Skip to main content

Here's your pasta...it's Cerebral Palsy right?

Friday night I went out to dinner with my parents. As I sat down in the booth I thought it would be like any other night out to dinner. Our waiter came and we ordered drinks. After I had given our waiter my ID then things change. I expected the typical "I will be right back with your drinks" instead I got, "it's Cerebral Palsy right?" 

WAIT! What? Wasn't expecting that one.

He then went on to say that he was a caregiver for a man that had severe Cerebral Palsy. The man couldn't talk but he had a device where he could type what he wanted to say with his forehead.

As the waiter left my dad proceeded to ask me "isn't it nice for someone to just outright say it. I mean you know he was thinking it".

The answer is YES!. It rarely  happens that someone just outright says it and I think that is why I was caught off guard. We tend to keep the obvious to a quiet. Like "I don't wanna say anything for fear of it offending her even though I really wanna know". Society just loves to think that staring or wondering is better when it really is not.

If you ask me I would rather you be upfront like that waiter because it makes everyone feel more comfortable. That waiter probably knew from working with the man that he didn't like people staring and would rather have people be honest. I mean it might be different for others but for me go ahead I love it when people are curious and bold enough to ask. Boldness is where you find beauty and where you jump into the unknown just to learn more.

So thank you to that waiter for your boldness and compassion for the disabled population.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pregnancy & Birth

 Hi there! I know I do not blog on here on a regular basis anymore but my baby is napping and I wanted a place where I could remember the beauty of my pregnancy and birth. So here we go... June 20, 2023: I found out I was pregnant! Cue all the emotions (excited, nervous, scared) and the now what!  June-July 2023: I had just switched to my husband's insurance so I didn't have a doctor or anything. Luckily, with Kaiser I was able to get in pretty quickly. You see I wanted to be seen pretty quickly because I was on medication. I have been on medication since I was 15 for my spasticity/shakiness in my hands. Mind you I was 30 when I found out I was pregnant so I have been on this medication 3 times a day for half of my life 😲. I had no idea how my body would react to being off of it or even the process of getting off the medication. At first I was getting varying opinions about whether to stop cold turkey or to stay on it. Eventually, I spoke with my neurologist (who I wasn't ...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE Job Interview

12:50 - stuck in traffic, literally have not moved for 5 minutes. My interview is at 1:00! What am i going to do? i take out the dreaded phone and dial the number of the lady i am interviewing with. i tell her i am stuck in traffic and am going to be late. She says "oh, thank you for calling, take your time, i appreciate you letting me know" PHEW! I am in the clear I knew it from the first few moments of talking with this lady that this was going to be different. she looked at me like a normal individual. she did not look tense or apprehensive when looking at me and answering questions. she just got me. the second question she asked me was how are you going to be a good support to these adults with disabilities? (thinking to myself this is the question i was born for). i explain to her that i have grown my whole life fighting for my rights and the respect/accommodations i need and now it is my turn to do that for others. i understand what individuals with disabilities nee...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Does It Mean to Have CP?

You know this month is CP awareness month so I thought it would be fitting to write about what I feel everyday..So here we go When you wake up and get out of bed and think man my leg muscles are tight. When you walk into a store and you get the looks. The looks of curiosity, looks of wow that girl sure walks different, looks that make you feel like you just don't fit in. When you go to pay and you are struggling getting that money or credit card out and you start to blush because you know that cashier or the person behind you is thinking "that poor girl". When you are asked to repeat yourself 2-3 times because that person can't understand you and you just want to say never mind. When you have to buy new shoes more often than normal because you ruined the toe part of your shoe or you have a hole on the bottom due to walking toe-heel instead of heel-toe. When you have to use adaptive tools like a button hook. When you can't open a water bottle or you spill your dr...
Post a Comment
Read more