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Hemicorperectomy by accident Last September 27th my life was changed drastically when I was involved in a forklift rollover that left me with no pelvic bones whatsoever and the top hinge of my right elbow. Having the choice to live or die with my girlfriend, now fiancée, family, and friends by my side in the hospital gave me the strength to fight to live! So much strength I only ended up spending 3 months in the hospital along with one month in rehab! Now finding my new self with a pandemic going on is rather hard but nonetheless I've accomplished, adapted, and have overcome most obstacles in front of me! Never forget to smile, treat others the way you want to be treated, and most of all have a great day: every day!

My story My name is Sophia Bailor. I love to mountain bike, play and watch soccer, and do anything in nature! I experienced many complex traumatic events as a child, which resulted in my development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I struggled through high school, self-harming daily, and surviving two suicide attempts. I went through many hospitalizations and treatment centers, but none of them seemed to help me. On July 29, 2019, I attempted suicide for the third time. After suffering traumatic leg amputation, hypothermia, tachycardia, hypovolemic shock, and extreme blood loss I was medevacked to Suburban Hospital for arterial repair, then to UMMC Shock Trauma for limb salvage surgery. After 6 hours of surgery to reattach my leg, there was still not much hope that I would regain function. In 9 months I was hospitalized many times, went through intense physical therapy, used an AFO brace, tried hundreds of different medication regimens, and was still left with excruciating pain and no function return. On March 20, 2020, I had a below-knee amputation with targeted muscle reinnervation. I am now proud to say that I am in recovery, both physically and mentally. I want to share my story for other people struggling so that they know they are not alone!

finding the reasons to celebrate!!! In 2017, the summer before my senior year of high school, I was running late to the first volleyball practice of the school year and ran off of the road. I was airlifted to the hospital where the neurosurgeon told my family, “We don’t know what to expect because people with this type of injury don’t usually make it to the hospital.” I dislocated my skull from my spine and stretched my spinal cord an inch. I had a 1% chance of living! But, here I am getting stronger every day and finding the reasons to celebrate!!! Follow my story at www.this-extraordinarylife.com !!!!! Living an extraordinary life and sharing some of the ordinary things that make it that way! Follow my story here!!!

Yoga is for Every Body. Hey folks! My name is Rodrigo and I have a T3 complete spinal cord injury. A few years ago I had an accident. I fell from a small cliff and broke my back. I have been doing Yoga (Bikram) for a while before my accident and after that, I started doing adapted yoga on my own with some resources from the internet. I have done adapted and accessible yoga workshops for a while now and I am currently taking a 200Hr yoga teaching course that should be done by December. I love yoga and it has helped me with a lot of things including my chronic pain and legs spasticity. Thanks a lot for reading my story and have a beautiful week ahead. XX

My journey to a stoma Hi, I’m Ollie, just turned 16 years old and I’m diagnosed with Colitis and a few weeks ago. I had major surgery called an ileostomy to remove my colon because I was very sick (acute colitis) and was missing a lot of school and time with my mates because I was either in pain in bed at home, or in a hospital. The surgery left me with a stoma bag and it saved my life, allowed me to be a teenager again and gave me a second chance at life I wanted to turn this into a positive so I created a Facebook and Instagram page called @thekidwithabag to spread and raise awareness for this invisible illness and support young people like myself who have been through or are going through with this horrible condition. Not many young people speak out about this topic and there’s a lot of stigma surrounding the topic so by me speaking out and spreading awareness I hope to break that stigma. If you could do anything, share my page, that would be amazing and help spread awareness about this condition.

My History Hello, my name is Melvin and I am from Honduras Central America. I live in Tegucigalpa the capital and 10 years ago I had an accident. As a result of this accident, I became a quadriplegia (paralysis of the neck down) level C4 and C5. For 2 years I lived with a tracheotomy. At the time of the accident, I was in college. After it happened it completely derailed my studies. However, 2 years ago I restarted my studies online, and I have also been studying English. It is a new way of life but with a lot of spiritual and psychological resilience, you try to overcome it. Blessings

