Ever feel your in Oracle's position?

[PoisonIvy2]

I remember when I was hit by a car and had to spend almost 9 months in a wheelchair. Throughout that time I felt helpless because before I would never limit myself. I could do all sorts of things that I really took for granted and people seemed to under estimate my power because of my temporary disability. I think that it is wonderful to see such a strong female character have use in serving justice but at the same time I feel pity. I never considered losing my mobility for the rest of my life until I saw Barbara's character. Anyone else been in a similar situation?

[Lance]

Not with a wheelchair, no, but a badly busted ankle kept me on crutches for a couple of months several years ago. It's not the same thing, I know --- in terms of time, inconvenience, or social stigma --- but I did an experiment and found that attitude means a lot. If I put on a sour or defeated mood, that was the reaction I got in return, but if I projected a mood that said, Take or leave it, it's up to you,' the response was much more positive. And I was surprised at the number of attractive young women who helped with heavy doors!
Completely different that Barbara Gordon, but I think the experience played a major part in why I find the characters of Barbara and Oracle so compelling. Damn, I wish the characters had been explored.

[MUZBNUTS]

It's all about your attitude! I was hit by a car over 10 years ago = broken pelvis. Was told then that I may not be able to walk without a cane a devastating thought to someone who was very active at the time. I used to chase shoplifters for a living and enjoyed playing baseball, basketball, and running everywhere! I refused that prognosis. People told me I was trying too hard and too fast, but I did everything I could to speed up recovery. I was off one crutch in about two weeks, off crutches most of the time by about a month, totally off them by 5 weeks, walking long distances at 2 months, and back to work after 3 months. 5 Years Later: I get a job in law enforcement, working in a psychiatric center, chasing patients to prevent them from escaping, and at times wrestling with them on the ground. 10 Years Later: I'm a Sgt.! Only limp a bit when I'm tired or have had one too many take-downs. Still run around everywhere. Still play baseball and basketball. All this because I refused to be kept down. Had I been restricted to a wheelchair for the rest of my life, I don't think it would have stopped me either. of course, I wouldn't be working the job I am now, but I'd probably be just as active as Barbara Gordon is.

[Birdofpreyrocks]

wow, u did all that to recover! i cracked my knee cap accelertating myself against the two fastest kids in my class a couple of yrs ago and my docotrs are now telling me my knee is basically screwed for life. I had alot of cartilidge missing and there is no sub for it. they want me to go to therapy but it hardly helps sometime. Im just so scared its unbareable, they also told me i could get authritis in my knee by time im 21. so my life is screwed. any ideas how i should get passed it.??????????

[MUZBNUTS]

Ah, arthiritis! Been dealing with it since I was a kid (playing catcher in school on a concrete baseball field ruined my knees - no surgery yet though). You just have to keep believing you can do it. Trust me, a broken pelvis is plenty painful. And keep in mind that I still get plenty of pain from it (arthitis-wise). You are my age when I got hit by the car. Just keep up with the therapy. The pain will be something you'll have to deal with - each of us deals with it differently. I have an extremely high tolerance for pain, but believe me sometimes it can be brutal. I still get some nasty headaches from that accident and have to take Excedrin Migraines to get rid of them. But you can't lose hope. Had I done that, I would never be wear I'm at today. I'm no superwoman - I have my limitations, but I work around them. The neatest thing about the injury is that I can tell whether it's gonna rain or snow before the weatherman can figure it out!

Oh, by the way, I've been trying to PM you, but the board says your mailbox is full.

[Birdofpreyrocks]

i know go ahead and pm me i emptied it. thanx and i have had surgery. I raced off my crutches to when everybody told me to take it easy. yea i get pain but take medicine.

[MUZBNUTS]

Still having trouble with the pm - still says the same thing about it being full. Maybe you can pm me with your email address. Your secret is safe with me.

[Birdofpreyrocks]

try it again muzbnuts

[MUZBNUTS]

Still getting same response.

