Can someone really be this disabled?
February 2, 2019 12:38 PM   Subscribe

A close friend of mine is disabled. While I don’t doubt that she has a disability, I’ve never heard of anyone having this many diseases, disorders, and conditions in my whole life.

According to her, these are the conditions she has been diagnosed with:

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Scoliosis
Asthma
Arthritis
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Gallbladder Failure
Hemophilia
Hearing Loss/Deafness
Chronic Migraines/Migraine Disorder
Sleep Apnea
Dystonia
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Inability to Process Nutrients (Malabsorption Syndrome?)
Anorexia Except that she is Morbidly Obese (she said her doctor said she has all the symptoms of anorexia except that she is obese…??????)
Ankyloglossia (she had surgery for this)
Mood and Anxiety Disorders (OCD, Depression, etc.)

I’m likely forgetting some.

Three things stand out to me:

1.) The number and variety of diagnoses. Never have I met someone who has so many diagnoses that they can't even remember them all.

2.) Her attitude about her life. A lot of people have disabilities, including myself and my wife. Yet most people I know with disabilities find a way to live their lives as best as they can (or at least try to). In her case she isn't even open to the possibility of doing some of the things she says she can't (getting a job, driving a vehicle, getting an education, etc.). Whenever I have suggested something, like how there are organizations that help people with disabilities find and keep work, go to school, etc., like I am involved with, she will shut it down immediately. Almost everything I have suggested to her she has responded with, "I can't because of condition..." a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, etc. To suggest anything, she says, is to question her diagnoses, which she will not tolerate. She has "already thought of everything," she told me.

3.) Her background. She was home schooled (and never finished that - she has no high school education), has lived most of her life without access to the Internet, libraries, etc., and basically knows nothing of the world outside her house where she and her parents live. I mean, she's 32-years-old, it's the year 2019, and she didn't know what Bluetooth was and that car seats can be adjusted/moved to accommodate different sized drivers/passengers?

Sometimes I wonder if her parents have brainwashed her into believing she is hopelessly disabled/crippled, a kind of Munchausen syndrome via proxy. Is this possible?
posted by 8LeggedFriend to Health & Fitness

This post was deleted for the following reason: This is not a good idea. -- LobsterMitten

 
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