Me and my wheelchair I have mixed feelings about my wheelchair ♿️ I don’t like the term ‘wheelchair bound’ because it sounds so negative and as if my wheelchair is a problem. My wheelchair isn’t a problem, on the contrary actually! My wheelchair gives me the freedom to get around on my own, change position and even control my iPad. I’m very grateful to have my electric wheelchair but let’s be honest... it’s not exactly a beautifully designed item 🙄 Even though it’s an important part of my everyday life it’s often something I try to hide in pictures. It’s not because I’m ashamed of it in any way, I think it’s more about me wanting to be seen as me - as a person - and not me as the woman in a wheelchair 😊

A Little Miracle Hi, my name is Isabella and I was born with spina bifida occulta with tethered spine syndrome, which meant that my spinal cord was attached to a fat lump instead of being loose inside my spine. At 3 months old I underwent dangerous, corrective surgery. It saved my life! But my problems were not over... The Problem My condition was progressive and after a few years, I started having problems with my bladder muscles. I needed to carry supplies such as wipes, catheters, spare underwear, and liners. It didn't take long before school friends started noticing. The Challenge But what could I do to make carrying these necessary supplies more discreet? There was nothing on the market to meet my needs so my Mom, Teresa helped me and we decided to find a solution. After testing several prototypes, I had an idea! The Solution My Private Pocket was my tried and tested solution to carrying emergency supplies and back up underwear in a way that the other kids wouldn't know, allowing me to enjoy life like other children. My family has made it their mission to make life better for many children with medical needs and incontinence problems. Launching My Private Pocket products such as wipes, toilet seat covers, and stylish underwear that's just as fun and colorful as regular fashionable kid's underwear. Learn more about the story behind My Private Pocket

About SHAHRMINEY RAMAISH I’m Shahrminey Ramaish,19, from Malaysia. Currently, I’m running a small online business. I'm so glad to share my story with y'all.❤️ I’m a sports enthusiast who used to participate in a lot of competitions. I am aware of the fact that when it comes to sports getting physically hurt is common. However, I experienced lower back pain at the age of 15 .Days passed, the pain didn’t stop there. It became worse as my legs started to experience numbness and weakness. I’ve had sleepless nights due to the sharp stabbing pain. I even had difficulty in sitting and walking for too long. I suffered from this pain for a year and a half without knowing the actual cause of it. This made me miss my classes and fall behind with my studies. I was diagnosed with SPINAL CORD TUMOR " L1 - S1 " in July 2017. Surgery is a must to remove the tumor. On the 4th of January 2019, the tumor was removed yet I was informed by the doctors that it can't be removed completely. After the surgery, I experienced a loss of sensation, changes in the bladder, and discomfort in my abdomen which leads to bowel movements. I have to use a catheter to pass my urine. I followed some physiotherapy and step by step I started to walk slowly, trust me it's a painful recovery but I made it. I gained some sensation and started to walk using crutches after 2 months. The tumor didn’t stop there as it started to grow again since it's a "myxopapillary ependymoma " type. I had to undergo a second surgery on the 7th of August 2019, this time the pain was unbearable but I still tried to manage it. Whatever I do, I definitely need someone’s help. This frustrates me. I started to hate everything. I missed the old me. There were no days when I didn't cry; cursing God why it’s me who has to suffer :( IT WAS THE WORST PHASE OF MY LIFE. Nevertheless, I became grateful and regained the strength and hope for life, with the support of my family members and my friends. The way they took care of me and gave me reassurance made my hospital days some of the best days of my life.❤️ I didn’t leave it there, I continued my studies for 3 months and passed my public exam❤️ 2020, here I am now handling my pain with the aid of morphine. There was a recommendation for radiotherapy by the doctors ❤️ Hopefully I can walk soon and continue my higher education ❤️✨ It is okay to cry , but don't give up. Life has to move forward. Everything has its time and everything ends. Smile always, Spread love, and positive vibes around. Most importantly love yourself and be yourself. YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE SWEETHEARTS ❣️ *ps: thank you God for blessing me with good friends and family, WITHOUT THEM I'M NOTHING 💙✨

ConsWheels my story Hi, I’m Conor an 18-year-old guy from Ireland and, I have a rare condition called Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), I’ve been in and out of my wheelchair all of my life. I can walk but not well, I just want to show on my page how you can live a fun and independent life even if you are in a chair and through my YouTube videos 🎥, to give tips and help people who are struggling with being in a wheelchair ♿️. I have kept positive with my condition and was walking full-time up until I was 16. However, I am using a wheelchair more in recent years. I want to say its important to stay positive. I hope you enjoy my page @conswheels

