Does it hurt you to see an injuried, sick, or disabled person?

Question

My baby niece is kind of sick and she is still in the hospital. We go to see her every week, and if my mother and i go there on Sundays we attend church in the hospital. (yes, the church in the hospital) I always get so chocked up during mass when i see the injuried/disabled people in their wheel chairs because i know that they are probably hurting. (also because it's so peaceful to be their) We pray for them, and the preist give them hugs and blesses them. it feels so good to be there because they don't judge you and they see you for who you truly are.

are you sensitive like me?

Answer 1

Disabled people aren't sick, they have a disability, either a mobility problem, or a visual problem , or a communication/speech problem. Some may have intellectual impairments or mental health issues, but they are not SICK.

Think of them as persons first, not in their chairs or using canes. Of course the priest blesses them, disabled persons are religious or irreligious as the next person. And no disabled persons are not examples of the sins of their parents. God created everyone in his own image so somewhere God is disabled just like disabled people.

Answer 2

I do feel hurt when I see disabled persons, sick persons or injured persons. I am disabled, I still can walk, but limited, I cannot bend, nor lift anything, nor use force in my hands and I have all the diasabled persons ID cards from the government here. What gets me raving mad, is on the bus, the front side seats are for elderly and disabled persons. There are young girls and boys who sit there and the disabled and elderly have to go to the back of the bus. I have to get up and argue with the dumb driver to move those others out of the seats and leave the seats for the elderly and disabled persons. It is ashame that people who are physically capable of standing have to sit and leave the elderly and disabled standing. Once on the bus I had to fight with a teenager to move his bag from the seat. He said he was saving the seat for a friend. I took his bag and dumped it on the floor and had the elderly lady sit. The kid was mad and I was glad and I told him off too. I feel sorry for these persons because it is hard for them to get around and do things. Now some are stubborn as a mule and won't let you help them, I try but if they keep up a fight I let them go thier way. And being sensitive is good because it show in your heart that you care and praying for them is great and God knows this and He will help them through your prayers. Bless you.

Answer 3

Interesting question. If you want to use the word, I "hurt" for the mentally challenged people more than any others. I "hurt" for them because of the way people shun them, especially if they are homeless and street people.

"Hurt" is an odd word to use. I get angry at how people are treated, I can feel the embarassment, the frustration and anger the disabled feel - but I wouldnt necessarily call it "hurt". It makes me sad that disabled children face such obstacles.

However your question kind of lumps the disabled into one group doesnt it ? Labelled "pitiful" ?

I think you are trying to say you dont avoid or shun the disabled, that you recognize the difficulties they experience, but do you see disabled people as capable? Strong? Admirable people?

Pity isnt what the disabled want or need. A hug is always a good thing though, if it can be given without pity and just as "hugging a friend".

I think seeing the disabled as being so pitiful and helpless only hurts all of us. We dont want to patted on the head and told what "brave little troopers" we all are. We want respect and equality, not pity.

Answer 4

You are a very nice and caring person and I hope much goodness for your little neice. I'm not being sarcastic, okay? I have disability (no wheel chair) from a TBI (head injury). I have several friends who use wheel chairs, not because they hurt physically or mentally, but because they have to re-learn how to walk and move. They go to physical therapy. I used to be a TA at a school for multi-handicapped kids, It was really one of the best jobs I had. Anyway, I'm hinting that possibly, you might do volunteer work with the disabled.

Answer 5

On the one hand--your empathy is great. But--especially if you are going to be part of your nieces life--you have to get beyond it.

Pity is the greatest insult--and the greatest harm--you can do to a person with a disability. Understanding and a supportive attitude--yes. But not pity.

Here's a bit of history to illustrate. In World War 2 thousands of American soldiers wwere blinded. At the time--and unfortunately stilll today, the majority of blind people are given a great deal of sympathy because of their "great trajedy." And most sat around in homes or lived off the charity of family--as is still true.

What did the Army do? As soon as these men were sufficiently recovered, they were sent to a rehabilitation center. There they went to school--six classes a day, six days a week. Plus working as interns in local businesses. They were required to both learn to travel with a cane--and to navigate the school grounds without one. They were kept in the Army (or Navy) and under orders and military discipline.

The result? Practially all went back to work--and not in "make-work jobs." As a group they had iger educational levels, better jobs, and higher incomes than the average non-disabled person--and half had at least one additional disability. It was--and for its size remains--the single most successful rehabilitation program in history.

