“It’s not our disabilities, it’s our abilities that count”


Yet another week has gone by, and that means another blog topic to write. This week’s blog topic was about casual day and what it meant to me both personally and professionally. As always, with these personal topics, an internal struggle begins with whether or not I should be honest or say what I think my lecturers want to hear. As we have already discovered in my previous blogs, sugar coating my experiences is NOT my thing. So here goes the honesty.

But first, a bit of background on what casual day actually is. Every year, the national council of and for persons with disabilities (NCPD) run casual day for the past 25 years. It is the leading fundraising and awareness campaign for people with disabilities in South Africa. It allows the public to make a R10 contribution in the form of buying a sticker that will be worn on the selected day. This year, that day was September 6th and the theme was “time to shine with persons with disabilities.” As an Occupational Therapist, this day holds a very special place in our calendar as we work with people with disabilities, both mental and physical. As such, this year the third year OTs were given the task of coming up with an event and or activities for our assigned hospitals, to celebrate people with disabilities.


What did this mean for me personally? Honestly? Just another thing to add to the checklist of things to do, a checklist that is already the length of my leg. We needed to plan what activities we were going to do, which wards to do them in, make the necessary décor and equipment, buy the necessary refreshments etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I painted a banner that said casual day, time to shine. Luckily I love painting, so this wasn’t so bad, however with tests on Monday and Wednesday, and prac to prep for on Tuesday… there were other things I should have been doing.

It also meant showing everyone that I am OK. That I was managing my time. That I was getting to everything. That I was getting 8 hours of sleep a night. That I was coping….

I was not.

Time became more valuable than any currency because I didn’t have enough time to do all the things I needed to do, let alone want to do. I barely slept, barely ate and barely smiled. I was a complete mess of depression, tears, homesickness and total absolute despair. I could not keep myself from falling apart nearly every second, and yet I had to be an active learner, an understanding therapist, a daughter, a friend, a person… but I felt like a walking corpse. Every day I had to get up and pretend I was OK. This façade just added to the exhaustion. The mental, emotional and physical exhaustion was weighing me down and pushing me deeper and deeper into darkness that didn’t seem to have a single light.

And then Friday came and a light shone down on me once again. The people in the wards were so excited to see us, to partake in our activities and just have human interaction with people that weren’t other patients, nurses or security guards. We played games, we danced, we ran, we joked, we painted, we ate, and we gave those with disabilities a time to shine. Everyone needs their day in the sun, and even though it was pouring with rain, I have never seen faces as bright. One of the patients said thank you for coming and keeping us busy. Another said that they love us because we visit and never let them down. Just our presence was enough to put a smile on these people’s faces. Just a kind greeting was enough for them to become active and participate. In that day, in those few hours, I found that spark I thought I had lost a long time ago. It may just be flickering, but at least I can feel it again.

BEFORE

AFTER
So no matter how tired, how much gets thrown my way, how many obstacles I have to walk around, climb over or run past, I know that the path I have chosen means I am able to touch people’s lives every single day. That I help those with disabilities shine, showing them their abilities mean so much more than their disability. And in that, I find the courage to continue, both on a personal and a professional level.

So to summarise. What did casual day mean to me: things to do, people to see and lives to change. What could be more meaningful than that?



REFERENCES:
WHAT WE DO – Casual Day. (2019). Retrieved 8 September 2019, from http://www.casualday.co.za/what-we-do/
64 Top Quotes And Sayings About Disability. (2019). Retrieved 8 September 2019, from https://www.askideas.com/64-top-quotes-and-sayings-about-disability/
Cas day | Rolling Inspiration. (2019). Retrieved 8 September 2019, from https://www.rollinginspiration.co.za/events/casual-day-2019/cas-day/
https://youtu.be/jlep1--HAuw


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