Have you observed how society appears to recoil from the ill and disabled? Prior to becoming unwell with a persistent debilitating illness I was a fun flamboyant person with a lot of friends and the life and soul of numerous parties! My illness changed all that and one by one I lost my friends. I was no longer entertaining to be around, I was too fatigued to go to go out socialising and I had to frequently cancel arrangments due to my illness
Not only was I becoming uninteresting to my friends I seemed to be becoming nonexistent elsewhere in public. If I had to go out using my crutches or later on my wheelchair I noticed people would pretend I wasn't there or talk to my carer instead of me. I presume the only benefit was that I was never handed flyers!! I tried to stand out from the crowd by wearing fun vivid outfits plus accessories but it was still the same story. I was disabled consequently I didn't exist. I don't think it helped that my walking canes and crutches were the dull boring NHS types. They genuinely made me feel flat and boring.
It feels perplexing that up until moderately recently people with mobility concerns were more or less overlooked by the fashion and accessories business. It makes you wonder if in spite of disability discrimination legislation and inclusion of more disabled people into educational facilities and the place of work whether the attitude is if you have a disability you ought to go into hiding from view and stay indoors. I have noticed that in the past when I was in my wheelchair people would notice me then subsequently their eyes would slide away from me as if embarrassed.
I was constantly a follower of fashion when I could walk and so I didn’t see why that should change when I couldn’t. I was still the same person, just I was too exhausted to walk. Lucky for me some organisations have been taking notice and have become aware of of the lack of fashion in walking sticks and crutches and have started adding a bit of bling and colour to mobility aids. One such organisation is GlamSticks which is a non income organisation run by a disabled individual who was sick of boring grey mobility aids and decided to do something about it. On the website you will discover rhinestone encrusted walking canes, pom pom covered crutches, glittery canes, and handpainted canes. The review page is full of people thanking her for changing their lives. People who now are able to possess a walking stick to match their outfit on a smart cruise, or crutches designed to match a wedding outfit, or fun sparkly crutches for young children. One lady said her sister now felt confident about leaving the house when before her grey crutches had left her feeling ashamed and lacking in self esteem.
I believe going out with a sparkly cane instead of a grey boring one is a form of social empowerment. You are asking to be noticed. You are defying people to ignore you. You are fashionable and funky and not to be ignored. I am glad that some businesses and organisations at last are recognising the need in the world of mobility aids for colourful and fashionable canes and crutches. I am not invisible, I want to be noticed for the fun vibrant person I am.
Author Resource:-
For more information go to www.glamsticks.co.uk
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