Different Mathematics

One of the more interesting discoveries made by the employee occurred after a catastrophic injury.

The employee would like to clarify that the discovery was entirely unwanted.

The employee had not requested additional life lessons.

The employee had already accumulated several.

Nevertheless, the lesson arrived.

The employee discovered that many people assume disability is primarily a problem of belief.

The Research Department has reviewed this theory extensively.

The findings remain inconclusive.

The employee has met individuals who believed she could do more.

The employee has met individuals who believed she should do less.

The employee has met individuals who were entirely convinced that attitude was the determining factor.

The employee has also met gravity.

Gravity remains unconvinced.

The employee’s body has never been particularly interested in debates.

The body reviews available resources.

The body reviews available sleep.

The body reviews physical demands.

The body then produces a report.

The report is often inconvenient.

Administration dislikes these reports.

The employee dislikes them as well.

Unfortunately, the reports appear accurate.

The employee can work.

This is not the question.

The employee can push beyond reasonable limits.

This has been repeatedly demonstrated.

This is also not the question.

The real question is cost.

The employee spent years learning that every action carries a price.

Work has a price.

Recovery has a price.

Sleep has a price.

Ignoring sleep has a larger price.

The body, unlike many institutions, itemizes everything.

The Research Department eventually reached a conclusion.

The employee’s challenge was never motivation.

The employee possesses enough motivation to concern medical professionals.

The challenge was sustainability.

The employee could often accomplish remarkable things.

The question was whether the employee could continue accomplishing them tomorrow.

And the day after that.

And the day after that.

This distinction appears important.

Because a person can be capable of performing an activity and still be unable to sustain it indefinitely.

The employee learned this lesson repeatedly.

The employee also learned something else.

Needing support is not the same thing as lacking value.

Needing assistance is not the same thing as lacking contribution.

Needing accommodations is not the same thing as lacking purpose.

The Research Department considers these findings significant.

The employee spent years believing that recovery would eventually return life to its previous form.

The evidence suggests otherwise.

The injury changed the body.

The injury did not change the employee’s desire to contribute.

The injury did not eliminate curiosity.

The injury did not eliminate service.

The injury did not eliminate responsibility.

The injury merely changed the mathematics.

The employee therefore continues moving forward.

Sometimes slowly.

Sometimes creatively.

Occasionally with substantial assistance from complete strangers.

The Research Department finds this fascinating.

Administration finds it inefficient.

The employee remains grateful anyway.

Because while the injury permanently altered the path, it did not eliminate the journey.

The employee still has work to do.

It simply no longer looks the way anyone expected.