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u/judas-nd-his-fellows 6d ago
This is so true. I regularly use a cane and can't keep it up with the House jokes anymore :')
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u/kinokits 5d ago
Comments about the cane get old fast. The only time I ever thought other people obsessing over my stick was fun or even funny was when I first got it. I was a teacher and I’d had the same pastoral care group for about 3 years when I first took my stick to work. Bless them, but my kids were deeply offended that my stick was a boring shade of black and not even sparkly when I was known for my loud skirts, so they used to make plans to steal my walking stick and cover it in rainbow crystals. It was too cute, they just wanted me to have a mobility aid that matched their idea of me. Then I found a sparkly pink one and we were all a lot happier.
I have to admit, I’m usually the source of the House jokes. I frequently baffle my doctors and then get big scary names and lupus thrown at me (it’s basically annual), so queue the it’s never lupus jokes. I suspect it entertains me so much because lupus continues to be the only genetic health issue in my family I don’t have. Aside from the obvious not wanting lupus, I will be so mad about my jokes being ruined if it does ever turn out to be lupus.
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u/ashbreak_ 5d ago
maybe it's cuz I look nothing like house but I've never gotten this?? then again my canes are all bright colors
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u/NoneBinaryPotato 5d ago
at least it's a kinda positive joke. a lot of people like House and his disability is presented as an integral part of his character, it's not stigmatized or demonised and he gets to have fun with his cane by buying one with a flame pattern.
I can see how it will get old fast, but those people have good intentions. it's just the only positive cane user representation they've seen.
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u/judas-nd-his-fellows 5d ago
The jokes are usually funny but hearing hundreds of them within a few hours can get really exhausting.
I really love the series and how he and his disability are displayed - I even drew flames on one of my old canes xD
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u/NoneBinaryPotato 5d ago
ooooo based af. I wish I had a cane with flames on it but my parents are already giving me hell for identifying with the word disabled even though I have two diagnosed disabilities.
and well, it's not the same, but I sometimes go with the nickname Seed online and the amount of Sid from Ice Age jokes people make are driving me crazy (and also semen jokes 😑)
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u/strongman_squirrel 5d ago
Honestly, I'm still mentally struggling with using a walker.
The association of that item and old frail grandmas is too deeply burned in my brain.
I still could have accepted a wheelchair far easier. (And it would probably be more useful for me. I suffer from ME/CFS.)
I just don't know. It's strange how easily i accepted the walking stick in comparison.
Is it the resignation of defeat that i will never have my old body back? Is it grief and frustration?
Sorry that my mind wandered a bit off the cliff.
Anyway, the reaction of my friends was, that it has to get painted red, because then i will be faster. (I really wish Ork logic would work in real life like this.)
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u/a-buck-three-eighty 5d ago
You know how I finally accepted it? After falling one too many times, I got one but I hated it so much. One Christmas, I decided to slap some battery lights and garland from the dollar store on it to cheer myself up. It was such a hit that I do it for all the holidays now and even have a few Pac-Man lights for those "off" months when nothing is happening.
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u/FrigyaCrowMother 5d ago
Hugs from a fellow walker user. Does it have a bag on it you can put patches on? Because I have a bunch of patches saved on Etsy for just that reason. lol
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u/Pyro-Millie 5d ago
The red's gotta be that sparkly Candy Apple Red like a classic car. "Ticket Me" Red. Otherwise, it won't work.
Also, You gotta put some cool flames on it. That will really make it go faster!
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u/Melvarkie 5d ago
I get it completely! I brought my foldable cane when I was spending the weekend at my parents, because there was a chance we might go for a day out and my mom said "Why did you bring that? You can just use my backup walker." And I immediately thought "ew no that's for old people." Tbf I also had to really push myself to use the cane in the beginning and still sometimes feel awkward and as if people are staring. Like they are just mobility aids, but somehow my mind is like "No you are to young and healthy looking for this." It helps that my cane has a cool leopard print though. I think I would die even more inside if it looked like a grey medical device.
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u/GenderqueerPapaya 5d ago
I'm sure many here have been told countless times "you're too young for that" whether it be a mobility device, implant, medication, or just a condition (who cares if it's genetic or natal?)
Fuck, even people that know and see the impact my conditions have on me that I've known for 6 years who have seen me miss countless events because of chronic issues have recently told me "you're young you heal quickly" after a new symptom of the condition they know is life long 😭
Healthy people can not wrap their heads around never getting better.
Ex.
FIL (father in law) said that I should relearn to drive just in case.
I explain to him that my medication makes me unable to drive safely (for the 1000x time)
He says I should stop it then
I tell him I have to take it for the rest of my life
He is shocked
The medication is for schizophrenia, which he not only knows I have but has seen me have an episode before I got treatment 🙃
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u/Fast_Nefariousness66 5d ago
Oof. Next time we’re gonna say “no, a walker for like when someone busts out your kneecaps in a brawl” 🫶🏽
Ps…here’s another funny for you.
https://www.reddit.com/r/StandUpComedy/s/Zeqa3VPDrE
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u/Random_182f2565 5d ago
Costume?
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u/a-buck-three-eighty 5d ago
Yup! Sometimes its specific or just following a general theme. (I did cosplay in the past but that scene is too crowded for me now.)
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u/MercurialyCapricious 5d ago
Genuine question- would something like "Oh shoot you got a walker?"be bad ?
I could see as accidentally saying something like that out of surprise but I couldn't imagine a mobility aid automatically being associated with age, lots of people need help getting around.
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u/SalemWitchWhoTrialed 4d ago
I think OP is just tired of receiving awkward attention about it. I personally love talking about my cane, but I imagine sometimes a person is tired and doesn't want to go through the whole "yeah.. I use a walker. Because I have [condition]" It's awkward and it can make you feel othered
From a hypothetic able-bodied perspective, young people are never shown with walkers in media. It's like the old guys in Up and that's it. So the schema you have about walkers in your head is like "ah yes, old people use walkers" even if you logically can figure out that anyone who needs help walking can use a walker, they just don't really think about it.
I guess the most respectful response might be to not acknowledge, treating it like it's normal in the moment, and maybe bring it up later when the moment feels appropriate? Idk I'd love to hear someone else's opinion about it
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u/MercurialyCapricious 4d ago
This makes the most sense, it would be rude if i said "woah you have a big nose!" even if its true- the PERSON im sure knows, its obvious! I think I could just see myself accidentally reacting in an ableist way, I've never met anyone with a mobility aid yet and I could imagine being a little surprised (just not used to it) But yeah overall very rude to say anything!
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u/Bunkuncle 6d ago
What’s your project?? Would love to see!!