Don't judge people without having any understanding, 'like judging a book by its cover'

A week before the move, I spent near two hours today looking for a hoodie. Finally found it. Lost an earbud in the process. Fine. Got the mail I needed. Life moved on.

Supplements by the kilo were cooking in the mailbox, losing efficacy by the minute. The race was on.

Last week, it was freezing.

Today, it was a new dawn in ways too expansive to get in to.

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Putting on that hoodie, though?

A private war I know too well.

I should have checked the temperature because it is roasting out, but that is not the point.

I have had three shoulder surgeries and over a hundred subluxations and dislocations.

My surgeon, who had been practicing for thirty years, pulled my parents aside (all before I turned twenty-one) and he actually teared up. He told them it was the worst shoulder he had ever seen.

On the outside I look able-bodied - perfectly fine. I am fine in a sense, but broken beyond belief.

I pushed myself in ways most people would never we’ll get into with wrestling. Simple, putting on a sleeve or pulling fabric over my head is a gamble. One tiny wrong movement and the joint slips, grinds likely cartilage that never heals, or pops out.

When one of the few times my surgeon put it back in after being out for months, causing more damage maybe it should have been a clear clue.

The surgeon would distract me and then use his full strength to force it back in.

a few of the worst seconds of my life.

dislocations were nothing compared to a multi-month pop back into the joint.

For years he assumed I was just being dramatic … such a kid.

Then the scans didn’t show the full story and he went back to the kid thesis.

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I have had a handicap placard since college start half a year ago almost.

Back then I used to park in the blue spot, couldn’t where a backup and use them anywhere on campus.

One day a guy in a wheelchair rolled up and stared at me like I stole something from him. Got evil looks from him for months.

“Look at this able-bodied guy taking the last spot” his expression echoed.

He had no idea I had already been dealing with a destroyed shoulders for over a decade.

He never saw the twenty times I dislocated it just trying to get dressed.

He did not know I had to use a computer in every class because writing by hand was impossible. I could be picking up my disabled girlfriend using her car… um.

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We never know what someone is carrying.

Emotionally, Mentally, physically, and more.

This is only one of the issues I deal with still, and none of them show at first glance looking at me

This is not a pity post.

It is a reminder not to judge people without understanding what is happening behind the scenes. You truly cannot judge a book by its cover.

PS: I do not know the book in the photo or the author to give credit, but the title of the book is great, along with the photo.

Signed,

Mr. Able Body 🖐 🎤