What if?

Think about this, what if you were disabled? What about in a wheelchair? What would your situation be like? Do you think you could handle the surgeries, the stereotypes, and any other difficulties that come with it? What if you needed the additional medical care and equipment such as a wheelchair, an oxygen tank, or any other piece of equipment that may be necessary to your life and were told that certain programs and systems could not help any longer? Do you have a family member, a friend, an acquaintance that is disabled?

 As someone with a disability just like millions of other Americans we are worried.  We are worried about our health, healthcare and the services we may require. Many of us were born “disabled”, never asking why me? We don’t complain about the difficult situations we have been put into whether an operation or anything else. There are always positives you can look for no matter how dire your situation is at a given moment.

I am lucky because I can do simple tasks such as dressing myself, feeding myself, etc. There are many people in this country who cannot.  No matter how lucky I am the fact is my needs are different than those who are “able” bodied.

Think for a minute, what if? What if Medicaid transfers to individual states without federal assistance? What if this has negative implications to the states financially? What if those negative implications cause the people who truly need the assistance to not be able to get the things they NEED daily because the states just cannot afford it? What if Medicare is repealed? What if social security disability is repealed? Not to mention what if the state funded programs that are necessary for those that are disabled are cut such as respite care or some type of rehab program. What about the Doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, home health aides, social workers who work tirelessly to make sure that their patients have all they need and are unable to do their jobs and help people and ultimately could end up out of work as well?  Think about how we feel and by we, I mean the disabled community. We aren’t whining, or complaining. These are legitimate concerns.

I do use these services because of my medical situation and by no means are these programs perfect and may never be perfect, but they sure do help in different ways and IF these things are taken away it will be much harder to survive. As I said these are not perfect systems and I have had my struggles with them. In a world of social media, I have needed crowdfunding as a means for additional support for those things that are needed in a time of medical crisis or just day to day living. Maybe I am just worrying too much or maybe not. The truth is none of us know what will happen. Will those who say everything will be ok fight for me and the disabled community and help in times of need should things take a turn for the worse?

Let’s hope that things end up for the better and that these programs no matter how big or small, can continue to grow and help the people who truly need it. You don’t have to have to agree with my feelings, but hopefully it at least made you think.