Autoimmune actions in the ableist academy

Behind me, all down my back, joints, tendons and ligaments stiffen and tighten. At the back of my mind I sense that the woolly incoherence of my thoughts is worsening. My guts clench. It is hard to write these words. The medical complex offers a diagnosis that brings the problem(s) to the fore: autoimmune diseases causing systemic inflammation, pain, stiffness, fatigue, mood swings, brain fog; my immune system is attacking me. ‘I’ have turned on and against ‘myself’. I work harder to try to keep up; symptoms worsen. Losing control of myself, my life, my work, I sense that I