Will Not Stand For This

(When I first started working for a math tutoring lab at my old college, the people there were not used to me. I’m pretty fit and look young for my age, but I use a cane sometimes because I have a mild form of Muscular Dystrophy that mostly affects my right limbs. This and an unrelated balancing disorder cause me to trip and fall often. I’m not frail in the least and always get up just fine, but the stigma of using a cane tends to make people who don’t know me unnecessarily careful around me. It’s the early morning and the beginning of the shift. No students are in the lab, just my boss and a coworker. I trip over a chair and hit the floor with a grunt. I roll on my side and am about to get up when my coworker rushes to me and grabs my side, preventing me from standing up.)

Coworker: “[My Name]! Are you okay!?”

Me: *trying to get up, but being held down by him* “Yes, I’m fine. It’s no big deal.”

Coworker: *still not letting me go* “You sure? You sure you’re all right?”

Me: “Yes! I’m fine! I’d be getting up right now if you were not holding me! This is the opposite of helping!”