Navigating Beyond Your Diagnosis: What Do You Do Now?
In Memory of a Great Service Dog Team (Courtesy: MobilityDog.org)
In life, there are moments that define us. Not by the obstacles we face, but by how we navigate through them. Imagine where a person's world is abruptly shattered by a life-altering accident, a stroke or spinal cord injury, a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, or Cerebral Palsy. In that darkest hour, the future seems uncertain, and the path forward appears obscured.
So what do you do when the dreams you once held so dear and kept you motivated are gone?
For most individuals, the journey after such life-altering events is marked by challenges, adjustments, and profound introspection. Coping with the physical, emotional, and psychological toll of disability requires courage and resilience. However, within the depths of adversity also lies the potential for resilience, growth, and the discovery of newfound strength, if you dare to reach!
Amidst your challenges, there exists a beacon of hope – a path toward acceptance, adaptation, and ultimately, empowerment.
The Official Logo of MobilityDog.org
Finding Support and Community
Navigating life with a disability can be isolating, but you don’t have to face these challenges alone. Building a support network of friends, family, and fellow individuals with disabilities can provide invaluable encouragement and camaraderie.
Organizations like the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Parkinson's Foundation, the United Cerebral Palsy Association, Triumph.org (St. HOPE/Esther’s Park), Rancho Los Amigos, the Christopher Reed & Dana Reeve Foundation and our own, MobilityDog, offer a wealth of resources, support groups, and advocacy initiatives tailored to specific needs. Engaging with these communities can foster a sense of belonging and empowerment, reminding individuals they are not defined by their disabilities but rather by their resilience.
Young Woman Using a Mobility Service Dog (Courtesy: MobilityDog.org)
Embracing Adaptation and Resilience
What do you want to do? Push aside the frightening list of “things you can’t do” from your medical team. Instead, focus on what YOU want to do next! It is up to you and only limited by what you believe about yourself!
Focusing on what you “can’t” do will only serve to keep you stuck and isolated.
From assistive technologies and mobility aids (including mobility service dogs) to adaptive recreational activities like RampItUp.org) and career adjustments, there are countless avenues for individuals to reclaim their independence and pursue their passions. But even with these tools, your heart and mind must be focused on the possibilities and opportunities in front of you. Do you believe you are more than your diagnosis?
Janie Heinrich Exploring The Outdoors With Her Mobility Service Dog (Courtesy: MobilityDog.org)
My Personal Story
After a freak, life-altering accident, I faced these same questions. Would I allow myself to be defined by my disabilities (as my medical team saw them) or would I own my abilities and find a new way to continue to live my life on my terms?
For example, before my injury, I loved to dance! Dancing and having fun were food for my soul. After I received my sobering diagnosis, I still wanted to dance and invite fun into my life. I just had to find a different way to do it. But as I continued to honor that part of myself, I found joy and fun in what I could do.
"You can’t live in regrets. Deliberately choose your thoughts, attitudes and actions and move forward with your life!" (MobilityDog Founder, Janie Heinrich)
Cultivating Self-Compassion and Empowerment
Perhaps the most profound shift on the journey toward navigating your new life is the transition from a mindset of limitation to one of empowerment. Embrace self-compassion, celebrate even the smallest victories, and reframe challenges as opportunities for growth!
"Disability doesn't make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does." (Australian Author and Disability Rights Advocate, Stella Young)
Challenge societal perceptions and “barriers” of disability and embrace your inherent worth and abilities and rewrite the next chapter of your life. Transform those dark hours into light and triumph.
Popping the Bubble Wrap!
Here’s another story of living life on our terms despite our injuries. A woman I knew was attending a sporting event and suddenly suffered a stroke and injured her spinal cord when she fell. For a long time after her injury and diagnosis, everyone was so afraid for her and what “could” happen. It was like they wrapped her up in heavy-duty bubble wrap to protect her, to keep her safe … from life! But despite her life-changing injury, she knew how she wanted her life to look. She wanted to live in a city high-rise so she could go grocery shopping and grab coffee on her own. So she pushed aside the doubters, popped her way out of that “bubble wrap” and went on to create a new life that worked for her.
Navigating the Darkness: Finding Light After Disability
While the journey of navigating life after a disabling injury and/or diagnosis may be challenging, it is also full of resilience, community, and limitless growth potential (if you allow it). Illuminate your path forward, and embark on a journey of empowerment and self-discovery and transcend the so-called “boundaries” of disability!
MobilityDog Founder, Janie Heinrich, With a Pack of Poodles (Courtesy: MobilityDog.org)
"Your words, actions, and choices guide you beyond your disabilities; follow your dreams as you live your best life!” (MobilityDog Founder, Janie Heinrich)
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