"Debate" is only a structure of rules that we use in order to discuss arguments and those rules can be changed at any time to make them more accessible. Unfortunately, people in positions of power - especially when talking about individuals they know rather than abstract concepts, like 'disabled people' or 'black people' - are loath to give accommodations in their communities because they fully recognize that the skills that it takes to survive as a disenfranchised minority make those same individuals far better at learning new skills, retaining information, and networking than those who haven't gone through similar trials.
I have a hidden disability where if I eat a particular thing, the walls of my intestine are attacked by my immune system and destroyed. This can give me symptoms similar to dementia where my body isn't absorbing the calories it needs. I chose a local job and informed them that I was recently diagnosed, that my disability won't affect my ability to do my job, I just have to be careful. I remember struggling through basic daily tasks like having to do the dishes, but because my job at the time didn't require any fine motor skills other than typing, I was actually really really good at it - I learned to manage through the pain and confusion. I was doing the work of five people at my company.
My supervisor had no access to this information, so they would often make snide comments about our disabled customers, statements along the line of 'people will try to pretend they're disabled' for things as simple as customers complaining about a lack of hand-rails available at our facilities or a sudden hospitalization. I've been disabled all of my life and they didn't actually have any real impact on my performance or ability to help people, so I ignored their statements.
However, I eventually left the company because they refused to accept a doctor's note for my hospitalization and I couldn't schedule my colonoscopy procedure as a result. It was clear that the folks who worked there didn't believe that I was sick, and had just assumed that I was another person that they had swept up into their scheme of finding underemployed college millennials. They assumed that I was disabled and incapable of improvement, despite the fact that they knew I was actively recovering from an autoimmune disease which is not normally life-threatening nor even noticable when managed correctly.
Little did my company know that I received a message from the other top performer months ago stating that our company was going under and that they didn't have the resources to actually fulfill their contract requirements, but had stayed because it was a convenient commute while I was recovering from my illness. After I left, the company folded within the month, as they were no longer able to fulfill the contract requirements with their client.
After I left, my doctors discovered that my illness wasn't being treated adequately and we managed to cut out all of the allergen from my diet. My neurological symptoms are slowly going away and I feel 10 years younger again. However, due to a quarter of a century of 'living like this,' my discipline and tolerance for stress are incredible. I'm still mostly bed-ridden, but I've been playing competitive Pokémon to keep me busy until I heal enough that I can walk without a cane again.
I know exactly how you feel dude. A few months ago I posted a thread revealing that I was seriously ill after I was under fire for acting extremely impetuous in some Firebot threads. I stated that I would eventually have to have surgery for an unspecified illness that I would have to take a loan for. 4,500 to be exact. On Smogon, I felt safe from the hell that was my life. But, tomorrow will be the day.
The day I have surgery.
All my life I was the odd one out. When I was young, my parents took me on a vacation to New York for a week, and we strolled through Chinatown. My dad bought me a Winnie The Pooh plastic figure, and I played with it. When we got back to the hotel, it was time to go to bed. But I didn't want to. I thrashed and kicked and threw a tantrum, and in a fit of rage, I bit on to the leg of the toy, and immediately passed out. I woke up at the emergency room the next day, and it turned out that the toy was painted with illegal chemicals, and that I had lead poisoning. Because of this I suffered permanent brain damage that left me partially blind. My parents sued, but all the money in the world couldn't restore my health. Even though I was now blind and slightly narcoleptic, I didn't let it ruin my optimistic attitude. My family went back to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and bought a nice beach house near Myrtle Beach. Even though I had to take medication every day that would prevent me from falling into a coma, I still had a lot of fun.
Years passed. As a thirteen year old, I was finally drifting off to sleep when I heard my parents shouting at each other. Out of curiosity, I peaked downstairs. Suddenly, they stopped arguing, and glanced at me in contempt. In a calm voice, my mother told me to sit down, and then explained that I was adopted. I was, in all actuality, a Cajun-born mulatto baby who was adopted by two infertile jewish people, and my biological family was in shreds. Part of me didn't understand. I thought that I was stupid for not realizing that my parents had white skin and I had little brown skin. To this day I still cannot comprehend this.
As I became older, life started to get better. In 2009 I was diagnosed with autism, but I thought, "what else is new". I got good grades, a girl, a part-time job, and a four-year scholarship to Harvard University. That's right. HARVARD UNIVERSITY. I was so happy that in the middle of all my shortcomings, I had finally achieved something worthwhile. Something that I would be remembered for.
Then one night, everything changed.
I was walking home one night, when I collapsed. I completely blacked out. Even with my medication I had no control over what was happening. I felt a burning pain in my frontal lobe, and I screamed loudly. Blood gushed from my mouth, and soon, a woman in an empty mini-van quickly picked me up and I went to the hospital. Needles and shots and scans were consistent. I lay in my bed, thinking why my life had to be like this. One day, the doctor came back with a frown, and told me that I had a brain tumor.
The look on my mother and father's face is one that I will never forget. My mother wept loudly, and my father held her and whispered under his breath, "we failed".
And so, since then, my life has been torn to shreds. Scholarship? Gone. A blooming life ahead of me? Gone. I didn't see the point in living anymore. I had been given the boot.
I had dreams. I wanted to be an author, an investor. I wanted to be successful in life.
In Smogon, I also had dreams. I wanted to be a Team Rater, Contributor, Battle Server Moderator, Social Media Contributor, among other things. Even though at times I felt my journey was hopeless, I just continued for the heck of it.
One day, for my 23rd birthday, I received a present. I opened it. A Chromebook. That was cool, being able to surf the internet. Out of pure chance I stumbled upon Smogon. Smogon University was apparently a website about Competitive Pokemon. I remember that I used to be a fanatic at Pokemon circa 10 years ago. Curious, I joined the website after laddering on Pokemon Showdown for a few months, under the persona "Subjugator", which was short for "Substitute Jewish Alligator", a homage to my mother who passed of heart disease.
I don't know why I kept posting. I just got a kick. I met cool friends and bonds. I acquired a Rhyperior that would remain my partner until the end. In spite of the hell that was my life, Smogon was the fire that ignited me.
But, as some old wise guy once said, all good things come to an end. Tomorrow I will be operated, and the morality rate is 5%. Hopefully I will be able to continue being here, but most importantly-
If I am not online by Tomorrow Night, assume that I am dead.
I mean that. This experience has been awesome for me and I don't want it to end. I've talked with the surgeons and they gave me permission to update my status on websites at certain intervals.
