There’s a big gap between being disabled and being abled. When I first started this adventure, I balked at calling myself The Disabled Gardener. But I’m not disabled, I protested.
My daughter asked, “Mom, are you able to do the gardening the way you used to? Then you’re disabled.”
She was right. Luckily, I still stand and walk upright (most of the time), but I’m not as abled as was. And that’s why The Disabled Gardener was created.
My mission is to speak for those on the margins of disability and to find tools to bridge the gap between Unable and Able.
I started thinking about how I could still garden. But this time, thoughtfully, without hurting myself in the process. Could I re-learn my old ways of gardening? Could I accomplish all I wanted on my 1.5-acre lot without pain and injury?
Could I discover what it would take to bridge that gap between Unable and Able?
And this led me to the six things that I believe are critical to help move you from the unable side of the bridge towards the able side. I call them The Pillars of Strength. These six pillars are the steps on the bridge that will get you closer to your gardening goals. Mastering one pillar or all of them will move you closer to reaching your dreams on the other side of that bridge.
Honestly, you could replace the word gardening with any avocation and the tools will work for you. They apply universally to anyone with osteoarthritis who has dreams and goals yet to be achieved.
Details of the tools you can use to bridge that gap are here. The more you apply them, the stronger you’ll get. Briefly, they are:
- Mind Management
- Exercise
- Nutrition
- Methods of Gardening
- Support
- Pain Relief
Osteoarthritis causes the joints to become deformed. If you continue to assail your joints and refuse to make changes, injury will shut you down and you’ll become an ex-gardener.
I thought I’d have to give up everything I loved doing
So many things can influence why we don’t make the changes but don’t let information be one of them! The first pillar, Mind Management is often the hardest hurdle to overcome. It starts in the doctor’s office and continues with others’ comments of “It’s just arthritis”. You feel foolish. “Everyone gets it.” You think you should be able to keep doing what you do without change. The doctor doesn’t offer much in the way of treatment. It’s easier to hide and pretend you don’t want to garden anymore. But you can keep gardening with the right tools.
I knew that gardening was everything to me. If I couldn’t garden, I couldn’t create. I knew that I’d turn into the Tin Man, rusting away in my recliner if I couldn’t be outside doing what I am meant to do.
If you’re ready to take control over your arthritis, your life, and doing what you love, then make a commitment to take a step onto the bridge.
If you’re currently an ex-gardener, someone who quit doing what they love because of arthritis, then you need to join me on the bridge.
These tools will level the playing field for you.
I will always dwell on the bridge in the land of the disabled because there is no cure for osteoarthritis, but the Pillars of Strength will give me more control over my desired outcome.
The goal of the disabled gardener is to discover the things that will move me closer to able. Follow me on this journey to bridge the gap!
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