Dealing with a Disability

By Sharon Marie Simmons

Dealing with a Disability is the story of my life after domestic abuse that left me a quadriplegic. The physical challenges from being able-bodied to being physically challenged from 1980 until the present. I have also inserted something that my daughter wanted me to say concerning her domestic abuse that resulted in her murder by her husband. However painful this was for me this was done and hope of helping someone else.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664158429

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Copyright © 2021 by Sharon Marie Simmons.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-6641-5843-6

                eBook           978-1-6641-5842-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 02/15/2021

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Dedication

Facts About Domestic Violence

Dealing with a Disability

Acknowledgments

For my children I ask for your forgiveness. You love me when I was in the midst of my madness. I thank God for giving me yet another chance. I say another instead of second because He has given me many. I cannot say that I would have changed anything that has happened to me. For if it had not I would not be where I am today. With each day that God gives, it brings a love for my children more than the day before. For my family I thank you for your love and support. I asked the same of you for your forgiveness. In addition, for those who I have hurt, angered, or wronged. I asked the same of you.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you Ephesians 4:32

Dedication

To God Is the Glory

This book is dedicated to my parents Tecora and Emmett who introduced me to God and Jesus Christ. For the Bible states that you should raise up a child in the way that they should go when they are old they would not depart from it. My three children Kenya, Kimberly, and Harold. My grandchildren Keonnia, Sherriann, Ky’Ericka, Jai’Marie, Kem, Harold, Torriyonna, Xzavion, Xzorion, and Xzaveir. My great grandchildren Londyn, Lauryn, Messiah, Zion, Mia, Nori and, Ai’Lani.

God is good and worthy to be praised

Facts About Domestic Violence

Most domestic violence incidents are never reported. One in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime. The same number (one in four) of GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender) individuals also experience domestic violence. Women ages 20 to 24 are at the greatest risk of becoming victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women – more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined. Every 9 seconds in the U.S. a woman is assaulted or beaten. Every year, 1 in 3 women who is a victim of homicide is murdered by her current or former partner.

Domestic Violence and Its Impact on Children

Every year, more than 3 million children witness domestic violence in their homes. A 2005 Michigan study found that children exposed to domestic violence at home are more likely to have health problems. This includes becoming sick more often, having frequent headaches or stomachaches, and being more tired and lethargic. Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.

Domestic Violence and Its Impact on Our Community

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, domestic violence is the third leading cause of homelessness among families. Survivors of domestic violence face high rates of depression, sleep disturbances, anxiety, flashbacks, and other emotional distress. Domestic violence contributes to poor health for many survivors. For example, chronic conditions like heart disease or gastrointestinal disorders can become more serious due to domestic violence. Domestic violence costs more than $37 billion a year in law enforcement involvement, legal work, medical and mental health treatment, and lost productivity at companies.

Domestic Violence Varies by Ethnicity

Black and Hispanic couples are two to three times more likely to report male-to-female and female-to-male partner violence than white couples, and alcohol plays a role in the increased risk of violence, especially among black couples. It is probably not surprising that statistics concerning intimate partner violence vary widely from study to study and from year to year. Interpersonal violence is not a topic that either the victim nor the perpetrator is eager to reveal. It can be embarrassing for both to talk about outside the household. Therefore, intimate partner violence is probably vastly under-reported, and the actual percentages reported in research surveys can and do vary widely from study to study.

Domestic Violence More Prevalent Among Ethnic Groups

Although completely accurate numbers are probably not available, research generally agrees that among ethnic groups in the United States, blacks are the most likely to experience domestic violence—either male-to-female or female-to-male—followed by Hispanics and then whites. Asians are the least likely to experience intimate partner violence. A five-year