Chronic Illness, Disability and Abuse: Staying Safe
MyRACentral and several other HealthCentral communities are
marking Domestic Violence Awareness Month with posts about the issue and
how it relates to chronic illness and disability. This is my contribution: Other posts and resources are on our
Domestic Violence Awareness Month page.
""Ow."
"Ease up a little, please."
"Not so hard."
Almost every time this attendant was scheduled, she'd used too much
force when assisting me in the shower, dressing or other personal tasks.
Almost every time, I'd have to ask her to be more gentle. I told
management about it, but not in a formal complaint - I was afraid of
reprisals from her or her coworkers. Then one day, as she was washing my
hair, she pressed harder and harder and harder on the back of my neck,
causing a severe injury. Finally, management made it safe for me to
complain. They asked me if I'd told her to stop that day in my shower
and I hadn''t. I had been incapable of speech, in shock that someone
would deliberately hurt me, just breathing through the assault, waiting
for it to stop. And it finally did. I never saw that particular
attendant again. But every day, chronic whiplash-like symptoms serve as a
reminder of what she did to me."
The rest of the post is here.
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