The Privilege Of Being Able-Bodied: Life With Migraine
A change in my healthcare plan suddenly made me aware of the privilege of being able-bodied!
I work in people management, and have for the last half-decade of my life. I’ve always been big on communication and leading with empathy. Traits that, in my opinion, are invaluable to any role where you work with other people. Last year, the company I work for had a reshuffling of our healthcare benefits. In that reshuffling, one of our providers was swapped out for another, and the benefits changed slightly.
Naturally, as someone who struggles with migraine and other comorbidities, I took the time to sit down and examine all the changes. I wanted to see if my benefits would be impacted or if I needed to consider changing my healthcare plan. Thankfully, everything had changed for the better! However, I realized I could share my newfound knowledge with my team. Surely this information would benefit them since there were quite a few changes to our coverage, right?! The response I received threw me for a bit of a loop. No one else actually needed that information. Rather, they intended to choose our new zero-monthly-cost option “just in case they needed it.” A far cry from my approach!
A Reliance on Healthcare
My intention when sharing this story wasn’t to put down any of the people I work with. I didn’t find their response to be dismissive or cruel. In fact, they expressed gratitude that I had done the work to research the benefits. The shock factor was the lack of need expressed. They didn’t need a healthcare plan supporting constant doctor visits, checkups, medications, and other medical services. It was a stark reminder for me, a person who lives with migraine, depression, anxiety, and other health issues that require constant care, of the privilege of being “able-bodied.” People who do not have specific disabilities or ongoing medical conditions don’t need to operate day-to-day with those needs in mind.
I structure my life around the present possibility of needing migraine or other medical care at any given point. I have to make sure I have out-of-state coverage, as well as medicine with me should I decide to travel. Ensuring I work for a company that provides good healthcare benefits and sick time was important for me when settling into the long-term role I’m now in. Many of those around me don’t have to take these things into consideration, which is a privilege I had not been faced with until that moment.
The Double-Edged Sword of Awareness
It felt like both a blessing and a curse to become aware of this, but it was eye-opening nonetheless. For starters, it made me realize that I would need to communicate my needs with the people around me more clearly should I ever have a medical issue. They may not have the same experience with people struggling with disability. They might not approach the situation with as much understanding or empathy as I may hope.
This also threw a lot of the resentment and frustration I had fought with over not being able-bodied in my face. It became very clear how important it was to not project that onto others. It’s not the fault of someone who is able-bodied that they lack experience with disability. Nor if they fail to fully empathize with people who are disabled when they have not experienced this themselves. Rather, they’re fortunate to have a life filled with good health so far!
The Knowledge of Being Prepared
This experience also made me somewhat worried for those who didn’t seem to have a need for immediate healthcare. What would they do if a major complication arose in the future that their coverage was not equipped to handle. I think it’s easy to feel invincible, especially for those who are young and/or able-bodied. However, it’s important to realize that medical conditions such as migraine and auto-immune disease, among others, can manifest themselves at other points in life.
Preparing for those issues to occur, especially from the perspective of someone who already does combat with them, seems like an absolute necessity. It seems that many people on the younger side, or those who haven’t had much experience dealing with disability, don’t necessarily have the experience to recognize this. They don’t realize how important it is to have coverage for these unforeseen circumstances. This is something that those of us who do struggle with health can help with. We have the privilege and knowledge to help them become aware of this in order to prevent unnecessary turmoil. It’s a different perspective, but one that is important none the less.
Let Us Know!
Have you had any frustrating or eye-opening experiences as a result of “not being able-bodied?” Are you an able-bodied person who has questions or curiosity about how living as a disabled person can look at times? Do you think it is harder when you are young to have health challenges? Or do the issues just change as you get older?