As a kid our alley in back was where all the neighborhood kids played. We all decided it was race time. Most of us were on bikes but I happened to have my roller blades on.

Important detail is that there was a pretty steep slope from one end of the alley to the bottom before it leveled out halfway down. Of course we start at the top, everyone’s getting speed and I’m focused so I don’t get the wobbles. I’m actually ahead and it’s me a Jorge going neck and neck until I hit a rock at the bottom.

I tucked and rolled (apparently about 5 times) before I land on my back and slide for another 15 feet.

Maybe it was bad enough for the ER but in that day and with my family we treated it at home if it wasn’t a broken bone or head wound. So I laid belly down on the couch while my Pops picked gravel out of my back and blotted me with peroxide and anticeptic. Overall it wasn’t as bad as some of my brothers’ accidents but it looked pretty gnarly.

I could have won dammit

Will do sir.

• Sincerely, Poor bitch trying to fucking off even more for this poor guy for some reason.

No matter what tricks and aids I use to help manage it all they still end up becoming too overwhelming that I phase them out.

Even trying to go get diagnosed was hard enough. I had to have my mother in law come with me to advocate for me because I can handle the first topic we start with and they (doctors) move on to the next when I’m not done with the first so that’s all I’m thinking about. They were consistently giving me Lexapro and scooting me out the door. Kthnxbye!!

My MIL came with ONCE and interrupted the doc the moment I got flustered. I didn’t even realize I was flustered yet but she did without even pointing it out. Even just her interjecting got me focused again. It was such a a breathe of fresh air. She just retired from 40 years in healthcare and she was my savior. She knew exactly what and how to do what I’d been trying to do for 20 years with no results. Not like a diagnosis helps much but it was still validating to finally have something to show for my efforts all these years.