(no subject)

[stonebender]

I have the same diagnosis as the man who wrote this opinion piece. It gets close to how I feel on the subject.

Comments

[wild_irises]

Parts of it sound like you could have written it. Thanks for sharing!

[stonebender]

I felt that way too, but I wasn't sure if that was just me. It gets pretty close to my conflicted feelings around end-of-life decisions. As I'm sure you've heard from me before, I believe people should be able to decide when life is not valuable to them anymore. I also know it's really easy to buy into the "my life is a burden to others and I should end it." It's also a fact that getting the proper durable medical equipment and medical treatment and other community-based services can have a massive effect on people's quality of life. If I didn't have attendant care or access to a power wheelchair, BiPAP and now a cough assist, life could be a lot more difficult than it is. It's also true if those services were expanded I could easily do a lot of things that just aren't possible for me in my present circumstances. There are lots of people with disabilities getting institutionalized only because there are no other way to get services to have a life.

[jesse_the_k]

I know it's crumbs, but it's thrilling that the NYT are publishing essays from disabled people who have thought hard and written well on our experience.

[stonebender]

It is thrilling. I often feel this conversation happens around me rather than with me. You know a bunch of able-bodied folks deciding what my life is worth or what quality-of-life is for me. It's refreshing to have a person with a disability who can talk with more depth than just whether someone should have the right to make the decision. Talking about what may affect a person's decision that really shouldn't affect it is an important part of the conversation that doesn't get expressed.