The Price of Time

A friend of mine shared an interesting Huffington Post article on Facebook last week:  The Precious Commodity of Time: Taking a Second Look at the Effects of Paralysis.  This article outlines some of the considerations and tolls of time that individuals with disabilities face each day.

For your consideration, here’s a look at my relative schedule:

7 AM to 8 AM – Shower and Dressing

8:30 AM – Arrive at Work (most days I walk into work, but on days where I take Paratransit to offsite work meetings the ride may last upwards of an hour).

11 AM to 12 PM – Return home for restroom visit with a caregiver.

12:00 PM to 1 PM – Lunch (it often takes me close to an hour to eat due to limited jaw movement and ability)

4 PM to 4:15 PM – Visit with a caregiver to help me with my jacket before leaving work.  If taking Paratransit, I must leave immediately after the visit due to the long ride time.

5 PM to 6 PM – Leave work and meet with caregiver for help preparing dinner.

6 PM to 7 PM – Dinner (once again it takes a while to eat).

9 PM to 10 PM – Caregiver visit to help me into bed.

Adding all of this up, I have roughly 2 hours of free time most week days.  Trying to fit one’s daily schedule to this tight time frame can be very difficult, as living with a disability still has all the paperwork, bills, and tasks of standard daily life.  Some friends and acquaintances of mine require even greater cares, eating up yet more of their time in the day. I can only imagine the rough situation they endure trying to balance work, bills, social life, and other obligations and activities into their life.

However, I and my friends make due, and take every chance we can to make the most of each day.  In fact, just last night, I managed to double-task by meeting some friends for dinner at the Memorial Union.  And Monday night, immediately after dinner, I took the Tank for one last stroll out to Picnic Point before the cold fall weather rolls in to stay.  Daily life with a disability requires a degree of patience and some flexibility with outings and schedules.