Ok, so I have a brother who has Cerebral Palsy. I happen to go the the store today and I seen a child who has the same thing. Only difference between him and my brother is that my brother is wheelchair bound (has been all his life) but the boy I seen today was actually walking with the help of his mother holding on to him from behind. I started to cry... (which seems to be nothing new these days) but she brought him over and asked if I was ok, because she noticed that I seen him and started to cry. I said ya in which she replied "Don't feel sorry for him, even though he is different he is happy" I told her I didn't feel sorry for him but that my brother has the same thing and is wheelchair bound and that I haven't seen him since before I had my son which was exactly 2 years a 3 months ago. She asked why I haven't seen him. So I told her that I don't have a car to go see him because he is about an hour away from were I live.
Then we got on the discussion of what it is actually like having a family member that has a "problem" like Cerebral Palsy and I told her it was hard growing up because I would go to school and see all kinds of kids who had either mental problems or a physical problem and kids would pick on them. I normally would go off on the kids that were picking on them and the kid being picked on always asked why I was sticking up for them. The only thing I could tell them is that 1. no one deserves that and 2. I have a brother who has both mental and physical handy caps. Nine times out of ten those kids became my friends.
Its sounds weird to most people when I say this. But to me, I feel more comfortable around people who have mental or physical problems than I do around what everyone considers a "Normal" person. I have had people tell me I should work as a CNA or RN that work with the handy capped. I would love to, but I can't do it because when you work with people like that you start to really care of them and when either 1. they are hurt or 2. they pass on its hard. But for me I would take it extremely hard. I mean my mother called to tell me a few months ago that my brother was having half of his stomach removed and I lost it. I knew he would make it out ok, but there was still that underlying uncertainty that got to me.
Sorry I know its long and might not make sense to some but I figured I would share. Now here is a question for you.
When you were growing up what was it like? Meaning, was there a bad stigma stuck to people who had mental or physical problems or was it more accepted?
Then we got on the discussion of what it is actually like having a family member that has a "problem" like Cerebral Palsy and I told her it was hard growing up because I would go to school and see all kinds of kids who had either mental problems or a physical problem and kids would pick on them. I normally would go off on the kids that were picking on them and the kid being picked on always asked why I was sticking up for them. The only thing I could tell them is that 1. no one deserves that and 2. I have a brother who has both mental and physical handy caps. Nine times out of ten those kids became my friends.
Its sounds weird to most people when I say this. But to me, I feel more comfortable around people who have mental or physical problems than I do around what everyone considers a "Normal" person. I have had people tell me I should work as a CNA or RN that work with the handy capped. I would love to, but I can't do it because when you work with people like that you start to really care of them and when either 1. they are hurt or 2. they pass on its hard. But for me I would take it extremely hard. I mean my mother called to tell me a few months ago that my brother was having half of his stomach removed and I lost it. I knew he would make it out ok, but there was still that underlying uncertainty that got to me.
Sorry I know its long and might not make sense to some but I figured I would share. Now here is a question for you.
When you were growing up what was it like? Meaning, was there a bad stigma stuck to people who had mental or physical problems or was it more accepted?
