MY DISABILITY

What happened? Why are you in a wheelchair? What’s wrong with you? Why are you like that?

I’ve heard it all and I’ve seen the stares. I’m used to it and I’m not offended by the question in the slightest. Of course I would prefer this to be asked kindly and respectfully, but there are far more inappropriate questions I am worried about.

More about those later.

I’ve hated being late my entire life - I even came into the world about 3 months early! Because of my eagerness to grace the world with my presence, my brain was underdeveloped. The part of my brain that was most affected controls movement and muscle control. This is in an injury called Cerebral Palsy.

There are several types with a wide range of symptoms. In my case, I have spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

• Spastic refers to spasticity which basically means tight muscles.

• Quadriplegic means all four limbs are affected.

I want to show you that I am more than my disability. But more than that, I want to show you that disability my deserves have the space to just exist without consuming all of me.

Our bodies are shells for our souls. It seems that mine is just a little less cooperative.