depend upon is that of the computer.  I use the computer to do my daily work, stay in touch with others and find the latest sales, which impacts me financially.  If I was to loose the use of the computer many of the daily activities would essentially come to a halt.  I would not be able to send emails, which would impact my communication with family and friends as well as banking and other financial services such as online bill pay.  Life for me would truly be different if I no longer was able to use a computer.

My car is one of my greatest supports.  It allows me the freedom and independence of going where I choose, when I choose to go.  I can go to the store, go to see family, drive for entertainment or whatever I choose.  Loosing my ability to come and go and I please to me would be a very difficult thing to accept.

If I had to imagine a disability it would be that of losing my vision.  The loss of site would mean that I could no longer drive or travel independently.  It also would mean that I would not be able to use a computer to the degree that I use it today.  I may be able to buy programs to assist with this, but my use would still be limited and my desire to use it would be greatly reduced as it's often the pictures that I see on the computer that I enjoy the most.  People who suffer from vision loss need supports to remain in place so that they may access their environment to their fullest potential.  As a society we need to be more sensitive to these individuals and imagine how difficult simple things such as going to the store can truly be.