[Birdofpreyrocks]

try it one more time i dont know how to empty it

[SevenSlave]

I can relate to Oracle. I'm disabled myself (not in a wheelchair, tho).

Like her, I'm in the process of trying to redefine myself. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with the next few years of my life.

I'd like to see all of the characters explored too. :)

[MiS-CH'vuS]

well, i myself (while never in a wheelchair long-term) have had a similar experience to oracle... my sophmore year of high school i messed up my left ankle really badly playing basketball (i've always loved playing sports and basketball was always my most fave to play and watch)- it was the day before varsity try-outs and after my "accident" i couldn't even put any weight on it without feeling excruciating pain (that is not me being dramatic either- i have a very high threshold of pain, but i couldn't take that pain!), so needless to say that i missed the tryouts and i was in a cast and on crutches for a while.

i was supposed to be on crutches for at least 2 months, but i'm a bit stubborn and kept testing myself to see how much pain i could endure- by the time week 3 had rolled around i was limping around most of the time without the crutches (interesting to do in a cast), and used them only for really long distances.

i kept up a pretty positive attitude about it all, and even though the doctors told me that i wouldn't be able to play basketball again, i was determined to prove them wrong. (heck! i was gunna be the next dawn staley!)
you see, the thing with me and basketball was that i always had these hoop dreams of going from playing high school varsity, to playing ncaa, to eventually going pro (which was a new endeavor being explored at that time with the birth of abl [came right before wnba but went bankrupt])- so i was just not willing to accept that basketball was not going to be a major part of my future.

so, i tried to be good and keep myself off the basketball court so as to keep myself healing, but about a year after the initial messing up of the ankle, i decided to play basketball once again to sharpen my skills up for varsity try-outs (mind you, i hadn't played hard-core for about a year at this time), and once again i messed up my ankle, but not as badly this time (go figure!).

it was at this point that i sort of had to accept defeat and i had to reevaluate my life (b/c of course, if i was gunna keep messing up my ankle everytime i had a basketball in my hands, it was pretty safe to assume that i was going to be no dawn staley)...i started taking the notion of college and an academically based career much more seriously and i began to go over my life with a fine-toothed comb and figuring out what i would want to do with the rest of my life (first order of business was that i was always a science-buff).....

it is now years later, and i am currently preparing to graduate from philadelphia university in december 2003 with a bachelor's of science in biology, and i plan to take the mcat and eventually go on to medical school (in about 2-3 years- not right away) and become a doctor (more specifically, a pediatrician).... that is my ultimate life goal, and i also have many other accomplishments that i plan on making including starting scholarship programs, opening a non-profit organization, setting up programs (both science-oriented and non-science oriented) for young women and men and after-school programs for children and high-schoolers...i have a lot of ambitions at my very young age, and i can't help to think that maybe i may not have come to realize some of them if i had not screwed up my ankle (twice)- when one door closes, another opens- everything in life happens for a reason, it is up to us to figure out what that reason is and turn it into something positive.

much peace,
monique

[PoisonIvy2]

I've worked with many disabled people in the past few years and I myself had some difficulties that weren't physical. During school years I had trouble remembering things and grasping concepts. You don't have to have been seriously injured to realize what it is like to be disabled. When other people have something that you aren't quite capable of getting it makes things difficult.

[MiS-CH'vuS]

yeah, poisonivy2- i agree with that totally- like for example, ashley scott says that she has dyslexia which made school and all that very difficult for her- led to anger and rebellion and all that....but she eventually dealt with it and has obviously done very well at overcoming it (either that, or someone reads her scripts to her over and over until she memorizes them that way- and i don't think that is likely)....so, it's not just physical impairments that can make someone have to sit down and make some major decisions for themselves- very good input ivy! :D

[SevenSlave]

Originally posted by MiS-CH'vuS
ashley scott says that she has dyslexia

She's in very good company (Tom Cruise and Robin Williams suffer from it as well).

You'd be amazed at who suffers from physical challenges (Marilyn Monroe was a stutterer ... as are James Earl Jones and BtVS's Nicholas Brendon).

