Relationships part 2

I'm back again to finish my tirade about disabilities and relationships. :)

When I became disabled in 1992 I had been in a relationship for 5 months with a man I worked with at my factory job. Our relationship obviously didn't survive after my wreck and I was okay with it. I expected it. We were both young, had agendas, had routines and had dreams to chase. This tragedy happened, I couldn't escape it and there was no reason for us to pretend our relationship could continue to exist. After he and I parted ways, being in a relationship again didn't cross my mind for years. I never dreamed somebody would want me, a quadriplegic with a trache, paralyzed from the shoulders down.

In 1997 I was introduced to a wonderful invention that changed my life. You may have heard of it. It's called the world wide web. :) It was then that I began to go discover websites, disability chatrooms, forums and I also began to chat via instant message. I chatted with family, friends, people with disabilities and people who were attracted to persons with disabilities. Yes, you read that right. People who were attracted to persons with disabilities.

See, I was talking to a guy (through aol instant message)and he told me he was a devotee. I was confused and asked, "what are you devoted too?" He said "girls in wheelchairs". I was shocked! I couldn't believe such an attraction existed. While many people would think this is just down right disturbing, I was fascinated by the concept. For the first time since my injury, I actually felt like maybe there is somebody out there who will accept me and my disability and perhaps I will find love again.

Through the years from 1997 - 2002 I had met a few men online. I don't know if they were devotees or not, but I didn't care one way or the other. I think if people are attracted to persons with disabilities it doesn't classify them as freaks, monsters, weirdos, or whatever! When people with disabilities assume that devotees are weirdos because they are attracted to them, it makes me ask this question. What is it about yourself that you hate so much that you think somebody else cannot be attracted to you?

To be continued...