transabled.org

It seems that there’s always something about the way we look that we’d like to change. But I totally agree that one of the nice things about getting older is that those worries about one’s appearance diminish substantially.

I’ve dropped ten pounds since being in a wheelchair almost full time (July). It didn’t take any effort, and it’s unclear to me how that happened.

There’s a mystery about the left KAFO too, which is also almost full time. The upper thigh strap used to be right in the middle of the buckle settings. For the last several months it’s been on the tightest setting. Do the leather straps stretch that much, or has my thigh shrunk? I don’t know. If the thigh has shrunk, is it because of the nerve damage or lack of use from wearing the leg brace? I don’t know. In any case I would recommend getting braces that allow for thigh shrinkage.

All best wishes on being who you want to be.

I think it’s all in part to the frame of mind Chloe. I was losing weight when I was wheeling full time and I’ve gained quite a bit more in the few years I’ve been at home walking. I was a lot happier with myself when I was wheeling and the positive lifestyle choices seemed to follow on naturally from that.

I think you’re well on the way Sophie. The chair and the brace(s) are the motivation. Don’t order the braces until you have slimmed down that way the absence of them will be motivation and, as Chloe says, they’ll be useless if they’re too big.

I did it a couple of years ago. I lost a foot off the waist and shed 44 kilos (nearly 100 lbs) and afterwards I could almost get both legs in one KAFO!

Keep looking in the mirror and weigh yourself from time to time and chart the progress. I’m sure you’ll do it!

After showering this morning, I bent over while standing up to look at the gap between my legs. It took a few minutes for muscle spasms to quiet down, but it became clear that the gap was markedly asymmetric; not just at the thighs but all the way down. That means my legs are asymmetric. I can think of a good half dozen reasons why this might be so, and I’ll refrain from speculation. I like it anyway, since my BIID is asymmetric.

I’m envious Chloe :)

Before going to bed last night I stood naked in front of the full length mirror, looking at my legs. The left lower leg was noticeably skinnier than the right, so I got out the tape measure. There was half an inch difference in circumference at the thickest point of the calves. I checked again this morning, with identical measurements. It doesn’t sound like much, and it isn’t much, but it’s definitely enough to make a visible difference. Cool!

Oh Wow! That’s great Chloe. Well, it’s a start :) I’m the colour of the anti-spam question!

@Peter: It is not normal to be that color unless you are from another planet. However, it is not normal to be from another planet. The logical conclusions are inescapable.

Chloe. I was actually born here so I have full Earth Status but I’m sure the ancestral planet didn’t have gravity. Legs were just for decoration.

BTW has anyone heard from Sean? I’m starting to worry.

@Peter: On my planet, the sole purpose of feet is to keep your legs from fraying at the ends…

Sean is out of town and he is managing.

What happens when the Maya calendar runs out? Find out here: http://sgstories.com/fiction/onegeneration.htm

@Brice: Interesting stuff. For some time Alicia has been suggesting to me that the presence of BIID in the population may impart an evolutionary advantage; even so far as saying that I am a more evolved human being on account of BIID.

Chloe. I believe Alicia is right. We are more evolved, can see things from many different angles and are richer for our BIID experience.

A digital watch rarely malfunctions, but a complex circuit such as a computer increases the chances. I believe this is true with people- the more complex the mind, the more opportunity to deviate from the “norm”, to have an eccentricity.

Mark, this is interesting and perhaps bears out an earlier theory of mine. Many years ago, way before anyone spoke about BIID, a friend and I decided to try to find others who, like us, simulated a disability. We found several. We were surprised to discover that all had a certain level of education and perhaps a higher than average IQ. They were teachers, directors, chief engineers, local government officials etc. None were self-employed or factory workers. But maybe there was another reason for that.

Peter:
I’ve met doctors, accountants, a music genius, a few computer experts, and a research analyst. etc. No bus drivers yet…

@Mark & Peter: This is an interesting question. At the risk of sounding narcissistic I’ll recount what my best friend, a psychotherapist, said to me last year. We are former lovers and had an eight year relationship. I asked her what she had thought about me wearing diapers when we were first sharing a bed. Her response was “Well, you’re a genius so I just figured that it was one of your eccentricities.” She added that she also quickly came to regard my collection of braces and bandages as eccentricities to be expected. When I finally told her explicitly about BIID, in 2008, she expressed no surprise at all.

Oh, oh, oh, we are getting into the danger of feeling ourselves something better than the rest of the world.

I know enough BIID sufferers who are not eggheads, but have other talents.

It is very probable that we meet more of the ones who are used to read and write, to express themselves a lot. There is a clear bias in our perception of BIID sufferers.

Living (much or too much?) in and with the mind might be part of the problem, not something we should be proud of.

What happens when you do not think at all? Just try it. Is BIID there or not?

There is an old theory about gay men, saying that they had only two options: either become over-conforming (very conventional, well camouflaged) – or they become excellent (and then can live out part of their real self). Maybe BIID has forced some of us to become excellent, in order to balance our big defect (as which most of us have perceived our BIID for most of the time, no?).

But I don’t feel excellent at all, and I am not a genius. But I have BIID.

I know “genius” does not necessary have anything to do with class but Jilly Cooper’s work “Class” got it in one. In one chapter an upper-upper guy was going out with a middle-middle girl with all the inhibitions that a strict upbringing causes. I can’t remember her problem but let’s say it was to do with wearing leg braces. She says “You’re surely not going to wear your braces in public!” To which he replies “*I* can do whatever I like”.

There are often a number of possible explanations for any apparent correlation. The first thing is to determine whether the correlation does or does not exist, usually not easy to do where social sciences are concerned.

I have come across the same issue in the transgendered community. When people first get to meet others in the community they are often struck by the apparent prevalence of intelligence, education, talent, etc.

BUT, and this is a big but, in both cases we are talking about a self selected group of people who have chosen to be communicative with each other. Thus there are factors other than BIID, or being transgendered, which influence the type of people one is going to interact with. My longest standing friend is intellectually disadvantaged. He is not able to use a computer at all. If he had BIID he would not be posting here.

I really don’t think we are in danger of thinking we are better than the rest of the world. As I recall, both Sean and Sophie have pointed out that there also seems to be a correlation between BIID and lack of self esteem. That has certainly been true for me.

Forty years ago I came to believe that generalised assessments of intelligence are rubbish. Different brains are specialised for different things. Some people may see some of what I do as evidence of intelligence; however, the world at large, including myself, recognises that I am a complete dumb-ass at a whole bunch of other stuff. I see in everyone I meet that they are better than me at something, and I am better than them at some other thing. So, overall I cannot be either better or worse than anybody else in the entire world because the measure would be arbitrary.

@Peter: On the other hand it was me who told myself “You’re surely not going to wear your braces in public.” It was Alicia and my psychotherapist who convinced me otherwise. You just have more balls than I do. ;o)

That’s what I was thinking. We just get that impression as certain er.. categories are communicating more.

Chloe. I ROFL over the “balls” bit :)

I just wanted to let you all know that I couldn’t help but chuckle yesterday when I was in Narita Airport in Tokyo. They don’t have ramps, they have “Accessibility Slopes.”