[PoisonIvy2]

Marilyn Monroe had a lisp too!

I think that the most difficult time in my life was when I was in Middle School. Children are pretty cruel and when I went to other classes for special help they noticed and basically ignored me. So just trying to help my academic situation would kill my social situation. I think that was probably why I was so shy around other people.....that wheelchair certainly didn't help me either but that was only for a short while. Even still, I believe that having a disability is very overwhelming for any person because a lot of people try to stop you on the way.

[SevenSlave]

Kids being cruel ... I can relate to that .

I was six feet tall when I was thirteen! :eek: (I'm 6'2" now, BTW).

As a result, I had some pretty nasty nicknames bestowed upon me in high school ("Lurch" [I had a deep voice too :( ], "Andre the Giant", etc. ).

I know how it feels to be seen as a freak. :(

[Sxygrrl Huntress]

Being a tall woman definately is not being a freak. But growing up, yeah, it could be rough. I personally *love* tall woman :) But I'm only 5'1 1/2" so everyone is taller to me ;)

[MUZBNUTS]

Tell me about it. I'm 5'3" on a good day (when my back isn't bugging me). 3/4 of the perps I go up against are taller than me (and some of them are half my age!)! They look at me and laugh - that is til about half of them end up on the floor or in cuffs!

[Terry]

i was never in oracles position seeing as i was never crippled before

[MUZBNUTS]

Always a card, eh Terry. Figuratively, if not literally, I believe everyone has felt this way.

[Frostbite]

That Terry is always a card, or that we were never in Oracle's position because we aren't crippled?

[delphi]

I'd love to be tall, SevenSlave. I'm 19 and I barely hit 5 feet tall. My baby sister who's 13 is already 5 inches taller than me. When I was still in high school, no one would ever see me so I knew what a postal package felt like.

Genetics are cruel..

But on the relation to Oracle, I have ended up in a wheelchair once (although it was for a few days). I was stupid enough to race my car (racing is stupid. TRUST me, I learned my lesson) and skidded, flipped my car over a few times, and landed in a ditch. I came out lucky though-- 28 stitches, 15 of which were in my head (windshield caught me and ripped my scalp open a bit and nearly took my ear off) and a broken toe. I was in the chair only until I could walk again (I was sooore). I couldn't imagine being in that chair everyday though..

[MiS-CH'vuS]

whoa, delphi- looks like you had to learn that lesson the hard way! - and yeah, genetics can be very cruel.

[OracleRuby]

well I have ...... scolisis.

It's not good. I don't have a lot anymore. The doctor says I only need to decrease by 2 more degree and I don't have it anymore. So u can say I'm recovering from a spine disease like Oracle. The doctor said I don't need to do any work outs. But I woke up every morning and did back excerses. I did my best. I can't swim so I couldn't do that for it. It doesn't show as much. but before when I bend down I kinda had a hump. As big as a football. But I'm getting better. I don't have it big anymore. in fact it's going away.

So I was kinda in Oracle's Postion

BOP ROX!! :D Oracle Rules!! :D

[SevenSlave]

You're one up on Oracle, Ruby ... her spine was shattered. :(

[Delphinios]

I think everybody at one time or another has been in a position like Oracle's...maybe not physically, but emotionally. Do you realize how many times in comic books characters get shot, maimed or killed and recover completely, becoming the same wonderful hero they once were? If I'm not mistaken, there was a story arc where Bruce damaged his back and spent a great deal of time in a wheelchair.

They didn't miraculously heal Oracle though. In fact, they went to great lengths NOT TO. There were at least two instances in the comics where she was given a chance to heal herself but didn't.

The thing about Oracle that appeals to so many people isn't so much the wheelchair, but what it symoblizes. Everyone has faced something crippling in their lives. If they haven't, they soon will. Life is all about challenges. It's how you respond to those challenges that defines who you are.

