Managing disability and performing daily tasks
Some people living with disabilities and other illnesses have overcome their challenges to be able complete daily tasks.
According to The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), disabled people include anyone, “who has a long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which may hinder his full and effective participation in society, on an equal basis with other persons.” The conditions that affect persons with disabilities (PWDs) are both external and internal. Physical disabilities affect “mobility, physical capacity, stamina or dexterity (the ability to do skills with the hands) and can include brain and spinal cord injuries,” says the World Health Organization (WHO), but intellectual disability affects the mental state of people.
Peter Harris (not his real name) has been partly paralyzed from the waist down due to an illness in the spine for over 30 years, but this has not prevented him from completing daily duties. “It takes me more time and energy, I have to sit down while I cook, clean, wash and do other things for myself,” said Harris. He was able to walk with a stick in the first stages of his illness but, over time, the condition worsened to partial paralysis. Harris accepts his paralysis because over the years various doctor visits have not revealed his specific spine condition. “So, me do X-rays many times but nothing nuh really come up, mi just stop go all these different doctors,” added Harris.
Some people living with disabilities are unable to do a few day-to-day tasks for themselves.
John Smith (not his real name), a retired mason, is unable to do duties such as cooking, washing, cleaning, or bathing himself because of his specific condition which has rendered him incapable of using his hands and feet effectively. “You see for me to walk, me use a walker with someone behind me or them push me in the wheelchair if I should leave the house,” said Smith. Smith’s condition is not fully known, but the doctors have revealed that diabetes has damaged his nerves. “The problem gets bad over the years, but I can feed myself, so that is better than nothing,” added Smith. But he has not accepted his illness and believes he is temporarily disabled.
Like Smith, Jennifer Simpson believes that her condition is temporary because she only needs surgery to correct it. She was diagnosed with a cataract in 2016. It is “a clouding of the eye’s lens and is the leading cause of blindness worldwide,” says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The illness affects both eyes, but Simpson’s left eye is worse than the right. She uses a prescribed eye drop and olive oil to treat it since she has been unable to do the surgery because of delays due to COVID-19. Simpson attends church and the clinic in her community but does not travel alone elsewhere. “But I can still do everything around the house for myself,” said Simpson.
