i had another post on the docket for this week’s #mythursdaythreads, but couldn’t not acknowledge the gorgeousness that is selma blair.  her vanity fair oscars party look was to-die-for.  as a fashionista with a physical disability, i cannot even begin to explain my ugly cry after seeing another glorious gal looking amazing in the midst of her pain.  it is immensely difficult to even mention disabling illnesses; putting that in the forefront is just an affront to human dignity.

credit:  Getty Images

to be clear, selma and i have different physical disabilities.  i have postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a neurological disorder where my heart rate elevates when i sit up or stand from a lying/sitting position, then faint.  fainting + falling = concussions, which is why i take medication and exercise regularly to minimize my risk of hitting my head for the bazillionth time.  POTS also causes what i loving refer to as “flu days”:  i spend numerous days a month horizontal, dependent on nausea medication, dizzy as hell, watching horrible judge shows on the couch.  most of y’all get the flu maybe once a year; imagine once a week.  it ain’t glamorous.  i mean, i was fashionable well before my diagnosis, but the existence of the illness makes me more aware than ever of how i look.  i can imagine selma blair felt quite the same way when she stepped out at the oscars party looking like a goddess.

like, let’s be honest.  i hate to be seen at less than 100%.  i am the gal who is always in heels (Indiana weather permitting), smiling, laughing the loudest of anyone in the room.  i don’t have time for chronic illness, and i hate that it so aggressively imposes on my appearance.  i have longed for a fashion house to create a line of compression socks that would look adorable underneath, say, my hunter rain boots.  like, louis vuitton, dior, hell, tory burch… let’s get on this shit.  i’d love to see a world where we embrace our inner struggles, and can shine through them.

let’s allow our art, our fashion, our design, shine through our obstacles.  like, let’s perpetuate this beautiful, brave image of those willing to reveal their humanity.