The constant challenge: Health does not equal intelligence

There was once a time I lived in which people never questioned my intelligence. When entering a store or having a conversation with a stranger at church, it was always assumed I had the ability to speak and think like any other person.

When I needed to use a wheelchair, the world suddenly attached my inability to walk with an inability to speak and think. When I was out in public, people frequently spoke to the person pushing my wheelchair instead of conversing with me. When I needed to use a ventilator to breathe, suddenly my intelligence dropped even more. Now folks would talk to me, but they would speak to me as if I was a baby. They would use exaggerated hand gestures and often pat me on the head and tell me what a good girl I was. I used to be annoyed by these erroneous assumptions, but as time has progressed, I have learned to accept them.

Recently, though, I had three days in a row in which people offered me tremendous compliments. A woman attended a Bible study with me. After the study, she gushed to my parents (and later to me also) about all she learned from me during the study. Praise and compliments spilled from her mouth as she spoke about me.

Shortly after this, a woman I do not know contacted me on Facebook. She is part of an online community we both subscribe to. Many, many months ago, I posted one of my blog posts which discussed Mitochondrial Disease to the online forum. The woman wrote me a private message expressing how much she liked my blog post.

And finally, a doctor said some precious words to me. Folks in the world of medicine sometimes give me the benefit of the doubt that I may be able to speak and may have normal intelligence. This physician, however, bluntly told me, “You look smart.” I nearly fell out of my wheelchair at hearing these words. No one ever assumes I am smart. I always have to fight to prove to people I possess enough mental comprehension to sign insurance forms or have the ability to speak. But here is a man who believes not only am I average, but that I might actually possess some intelligence! My jaw dropped, and my heart nearly stopped. I had nearly forgotten what it is like to not have to constantly show people I have more mental capacity than a rock.