Introduce yourself.
My name is Aimee. I’ve been skating for about 12 years. I am a street skater – heavy impact. I study Auslan - just finished Cert II this week. I love everything and anything outdoors, I love being in nature and I love glitter! I have three dogs and two cats – that consumes most of my life.
What are your chronic illnesses?
Since I was young, I’ve had chronic illness of the abdomen – between the uterus and the bowel. Little tumours would grow, and I would have surgeries every year to cut them out. I get chronic spasms – these seizing episodes of the abdomen are debilitating.
A year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with intracranial artery stenosis – blockage of the right side of the brain blocking the trigeminal nerve (trigeminal neuralgia), and I’ve needed a few ankle reconstructions (two from sports accidents, one from a car accident). I developed a blood infection from MRSA, which is now just sitting in the immune system – and the MRSA is resistant to antibiotics.
MRSA is a type of Staph infection that has developed a resistance to most antibiotics. People with existing conditions are at a higher risk of contracting an MRSA infection and suffering severe symptoms.
How have your chronic illnesses impacted skating?
This is an extreme impact. Chronic fatigue destroys me. Sometimes when my muscles are being used, as I have no core strength, it sends horrendous chronic spasms in my stomach. I am always fatigued – even if I am getting ready or want to try a trick. Being outside gives me migraines now. Even the fluorescent lighting in the gym triggers it.
I had a very active upbringing. I failed miserably in school. I had no interests. It wasn’t for me. I was raised doing sports. My mum raised me and encouraged me with sports. I did every type of team sport I could do. I was a national swimmer!
I never cared about academics. Sport was the only thing that mattered to me. This is probably why I was so bummed.
Do you want to try aerials?
I have always wanted to try lyra. I have been nervous because I don’t have core strength. I am scared to do anything that might involve provoking that pain. I wanted to take a conditioning class at Sky Sirens to work slowly up to it. I’ve always wanted to do lyra, but I don’t want to come and make a fool of myself. It all comes from a place of self doubt.
It’s one of those things that you just have to do and work through the fear of failing.
I used to do pole, and I loved it, but the fatigue really impacted it and my ability to even come to class.
How do you feel about it?
I have bipolar so it affects that so much – I get angry at myself. But I can’t control that. Anger to self-pity, and times where I feel really strong and empowered. But then the next day, I can feel down again depending on my health. The times I am stuck in bed is real depressing. There are so many things that I want to do, but I can’t do it physically, so it impacts my mental health.
I can’t control it, but sometimes I still get upset about it.
First Nations
I am white-passing, so I don’t have the same experiences as a lot of my friends do. I am very privileged but in terms of mental health, I am not taken seriously at all or it is taken too seriously and my chronic illness is neglected.
Watching so many people around me be so affected by medical neglect because of the colour of the skin is awful.
What would you like people to know about your conditions?
People say that I am young and healthy because sometimes I am skating or doing high impact sports. Sometimes I am lucky to be able to do these things, but it’s not my reality all the time. When close friends watch me go through surgeries, it is offensive when they describe me as young and healthy. I work harder than them to do the bare minimum because that’s what I have to do.
It’s the little things we do that we succeed in that people take for granted.
It’s like them doing a hard trick – but it takes more effort for me to do it. They don’t understand how much of a reward it is. I like to celebrate our achievements.
“You’re always sick” “There's always something wrong” . It hurts when people say this because I can’t control it. It’s chronic.
We are coping, not surviving. We don’t have a choice. I am working for this; I am making this happen myself.
I am coping because I am making myself cope. If I sit there in bed and let it defeat me, I am done bc of my mental health. I may as well try. I am not just surviving; I am working hard. They take us and what we do for granted. Especially with skating.
“You’re so lucky!” I would rather be working than be stuck in bed unable to walk for 3 months. I don’t feel lucky. I am trying to use the word “luck” less because it’s often a backhanded compliment - and I am working hard to achieve my goals. Telling me that I just got lucky is telling me that I don’t really deserve what I have accomplished when actually, I have to work so much harder than most people due to the additional barriers from my chronic illnesses.