An exhausted lunch

People can see how my disability and illness affects me in the obvious ways. My electric wheelchair for instance is a dead giveaway. Needing to use wrist splints to pick up my spoon to eat is another.

What can be less obvious are things like debilitating fatigue. This affects me in strange ways. One thing I find tends to happen is that I become incredibly uncoordinated, clumsy and absent minded. As I am usually on my own when I am tired, this is one aspect most people don't see.

Here is an ironic look at a real life example. One single incident is not terribly "disabling" in itself but apply it to everything you attempt to do that day and you can see that it mounts up to a bigger problem.

An exhausted lunch

I think I'm tired. Just tried to "make" lunch, which was soup in a mug, which my carer had left ready for me.

Step 1: Take cling film off mug.
Step 2: Take cling film off hand
Step 3: Take cling film off other hand
Step 4: Pick cling film off floor
Step 5: Get up off floor
Step 6: Put cling film in bin
Step 7: Detach cling film from bin lid
Step 8: Repeat Steps 2 and 3
Step 9: Repeat Step 6
Step 10: Have a rest
Step 11: Put mug in microwave
Step 12: Drop mug
Step 13: Rescue mug
Step 14 Wipe up escaped soup and check enough soup is left for lunch
Step 15: Repeat Step 11
Step 16: Pick up saucer to put on mug to avoid splashes
Step 17: Drop saucer
Step 18: Rescue saucer
Step 19: Repeat Step 16 and put saucer on mug
Step 20: Start microwave
Step 21: Realise I have somehow set microwave to defrost
Step 22: Rescue soup
Step 23: Repeat Step 20
Step 24: CAREFULLY retrieve mug and go to lounge
Step 25: Discover I am now too tired to eat