newhologram:

The first year into having three major diagnoses and hospital-level flare ups, I said to a family member that I thought it would be helpful to have a wheelchair for certain events, because on bad or even good days, standing/walking for even a “short” period of time (especially on a sunny day) can make me really sick. The consequence of one fun day is often weeks or even a month or two of slow recovery. My body does not bounce back like yours.

They got really weirdly angry with me, putting on a “tough parent” voice, “No. You do not need a wheelchair. That is absolutely ridiculous. You can walk.”

And then year after year they have watched me cry and throw up and lose sleep and work and a social life over painful activity-induced flare ups that could’ve possibly been avoided if I didn’t force myself into negative spoons just because I can physically walk.

This is what the “you can walk, you’re not disabled” flavor of ableism does—it forces us to over-exert ourselves into agony—just because people have opinions about us letting our body rest in a wheelchair rather than running our limited energy reserves into the ground.