Because it started with the assumption that these men did not need pity--they needed to learn that they were still able to be productive citizens, able to stand on their own and have ric, fufilling lives.

Be sympathetic. Don't let your emotional response descend into ppity--and don't let it make you assume a person with a disability is helpless or that their life will be a tragic one. If you do--and they believe that--you will have destroyed them far more than an injury can ever do.

Answer 6

No - it does not hurt me to see people with a disability.
People who have a disability are NOT hurting or suffering - in general. So please be careful that you do not pity them or develop a patronising attitude towards people with a disability.

Some people may have a medical condition which cause them pain and ARE suffering and when they are in hospital then - YES, they are probably suffering - because they are not well. That is why they are there. But DO NOT confuse disability with suffering.

Do pray for people who are in hospital - as they are sick or have health problems, if you so inclined.You have a good heart and genuinely care about people but may need some educating regarding what disability is all about.

People with a disability are people like you and me. They have dreams , hopes, families, intelligence, make friends, go shopping, play sport, get drunk, have children, get into trouble with the law - just like most people in society. Some are nice people, and some can be royal pain as well. So don't feel hurt for them. They don't want you to. They just want you to see them as people.

I have a good friend who has muscular dystrophy. He is going to die - this is a terminal condition. I care about him a lot but I don't pity him nor do I feel hurt when I see him. I see him as a friend who needs extra help when we go out together. What he wants most is NOT for me to pity him or feel hurt to see him but to have a quality of life as normal like other people as possible.

If you would like to know more about disability issues or how to see people with disability in the proper perspective - email me. I am more than happy to help. Some other people who regularly answer here are also a good resource too if they are willing to help you.

Cheers

Answer 7

I would have to answer this question like this, I don't feel sorry for them, because I have been friends with several ppl who have been disabled, from being blind, missing limbs, to ppl who have been hurt in accidents and are paralyzed. And I know from experience, they don't want you to feel sorry for them, they want you to treat them normally. They don't ppl to pity them. Now, I do have a compassionate heart, and I hate to see anyone hurt, especially children. I have learned so much from ppl with disabilities, I have learned to be caring, non judgmental, I have learned to not complain about the small ****, when I could have it so much worse. Like when I complain about the dirty dishes and I don't even stop to think that there is someone out there right now who is crying because they can't reach the sink due to them being confined to a wheel chair for the rest of their life because a drunk driver hit them and they are now paralyzed from the neck down. I don't feel sorry for disabled ppl...I look up to them.

Answer 8

Yes, I recently saw my grandpa. He has Alzheimer's, and I hadn't seen him in 4 years (he lives pretty far away). I was so nervous about seeing him, and it was really hard. He used to be a physics professor, but now he can't even go to the bathroom by himself. I hid in a closet and cried after I saw him. I didn't understand why the rest of my family didn't seem as upset as I did...I felt better later, after I talked to a doctor who told me that it was probably harder for me than it was for him. And he did look happy, which helped.

But yes, it's hard to see people who are suffering. I'm studying to be a doctor, but I worry that seeing people in pain will be difficult for me. I've worked with kids who were from abusive homes, and that was soooo hard. I wished I could have helped them more, and it was frustrating because I couldn't. I think it's especially sad to see sick kids, because they're so little and vulnerable. People ask me why I don't want to be a pediatrician (because I love little kids), but I think it would just be too hard for me to work with hurting kids. I want to be an ob-gyn, because a lot of my patients wouldn't actually be sick at all--my job would be more helping them not to get sick/injured.

I don't know if I'm more sensitive about that stuff than other people...maybe so, because I was abused as a kid and so seeing others who are suffering (especially emotionally) is more personal for me.

I hope your baby niece gets well soon. I'm sure it helps her to see you! I know that infants in the hospital who get more skin-on-skin touch tend to improve faster (according to research, and it makes sense!).

Answer 9

When I see sick people yes.
When I see people with disabilities no.
One family had a child who can't walk and was blind, but by the age of 2 they discover he had a talent in music.
A girl in Ethiopia lost an arm and a leg from a train, but later
was adopted to an American family and discovered a talent in swimming.
Disabilities can add to character

Answer 10

It really depends on their disability or sickness. I do feel for those children at St. Jude's with cancer but than again I've been around enough disabled people of all types to not get so sensitive about it.