Content warning: This essay, based on the author’s experiences, describes the experience of diagnosis as metaphorical death. This conceptualization of disability may be triggering.

This piece of prose represents my story living with the grief of becoming disabled. This is a story that many people share. Losing abilities and being unable to experience life as you once did is a heartbreaking process that involves mourning every past version of yourself. As your life changes and your disability changes, you have to constantly adapt while you mourn more and more pieces of who you once were. I hope that my writing allows those who have experienced this grief to feel seen and those who have not to better understand the loss I and many others experience. Read more…