Life in a wheelchair We will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the ADA on July 26. When I think about commemorating the beginnings of the ADA, I cannot help but wonder why it took that long for People Living with Disabilities (PLD) to get these rights. Simply because the narratives of disability were not written about does not mean they did not exist. I think we know our stories have existed as long as humans have. Then I also think while a lot of progress has been made in those 30 years, a lot has not. Why? Is it because unlike the history of the race, gender, and sexual identity our history is invisible? This year, February 2020, marks the 21st anniversary of my spinal injury. Long before I was forced into the life I have now, I was always a person who consciously observed the world around me. In these last 21 years, I have observed a lot about the life of living with a disability. Some good, some bad. I was never a person who was truly accepted by my peers. Growing up, I moved a lot. I was constantly the new kid. Combined with being Indian American, I was always alone. Slowly, this led to me being an unintentional outsider. Back then, I hated it. I wanted to have friends. I wanted people to like me. I wanted to hang out with all those people at the lunch table that were laughing and having a great time. The problem was they did not want to include me. As I grew older, I found my own footing. I began to not care about fitting in. I started to play music and art. I began to have confidence and pride in myself. I met people who included me without question. Then I fell and had a spinal injury. I acquired a disability and became a wheelchair rider. I woke up to paralysis and very quickly began to observe that I once again did not fit in. After I had my injury, I was fortunate to have the support of my family—a father who constantly told me how I could still do anything I wanted despite my disability and a mother who set an example of acceptance, patience, and resilience. She had been disabled all my life and she continued to cook, clean, and travel the world! She did the most she could do. I also had a lot of friends and family who called. I was so grateful for this because after I became injured, I was literally air-lifted out of the life I once had. I was very active in my community. I played in a band, made art, supported, and helped cultivate a scene. I went from this culturally rich life, surrounded by people, to living in my parent’s basement. Robert, my long-time partner, and bandmate, also came with me but he had to work. I was alone quite often, so it was nice to have people to talk to. As the months went by, I slowly became comfortable as a person living with a disability. It wasn’t easy to re-learn how to brush my teeth, use the toilet, take a shower, put on clothes, get out of bed, get in bed, and manage to have no bladder or bowel control. I had to learn how to live again. Despite the situation, I came out of it very calm, happy, and ready to conquer the world! When my relatives or old friends would see me, they would quite often share how amazed they were at my positivity. The positivity came to me naturally. It wasn’t something I had to struggle to acquire. When I would go hang out with a group of people, I often found myself saying, “What’s going on? I’m the one who's paralyzed and I’m the happiest person in the room!” It’s not necessarily true, I’m not always happy, but when I make an effort to go out into the world and believe me it is an effort, I want to enjoy myself. I am so lucky that I can always get lost in the moment no matter what’s happening. Having this positive attitude is great for me and my mental state, but there are some negatives to this blessing. Quite often, because of my natural positivity, people forget I am a person that lives with a disability. On a certain level that actually makes me happy but on another level, it deeply saddens me. Do I have to fit into the stereotype of what a person with a disability is—depressed, angry, helpless—for people to actually acknowledge my disability? I want to make it clear what I mean when I say acknowledge. · When you go to a show to watch a band and the space is completely inaccessible. Sitting in a corner alone watching all the people walk by you with their beer saying hi and not one them saying, “Hey, do you want to see the band? Let’s clear space for you to do that.” · When you are taking portraits to raise money to get a van so you can increase the independence of your life and, due to your disability, you cannot get the lighting right. Suddenly, you see a friend walk in and you are so happy because you think they can help. You ask them to take a test photo. You do it and that person looks at it and says, “Oh god! You made me look like Stephen Hawking’s mother! Haha!” and walks away instead of saying “Hey, it looks like you are having a hard time. The lighting is harsh. Can I help you set up your lights?” · When, after overcoming the obstacles of being disabled to play in a DIY band, you travel to a town where everyone knows you are in a wheelchair and there is no ramp for you to get in or out of the space you are playing. Not one person even thought of it. Then your bandmate calls to complain about how your partner upset some people because he was vocal about the lack of awareness or empathy towards your situation. At that moment it would have been really nice to hear, “I am so sorry there wasn’t a ramp