Barbara Gordon could have easily given up on herself...she did for a while, but eventually she realized that she was more than just a pair of legs. She had a heart, and a mind, and a drive to fight. Every single one of us has SOMETHING in common with Oracle, because everyone of us has faced a mountain that looks impassable....and somehow, made it move.

Bethany

[MUZBNUTS]

VERY well said, Bethany! As always, you've captured the essence of Oracle and her appeal.

[Lance]

Thanks, Bethany. I whole-heartedly agree. Well said.

[Stryder]

I'm not disabled but I do know how it feels to be in a wheelchair. I woke up one morning when I was 12 and when i stood up, I almost immediately collapsed. When I tried to get up, my legs did not want to cooperate. Well to make a long story short. The doctor said i had fractured my hip. I later discovered that there was a piece of wood that stuck out on the side of my bed and that I must have rolled on it accidently. I spent a few months in a wheelchair and then to crutches and then I was fine. There were a few times when I felt so frustrated because when i would go to school everyone would stare and they made me feel as if I had no right to be there. Some had the attitude of "your in the way with that bulky wheelchair, move it." While others were a lot more understanding. Even some of the adults made me feel as if I was just in the way and that I didn't belong. It was just very frustrating. When Barbara said "I heard Wade's parents tell him that I wasn't good enough for him because I didn't have legs that worked. Ya...what do i know about being different." I totally felt her pain, because I know how it feels to be rejected just because your in a wheelchair.

[MR_Q]

Shit I have it pretty good. Im 6 feet tall 150 pounds. So im average. I was however the only kid with bad acne in my entire freaking school. Fortunetly I was considered a "bad kid" so most people screwed off and were afraid of me. In grade 6 I was shunned by my peers for a few weeks after a rumor. Since then I moved and am at a new school. Im still the only one there with acne but now Im a good kid as in the only one with out a criminal record....I also get mocked by my friends because they think I drive slow. The only place they have seen me drive is in friggen school zone so they know dick... And that concludes my lifes events until this point.

[newworld]

My best friend was paralyzed when we were seniors in high school and though it was devastating, I've watched in amazement as she has become wayyyyy cooler than I ever hoped to be and is such a beautiful respectable person....she's successful and still every bit the person she was before the injury...like Oracle said, "Not being able to walk doesn't change why I do what I do, it just changes the way I do it."

[Lance]

An acquaintance of mine made the same transition. She went from completely irresponsible to very mature very quickly, and she's more sure of herself after her injury than she was before. She's a neat lady.

[invacare_woman]

Ok I'll attempt not to bore you guys, but anyway. I am in a wheelchair and have been since birth so I also know what it's like firsthand. But hey it's cool with me, I still participate in wheelchair sports etc. and make friends pretty easily. I'm a friendly outgoing person and I hope to get to know you people.

I love the show Birds Of Prey cause they did portray the fact that yes it's difficult to be in a chair when it comes to things like friends/relationships (thinking of the episode where Barbra was rejected by Wade's parents), but it CAN be overcome. Anyway hope to hear from you guys.

[Sxygrrl Huntress]

Welcome to the forum invacare_woman... it's a crazy but fun bunch :D

[invacare_woman]

So I see! :D

[brandie]

you guys are lucky i was born with spina bifda i have had to use crutches my whole life

[LisaM]

Welcome Brandie!

[invacare_woman]

Brandie, I was born with Spina bifida as well... but I don't use crutches, I use a manual chair full time...

[huntress' prey]

welcome both of you.

:D, and don't be shy, cause we don't

[invacare_woman]

Shy? What's that? LOL

[huntress' prey]

lol

cool, then we'll have a lot of fun here :D

[DrayvensCrow]

Greetings to our new members!

SGH--you've earned a new name, "Queen of The Understatement". I think we passed crazy about 10 miles(or 23 km., for our friends on the metric system) back! LOL

[invacare_woman]

I know I for one passed crazy about 22 years ago (I'm 22 now LOL)

[jaguarin]

WELCOME "INVA...THAT NAME _WOMAN" :D!!
Nice to see you hee...

