This is an extremely important thread for all my colleagues in health!

I had a broken ankle - like 50/50 whether I needed a plate put in.

While still in hospital <24h post I was abused by a nurse & manhandled into WALKING because I didn’t perform pain the way she expected. https://twitter.com/thechroniccurly/status/1335589491151691779

TW: Medical abuse

Let me be clear - I experienced a level of mistreatment by a health professional, that could have warranted a police complaint *in New Zealand*, because I didn’t appear to be in enough pain for this nurse to take me seriously.

This is why it is CRITICAL that health professionals understand the reality of disabled people, incl those of us with chronic pain. Bc as a then-medical student with a tonne of experience in health advocacy, the ableism (and racism) of my health provider caused me serious harm.

What is it like for those who don’t have the privilege and education that I had?

Without intervention I would have been manhandled into a taxi, with no pain relief, and dumped alone at a house that I couldn’t get up the steps to, let alone get up and down for bathroom & food.

This is the outcome the nurse wanted, because she simply could not conceive I could be in that much agony and still be able to talk, communicate my rights, and firmly tell her I do not consent to her touching me.

I had a panic attack in the wheelchair, and then she punished me by wheeling me to a room in the *dark*. I still have medical trauma from that experience. And in hindsight, I really should have made a complaint to both the hospital and had her done for assault.

#AbleismInHealth