I have been disabled my entire life. I have cerebral palsy. For me my disability has always been a part of me. It doesn't define who I am but it is certainly a part of me as much as my ethnic background, gender, or even occupation. But sometimes I think physical disabilities are made out to be much larger than they are. It's not that the limitations aren't real, but the difference is perceived as greater.

That said, I think change is difficult for everyone, and I find as I get older (and I am 53 now) that I also am having to deal with physical changes in my abilities. And yes that is tough, but I do what I can to hopefully keep what I have. Sometimes I wonder if the difficulty with change is we compare what we had with what we have now, and then scare ourselves when we think where this could go in the future. And maybe the better option is embracing the present as we are now with an appreciation that life continually changes, and it can be exciting and cool wherever we are.