In some way’s it's never been easier to have a disability than in the 21st century. In most ways of course, there is never a good time to have a disability, but when technology and equipment are made available for the use of people with disability,…

Eventually, I realised that I wasn’t sharing everyday experiences in the same way as I used to with my friends and family, I was entering a community previously unknown to me. The disability community and all the inequities that comes with it.

I saw buying my first wheelchair as a pragmatic choice, thinking of my safety, the convenience of those around me and my quality of life; but looking back now, I was not in touch with my true emotions and was harbouring a generous amount of resentment and sadness towards my situation.

Revelatory experiences come in all shapes and sizes and mine came in the form of a five-day stay on one of Australia’s tropical treasures - Hamilton Island. The peaceful, palm-filled hilly mound is a tiny part of the island enclave known as the Whitsundays in North Queensland.

My epiphany was:

‘I am – undeniably – physically disabled.’

In the winter of 2016 Gaz and I became the owners of a Kia Carnival. Not our empty ester vehicle of choice but you can’t have everything. In spring of that year I became the wheelchair-using passenger in the newly accessibly modified Kia Carnival.

The independence brought by being in the driver’s seat is generally unspoken. So what happens when the ability to drive is no longer or has never been available to you due to circumstances out of your control, your disability?

Acquiring the symptoms of a progressive condition takes some getting used to but why do so many of us feel the need to cloak these changes in an ugly cape of lies (to ourselves and others), excuses and denial? Why do we cling to the old normalcy so frantically? And what harm are we doing to ourselves in the process?.

When I talk to people about my condition the most common questions that I receive are related to confusion between other neurological disorders that symptomatically seem to present similarly, their acronym is very similar and the conditions are, generally, more familiar to more people.

Everyone loves it when the mailman arrives – sometimes more than others

There was a time when If I cried “catch me, I’m falling”, it was not because my company had induced a swoon. This isn’t a pass; it is the unfortunate effect of having LGMD. While my ambulatory skills were diminishing, getting up from the ground was one of the first abilities to disappear along with my butt, hip and thigh muscles.

Back in 2015 I’m sure a local Aussie Post delivery worker was happy to know I wasn’t trying out the damsel in distress routine to gain his attentions when he found me soaking up the rays on my friends front lawn one fine sunny day.

As a newbie to this wheelchair game, I was feeling a little reticent and self-conscious about using a beach wheelchair during our recent visit to Noosa in beautiful Queensland. It really had been ages since feeling sand and water under my feet and why else would we be at this Aussie iconic beach destination (apart from food and champagne of course, but I can get that in Melbourne)?.

We tracked the wheelchair down at a nearby hotel, and for a mere gold coin donation this rubber-wheeled jalopy was ours and I was on the pathway to salty watery freedom with a small dose of terror.

When is it time to decide that walking everywhere is no longer a viable option and using a wheelchair is?