Meet Em
Em is a 27-year-old from the South of England who has been living with chronic illness for roughly five years. It took her a long time to come to terms with her health and the new limits on her abilities. Life can be challenging when you're always feeling unwell, but Em finds her passion and drive through connecting with and helping other chronically ill individuals online.
Continue reading to learn more about her inspiring journey and story.
Challenges with Health and Travel
When it comes to my health issues and travel, I've faced many challenges and had to accept some hard truths. Before I became sick, I used to travel a lot with my family. I've been incredibly privileged to have visited many places across the globe and feel incredibly lucky to have had those experiences.
Adjusting to New Realities
Unfortunately, my health is at a point now where I struggle to be in a car for long periods, so international travel has become something I may be unable to do again, at least for the near future. I had to accept that travel would look different for me now and that if I wanted to enjoy any holidays, I'd have to carefully consider my needs.
Planning Travel with Health in Mind
Things like breaking up the journey—if I'm being driven someplace, can we stop more often? Also, I have to consider staying places longer if I want to explore the area fully, as I will only be able to adventure so much in one day and may need entire rest days in between. The hardest one to come to terms with is that even if I plan carefully, I may end up in a flare on holiday and have to stay in for the entire time.
Financial and Practical Constraints
Due to both financial reasons and the reasons above, I haven't actually been on holiday or traveled properly in over five years. We can't really afford a holiday anyway, especially one longer to accommodate my needs. But even if we could, would we want to waste our incredibly limited funds on a holiday that might end up with me being unwell and my partner staying in to care for me? We'd rather spend any extra money we have on doing something local and for a day, with friends or family—something much safer and more accommodating to my health.
Holding onto Travel Memories
Travel still means so much to me, and I hold my memories of traveling with my family growing up very close to my heart. But acceptance is key, and I had to accept that travel is not viable for me currently. Maybe one day we'll have enough funds, my health will be more managed, and we'll find the perfect location that's accessible, relaxing, and has all we need. But for the time being, that's just not achievable. It might suck sometimes, but it's something I've made my peace with. Plus, it helps that there is a lot more in my life to worry about and concern myself with these days than when I'll next be able to travel, so I stay preoccupied with all that!
Losing and Dediscovering Myself
Disability pride is a complex topic for me, but an important part of my journey, as well.
When I started my Instagram account a couple of years ago, I was struggling to come to terms with being disabled. I felt shame over how little I could provide for my loved ones and the world, struggled with internalized ableism, and found it hard to imagine disability being a part of my identity. Some of the reasons I started my Instagram account were to gain confidence in my new identity, connect with other members of the community, and try to feel like "me" again despite my health issues.
When I got sick, I really felt like I lost myself. I was always the most energetic, go-getting, active of my friends. I was bubbly, outgoing, and always down for a new adventure, and my health stripped all that from me for a long time. I started to feel like a shell of who I once was, and my confidence dropped to almost nothing.
The Long Journey to Disability Pride
So, disability pride, for me personally, is about the long journey I've gone through over the past couple of years. From a sad, lost shell of a person to a (mostly) confident, thriving, and proud disabled person. I not only found pride in my disabled identity, but I also rediscovered the fire within me and finally felt like myself again. By embracing my disabled identity, I also found a way to embrace all non-disability-related parts of myself too.
It's been a long journey and will continue to grow and change as I do, but finding that disability pride within myself has been transformative. I could not have done it without the unwavering kindness and support.
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