The Giving Hands

Laura @ Bums & Bellybuttons is a freelance artist and writer from North Carolina. She has a genetic disability, Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), or brittle bone disease. Due to her OI, she uses a wheelchair and therefore is very familiar with the local disabled community. Laura feels that it is important for people with disabilities to have a voice in the world, and she is proud to be a part of that collective voice.

I’d like to share this very positive post written by Laura — From the Beginning.

Let me tell you something about my world: The scenery rarely changes. As you may have guessed, it’s all bums and bellybuttons from where I sit. I’ve spent my life judging people by their belt buckles and now it’s time for me to pass on my wisdom.

I was born with a disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (aka “brittle bone disease”). Milk is not the answer to OI, because OI is not about calcium. It has to do with the collagen in the bones being poorly formed or lacking altogether. OI is a rare disease, but it’s slowly coming out of its shell.

But, this is not about OI. This is about the community of people with disabilities as a whole. The challenges we face. The obstacles we overcome. The barriers we barrel through. And the people who stand (quite literally in some cases) in our way.

Although people with disabilities make up the largest “minority” in the world, the non-disabled community still does not seem to quite “get it.” That community does not get that having a physical disability does not equal incompetency. A physical disability is not catching. It is not a sign of demonic possession. It simply is what it is: Different.

It is important to remember that disability can befall anyone at any time. I just happen to be a genetic mutation. Illness or accident can cause disability as easily and as readily as being born. Only a handful of people will escape joining this particular population. Some will die before they have the chance. Most will join by the default of getting older.

I am out to change the world by changing minds and opinions. I am offering an education through the simplest means I know: my own experience. I have been called bitter, sarcastic and philosophical. My views on the world are my own and have been shaped by the daily interaction with a variety of people ranging the spectrum from pitying to “I wish I could throw them under a bus.”

I will answer questions about what it means to be a person (more specifically, a woman) with a disability. Questions people have actually asked me (or other persons with disabilities) and ones supplied by my own imagination. This means discussing sex, drugs and rock & roll! I am open to receiving new questions, but make no promises as to answer them.

I brought my own set of wheels and I promise, it’s going to be an interesting ride.

So yeah, if you have any questions related to women and disability, you may want to direct your questions to Laura @ Bums & Bellybuttons: The View From Here.