Funky Dynamite
06-03-2006, 09:28 PM
Hello Everybody,
I would like to introduce myself. I do this everytime I join a forum, though usually not to this detail, so bear with me.
You can call me Funky Dynamite. I am 32 years old and was born in a small town in Illinois named Highland. I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I cannot talk or walk normally. I require the use of an augmentive speech device and power wheelchair. I now live in St. Louis, Missouri.
I had a rough childhood, to keep it short: Abusive parents. I am of a very strong personality and constitution, hence whatever life has thrown at me I overcame. I never thought much about my disability, it was a part of me. Sure, I didn't like it, but I can't exactly get rid of it. That is I never thought much about my disability, until now....
That's why I'm here. I live on SSI, hence I am what you could call poor. I have little resources and my family offers little help. In 2005 Missouri's governor Matt Blunt in his infinite wisdom signed a bill that made drastic cuts to the state's Medicaid program. They cut funding to every single piece of equipment I need. They don't even cover oxygen machines for people anymore. This equipment not only augments my life but is at the center of my self image. Without it, I can barely manage to function. I feel like the government is trying to kill people like me and the articles I've found on the internet have only confirmed this suspicion. I have lost hope. What hope I had for the future is gone. I'm deathly afraid that I eventually will end up on the streets or in a home....
I need to talk to people with CP, I try to talk to my wife and brother who live with me. My brother has CP too but nowhere near as bad as mine. They don't really understand what I'm going through. They do not know what is it's like to be in this chair and depend such equipment. They do not know the rage I feel because I feel so damn helpless.
After an exhaustive search on the internet, this is the only forum that I found that is not for "kids" or "parents of kids with CP." There seem to be people on here, adults, with Cerebral Palsy.
I'm wondering if anybody else out there is feeling like I do. I mostly am looking for emotional support from peers, adults with CP, and what they've done, if anything, to remedy their situation.
I would like to introduce myself. I do this everytime I join a forum, though usually not to this detail, so bear with me.
You can call me Funky Dynamite. I am 32 years old and was born in a small town in Illinois named Highland. I was born with Cerebral Palsy. I cannot talk or walk normally. I require the use of an augmentive speech device and power wheelchair. I now live in St. Louis, Missouri.
I had a rough childhood, to keep it short: Abusive parents. I am of a very strong personality and constitution, hence whatever life has thrown at me I overcame. I never thought much about my disability, it was a part of me. Sure, I didn't like it, but I can't exactly get rid of it. That is I never thought much about my disability, until now....
That's why I'm here. I live on SSI, hence I am what you could call poor. I have little resources and my family offers little help. In 2005 Missouri's governor Matt Blunt in his infinite wisdom signed a bill that made drastic cuts to the state's Medicaid program. They cut funding to every single piece of equipment I need. They don't even cover oxygen machines for people anymore. This equipment not only augments my life but is at the center of my self image. Without it, I can barely manage to function. I feel like the government is trying to kill people like me and the articles I've found on the internet have only confirmed this suspicion. I have lost hope. What hope I had for the future is gone. I'm deathly afraid that I eventually will end up on the streets or in a home....
I need to talk to people with CP, I try to talk to my wife and brother who live with me. My brother has CP too but nowhere near as bad as mine. They don't really understand what I'm going through. They do not know what is it's like to be in this chair and depend such equipment. They do not know the rage I feel because I feel so damn helpless.
After an exhaustive search on the internet, this is the only forum that I found that is not for "kids" or "parents of kids with CP." There seem to be people on here, adults, with Cerebral Palsy.
I'm wondering if anybody else out there is feeling like I do. I mostly am looking for emotional support from peers, adults with CP, and what they've done, if anything, to remedy their situation.
Sponsor
lawade84
06-07-2006, 06:10 PM
Hi! I searched for a forum for adults with CP for years before I found this one. Judging by all the other forums out there, you'd think people's CP magically vanishes by the age of nine :rolleyes: .
As for the government cutting funding for your equipment, I find it sickening. Things like that make me think that *most* able-bodied people can't (or refuse to) empathize with people who are disabled. They seem to think that "it" could never happen to them, and therefore disability-related issues are of little importance.
As for the government cutting funding for your equipment, I find it sickening. Things like that make me think that *most* able-bodied people can't (or refuse to) empathize with people who are disabled. They seem to think that "it" could never happen to them, and therefore disability-related issues are of little importance.