Sleeping on a new mattress. Wearing new shoes. Switching your work schedule. Learning a new piece of technology. There are millions of things that people have to adjust to. Making adjustments is part of life. We make hundreds of adjustments every day. Most of the time, we don’t even realize we’re doing it. When was the last time you actually thought about pulling your shirt sleeve down? You don’t think about it; you just do it. Some adjustments take more time to get used to. Things such as getting a new vehicle or charging your daily routine may take longer to get used to. People have various reactions to change. Some people have no problem adjusting to change; while others have a difficult time. Like everyone else, people with disabilities have various reactions to change. Generally speaking, many of us are so routine based, so often we have a hard time adjusting to change.

A few months ago, I did a journal entry about specific preferences. I want to be clear that, in my opinion, change and preference are two different things. Preferences are things that are unique to you. Change is something you have to do or face. Depending on the situation, change can be good or bad. It doesn’t matter what it is, when changes occur that affect us, we have to adjust. Adjustments may be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or a combination of these.

Recently, I had several seemingly minor adjustments done to my wheelchair. It’s only just over a year old, but, for whatever reason, I wasn’t sitting up straight and the seat belt was causing pressure sores on my hip. Of course, it took several months to figure out what needs to be done, get Medicaid approvals, and get the parts. As I explained in a previous entry, my wheelchair guy is great about working with me. Last week, he came to my apartment late one afternoon and did all the repairs. Admittedly, I wasn’t prepared for the big change. Honestly, I thought he was only going to fix some little things on the chair. I was wrong. He ended up spending over two hours at my place making all the adjustments. Thankfully, I had a shift during that time, so my worker helped me transfer in and out of the chair. He made all the adjustments and made sure it was right for my body. He left and I then realized what an adjustment it was going to be. Due to my spasticity, my muscles are very rigid. Once I find a comfortable and functional way to do something, my muscles don’t like when we change it. In fact, my spasticity kicks in and fights the position. In this case, I had a lateral (which holds me up straight) moved in a couple inches so that my body wouldn’t tilt to one side as much. Being more upright is great for my posture and looks better, but, let me tell you, my muscles don’t like it! I am having to try to figure out how to do everything in the new position. It’s very difficult and painful. It’s also frustrating because I want to be able to do everything like I used to. I’m trying to remember that it takes my body a long time to time to adjust. It will get easier in time. Changes like this are physically and mentally tough, but it needs to happen for my physical health.

I face adjustments every time I have a new caregiver. Yes, we train people the same way; however, everyone does things just a little different and that’s okay. Obviously, I ask people to it how I like it if it’s something important, but when someone does something that is minor a little different than others do, I usually just go with it. I understand that people have different ways of doing things.  I just have to get used to how each person does things. It’s a unique part of my life.

Another adjustment I frequently have to make is with my schedule. As I’ve explained in previous entries, I live a very scheduled life. Having to rely on the assistance from caregivers, I have no choice but to schedule everything from getting out of bed each morning, to eating and using the restroom, to getting back into bed each night. I have scheduled shifts, but often, due to the availability of caregivers, I have to adjust to different times than what I prefer. While this usually isn't a big deal, as silly as it sounds, I have to adjust the times and how much water I drink. As minute as it sounds, it’s an important adjustment I constantly have to make.

As I said, we make hundreds of adjustments every single day. While most of them may not have significant impact, some of them do. Everyone reacts to adjustments differently. Sometimes, it’s challenging to adjust to different things or situations, but that’s kind of what life is—we have to adjust to every circumstance as it comes!

***The views expressed here are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of InControl Wisconsin, the Network or any of our sponsors.