[MetaRommie]

I was hit by a truck and thrown straight throw the windsheild, and for the first month I was in a wheelchair but I got bored with that and forced myself into crutches and started going back to school, I had bunches of scars all over my face and when anything touched my left leg it sent pain through my entire body so when I accidently hit my locker against the leg I dropped all my books all over the floor and everyone just stood there and laughed at me and gave me a the nice nickname scarface but hey it was okay because thats how I met my boyfriend, and I hit the nearest person to me over the head with my crutch and knocked him out, but my already super low self esteem kind made me drop out. I'm gonna go back next year so I'm over it, Its been a few months and I can walk again hell I can run faster than anyone around here but I still have scars all over my face, sp people give me weird looks all the time I just shrug it off saying "Oracle wouldn't let it get to her," and well I'm gonna stop typing because ya'll are probably getting annoyed with everyone talking about this.

Sean

[SevenSlave]

^ Thank you for sharing, Meta. :)

[invacare_woman]

Inva...that name_woman? lol that the best you could do? LOL It's invaCARE_woman, cause I'm in a invacare brand wheelchair, and I CARE too so GET IT RIGHT lol

[Jacklyn]

Thank you for sharing everyone...wether you have more or less in common with Oracle, I feel that everyone has moments in their lives, or certain instances where they just don't feel as capable as everyone else. I, myself have experienced something like this. I had scoliosis all my life, as Oracle Ruby did. At the age of 15, my spinal curvature had become too large (40 degree curve) and I was told that I needed surgery. When you're 15 and you're about to have surgery especially on an area as delicate as your spine, it's a very scary place to be.They tell you that only 1% of the people that have this surgery end up paralyzed, but when you are in that kinda situation, you always think that your going to be in that one percent. Anyway, i left school for three months and had surgery. 100% successful. i have two metal rods in my spine now, and they keep me from doing somethings. Sometimes, I feel inferior to others, because i can't take certain jobs or lift certain things or do certain exercises and because any extreme in temperature, or overdone physical activity can leave me chained to a bed for the rest of the day.
It took me a long time to realize that this didn't make me an inferior person, as it doesn't make any of you inferior (which I'm sure you know). It just makes you so much stronger. To have to deal with everything and still live life as any other normal being is an amazing feat, no matter how insignificant others may think your problem is, its big because its big to you. There are people out there who don't get it and who poke fun and its crap. Just always know what I have learned. Those who make fun are those who hide their inferiority from others.

[the_watcher]

I relate to you all. But I really am like oracle in some way (and am also a teacher), When I was five my parents told me the little family secret all the line of family in my father's side has a genetic disability (has anyone seen the movie Unbreakable I have that - Osteogenesis Imperfecta) well that's me I have been till now some 50 times in hospital (no joking I just stopped counting because it made me feel bad) just because of fractures, my bones have less density than a normal bone and so I can break very easily. I was two times in a wheelchair one becuse both my legs were broke and another because of a first floor to ground level try to fly.
I know that is dificult to move anywhere and I also know how people look at you and what they say, but I got so used to it that I take it in a ok for me way.
I had a lot of problems during highschool and later on and today I use a cane for walking but I don't regret much in my life and that goes for you all JUST GIVE YOUR BEST ALWAYS that way you will be able to go around whatever life throws at you. Many of you are still young but had already really bad times but, none the less you are here posting and having fun, meeting people, doing friends living, that is all that matters. Since nowadays I don't go out much I started working with computers now I know many things that five or six years ago I didn't and I keep learning (believe me I really keep learning and you can´t believe how much). I sometimes work with my students collecting data for there works and there with them I learn new things like Internet, searching and downloading. We are alive until we die and we have to live with ourselves until then; so either we have had similar experiences or even identify with oracle, the truth is we may still be hurt inside by a trauma or because people not always understand but we all got here and we know life is not fair but it is fun.
So do what you want to do and as good as you can, never be scared of new things, and keep having fun here and there inside of you.

Best wishes to all and BOP Forever. the_watcher - A.J.R.