This week is Invisible Disability Week! And for it, Dizzy wanted to share what people don’t see when they do see us! 🙂 It will make sense, Dizzy has assured me. 🙂
A photograph can capture a lovely moment (and Dizzy does love to have her photo taken!), but it doesn’t always show the planning, the symptoms, or the little rest stops that helped us get there. The happy moments are very real, but there are always a few invisible extras that come along.
So, Dizzy has volunteered to take you behind the pictures of a little day out. She says this is to raise awareness, although I suspect the opportunity for a modelling session and some ginger biscuits may also have helped. 🙂 xxxx
What you see: Dizzy getting ready for an adventure
What you don’t see: With MS, you never quite know what it has planned, so our own planning starts before we even leave! There’s a lot to think about: how far we’ll walk, where we can stop for a rest, where the toilets are, and whether we can get home easily if we need to. Even with everything planned, there is still anxiety about how we’ll feel once we’re out.
Dizzy is mainly concerned with how many biscuits we’ve packed. 🙂
What you see: Dizzy sitting somewhere lovely
What you don’t see: The breaks are needed! Whilst we’re enjoying the lovely view, we’re also waiting to be able to feel our legs again and for the dizzies (the less donkeyish kind) to pass. 🙂
What you see: Dizzy having a biscuit stop
What you don’t see: The snacks (and there are a lot…) are needed to keep us upright. Whilst we’re enjoying something yummy, we’re also trying to keep our energy up enough to carry on. Dizzy takes this responsibility very seriously, especially when biscuits are involved. 🙂
What you see: Dizzy tucked up afterwards
What you don’t see: The recovery time! Don’t get me wrong, we love a little nap under the blanket. 🙂 But when it means feeling like your head is going to fall off and being unable to do anything for the next three days, it’s not quite so fun.
The outing might be over, but the invisible extras can stay with us for a little longer.
So, that’s our little day out, with a few of the invisible extras that also come along. The lovely moments are still lovely. There’s just a little more going on behind them. 🙂
What would you add? Are there things people don’t see in your happy photographs that you wish they understood? We’d love to hear them.
Dizzy will be reading your replies from under her blanket. With a biscuit, obviously. 🙂 xxxx
Thank you for sharing. I hope you are doing all right, and I am often reminded of Dizzy and of you each time I look at Dotty. Wishing you all the best and glad to see you here after a while,
I’m sorry that you have to go through so much but I’m glad that you and Dizzy get to enjoy the outdoors. 😀
Heather and Dizzy – I’m guessing at the end of the day, after an outing, you’re both glad for the memories if it was a fun event or a memorable one, but quite weary from the pre-planning and the worries about all the “what if scenarios” … so it makes a day spent at home in comfy pajamas huddled under a blanket and reading a good book a special reward. I may not have MS, but I will tell you that a day outside spent dealing with errands, or even a pleasurable day walking with the camera on a beautiful Fall day like it was here today, leaves me feeling like “well maybe tomorrow, I will take things a little easier.” That my dear friends must be a sign of my age, having turned 70 this year. 🙂