Incredibly Happy That I Stood My Ground

                  I knew my life would change dramatically once I got Duchess and honestly I had quite a bit of anxiety about all the changes that were to come. I also knew I needed some of these changes so I could have my life back. I never realized many things I know now about disabilities. I have learned the hard way that if you are different you are targeted by bullies at work and in general. I have been graced with some of the rudest comments of my life from the general public for the past three years. These comments were incredibly rude and prying. I know people are curious but with that curiosity also comes a great deal of judgement because I am an adult. I am constantly judged because I could not make it work without a service dog and I am judged because people just don't understand why I need Duchess.

                     Last week was incredibly difficult because of the fact that people are bullying me at my office and the complaints are coming all from one department. All the same department as the woman who did not want me testing in the office or lunch areas even though I was trying to test my blood sugar under the table. I know from experience first hand most disabled individuals are not treated in a friendly polite manner. I feel like I have a target on my back saying abuse me because I am disabled and don't already have enough to deal with in my life. It has been a very difficult couple of weeks. Thankfully when I was working overtime this weekend my manager and I meet in person again to discuss this issue. I had a similar issue while in college and once they addressed the so called issue the demands grew so out of control they finally told the student they would not be making any further accommodations because they were impeding with me dealing with my disability. So I know if I back down now the complaints will continue to grow and grow as they accommodate peoples requests. So I knew I needed to get this resolved because I was getting distracted and it was affecting my sleep. I am happy to report I am not moving and will have the sliding door installed several months from now which I am happy with. I know my manager said she had not thought of things from my perspective because she again has never had an employee with a service dog before. I know it is a learning curve for all of us. I am glad I have been able to stand up and defend myself. I am glad I have resolution to the issue for the most part and the best part is that I don't have to move all my stuff to a new location during the busiest time of the year.