Katharina Buczek
This 24-year-old woman and her boyfriend, who is 26, have been dating for nearly two years now. She also has a disability that is not visible to the bare eye.
“And because I’m young and look relatively healthy, some people find it hard to believe that I’m actually disabled,” she said.
Since she suffers from chronic pain, she uses a walking cane and wears both leg and knee braces.
Yet, her boyfriend’s mom, Linda, has still always been skeptical about her health condition. In fact, when they first met, Linda even made some really rude remarks about how “young people these days are always looking for an excuse to be lazy.”
At the time, she just brushed her boyfriend’s mom off and didn’t think Linda intended to be hurtful. But, as she and her boyfriend’s relationship has continued, his mom’s comments have only gotten worse.
For instance, whenever she attends family gatherings, Linda always has to point out how she looks “healthy” and question why she needs certain accommodations.
Once, Linda even said, “You don’t look like you need that cane. Are you sure you’re not just using it for attention?” Another time, Linda claimed that she was too young to be so tired constantly.
Her boyfriend’s mom has also told her to just take off her leg braces since she was “obviously” just wearing them to make people feel sorry for her.
According to her, her boyfriend has repeatedly tried to stand up for her and explain her diagnosis to his mom. Regardless, Linda never listens, and just the other day, she finally hit her breaking point.
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