I want to say something here regarding #disabled humans and #abled humans. Please just take a second and read through my overly long-winded thread. Forewarning: it might take you longer than a second.

Today, we're watching #TheMusicWithin in my house. My husband and I are staunch advocates for the #disability community and for the #chronicpain and #intractablepain communities as well. This movie has been remarkable and held up over the years in bringing light to us.

When I say "us", I mean "us" in the #disabled community, #CPPs/ #IPPs and the #abled communities. My husband has asthma, but is able. I have #EhlersDanlos and am, unfortunately, not. But, unless I'm subluxing/dislocating in front of you, you'd never know that I have it.

You'd also never know that I have 24/7 pain. You'd never know that I get blister-looking things on my feet because my connective tissues are being destroyed by virtue of the fact that I exist. #EhlersDanlos doesn't discriminate on age/sex/weight/skin/income/ability.

I've also been told that I'm a liar. I've been told that I'm lazy. "It's just growing pains." "It's all in your head." "You're not really in that much pain." My favorite has been: #ButYouDontLookSick. That's my all-time favorite.

This is what #invisibledisability looks like in our home. You couldn't tell that my husband has two inhalers; one for emergencies and one for maintenance. You'd never know that he has severe allergies, either. But, he does. His ability to breathe is protected under the ADA.

So.. I'm going to address something that someone in the #disability community recently said to me. They used this phrase: #equallydisabled. Let me start, first, by saying that there is no such thing as "equal disability". All disabilities are NOT created equal.

Anyone who says that they are is selling something. They may have some things in common, but they don't mean equality. Like us all, disabilities are unique to the person. I haven't even mentioned visible disabilities yet.

If you put an invisible illness patient and a, oh, patient with cerebral palsy in a room, they're probably going to get along (even though one of them will be remarkably more apt to cussing than the other, more than likely). To them, they are not equal, but they share something.

We all, visible or invisible disabled, crave one thing: to be seen. We crave to be heard. People look at us, spend time with us and they begin to judge us on one thing: our illness. We aren't a person. We are the disease. @TitusNation refers to these assholes as "retards".

You know what? They fucking are. I'm sorry if I've offended someone here, but this is the truth. Disabled does not mean retarded. Disabled also doesn't mean contagious. Disabled also should never have meant "invisible" or "equal".

I'm writing this because, short of my new primary (who is amazing and took me so long to find), most of the providers I've seen look at me like my illness isn't the genetic anomaly that it is. They look at me like it's due to my big ass. Reality: My genes suck.

Now.. the person who said "equally disabled" didn't realize this, but they said the absolute wrong thing to me. The worst wrong thing they could've said. That attitude is why people like me take decades to get diagnosed properly.

We've established that not all disabilities are equal. Most aren't, in fact. Now, let's establish that we, those who are disabled and/or in pain, need to stop being treated equally. That's what is killing us. People like Andrew "Asshole" Kolodny are another thing that's doing it.

To the visibly disabled community, I tip my hat and bow to you. You see the absolute worst in humanity and, somehow, you smile. I don't know that I could. I'm going to admit that. But you.. you smile and you love and you fight.. and what fierce people you are.

Without you, the ADA wouldn't exist as it is. Without you, people wouldn't be able to see/hear/acknowledge us invisible illness folks. You have no idea how much we owe you.. or maybe you do?

To the doctors in the world: Please.. please stop treating each patient the same. What works for one doesn't work for all. MMJ works for some.. and it doesn't for some. It doesn't for me. It's pointless for me. My meds work for me.. but I and many others have had to fight.

We've had to fight to be acknowledged and diagnosed properly. We've also had to fight to be given adequate pain control. I, myself, have no history of overdose or addiction, yet here I am. I've been blatantly honest with my providers and it's almost killed me.

If you don't understand that last sentence, look at my @TheMightySite author page and read what happened to me last year. Twice the size of a soda can. Four months. Worst pain of my life and that's after two children and gallstones.

The point of this thread is to 1) thank the disabled community who speaks out about our differences, 2) thank the abled community who acknowledges us & 3) to beg doctors to please treat us individually instead of as groups. No two of us are alike.

Finally, I am imploring the world, doctor and patient alike, to please stop saying "equally disabled". That is a misnomer. A lie. None of us are equal in our disability. We need to have that acknowledged. Please see us. Please hear us. Also, stop being an asshole if you are.

If you're the kind of person who leans down to a visibly disabled person and yells, slowly, into their ear: stop. You're a dick. They're disabled, not stupid. They might be deaf now if they aren't already. To the rest of you, thanks for not being assholes. /rant