there for you. That must have really been hard for you. Next time, we’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.” When your family and friends know you suffer from great amounts of pain but because they do not what to say, they just don’t call, leaving you alone and isolated. Which when you are in pain, is especially heartbreaking. Pain. I have it every day of my life. But like my mother, I choose to do everything I can despite it. I wake up barely able to move my body, wishing that I only had paralysis. Paralysis, for me, was not something that was impossible to overcome. But pain? Pain is a completely different game. When there are no solutions, you have to make a choice. Will I let this pain completely smother everything I want to do, or do I want to enjoy everything I can? Unlike other types of pain, my pain is from nerve damage—specifically neuropathy and spasticity. There is no real cure for this. After wasting many years with the medical-industrial complex to try to find a way to manage this pain, I finally decided that I am not waiting for a solution or cure. I will push past this pain and do whatever I can. I do not waste time on the idea of trying to remain “positive about it all” because my pain is not positive. My body hurts. The intensity of it keeps me from doing everything to my complete tasks and be at my fullest potential. This makes me both really sad and it pisses me off—and that is ok. Nobody will ever find the complete package, a world where sadness, anger, and all the emotions in between do not exist. The modern thought of trying to fix a person with drugs because they are unhappy for an actual reason is wrong and unhealthy. The “remaining positive” dilemma does not only affect PLD, it has become ingrained as part of the modern human condition. The human condition. We, like all animals, instinctively look at people that are different from us and form opinions based not only on the color of their skin, their gender, their religion, their sexual preference or identity, and their ability but also on things like financial status, fashion, and even the food they choose to eat. In the United States, we are seemingly very lucky to live in a country that has laws like the Right to Vote Act and the ADA to protect the Civil Rights of our citizens. The ADA specifically protects the rights of any PLD so they can have the independence and opportunities they need. These are opportunities available to the able-bodied on a regular basis so that the luxury of having that ability is actually taken for granted. How would an able-bodied person feel if they were physically stopped from participating in their community? In their world? This happens to PLD every day. When all you are greeted by are broken curb cuts, inaccessible businesses, or people parking in the accessible spot to pick up their pizza or get a cup of coffee, it makes you realize how much society does not include you or truly acknowledge your disability. WE ARE INVISIBLE! Having laws is one thing. Abiding by them and expressing concern for your fellow humans is another. I do not want to give the impression that I do not have friends and family who have gone way beyond my expectations for me in these years but from my experiences living life as a person with a disability, I start wondering about humans. We’re the only species that are born a certain way and then try to correct our behaviors or actions. Throughout our history we have protected women and children, spoke up when one human oppresses another. Most importantly, we have found ways to save lives, achieve longevity, and conquer fatal diseases. If this was 50 years ago, I certainly would have not lived. It is because of this drive for us to live longer and have stronger lives, we have essentially created a larger community of People Living with Disabilities. We pat ourselves on the back at what a great job we do saving these lives but really, what good is it to save people’s lives and then not support them to be able to live? People Living with Disabilities, like every person that is oppressed, are constantly accepting the bad with the good and asking, “How do I fit in the world? What is my place here?” “If I’m stopped by police will they recognize I have a disability? Or will they mistake my actions and arrest, hurt, or worse, kill me?” At some point you have to make a decision: “Do I want to fight for the rights of all humans?” Yes! Then that fight becomes your life purpose. This how the fight for everyone’s equality is achieved. As an Indian American female, I certainly understand the isolation that can occur because you do not have the right color skin or are not the correct gender. But I have never felt so unwanted as I have as a person living with a disability. I think that this really needs to change. My question is how?

Mirror, mirror on the wall Mirror, mirror on the wall... Are you satisfied with what you see when you look in the mirror? When I look at myself I see SMA all over - I see it in my face, my body, everywhere - and to be honest, I don’t really mind 😊 SMA has always been a part of me so it’s only natural that you can see it when you look at me 😊 , Unfortunately, many people aren’t happy with what they see in the mirror and I really think that’s a shame. Maybe they find their butt too big, breasts too small, a nose too crooked or whatever. I’m not saying that I think my body is perfect but I fully accept it and when I look in the mirror before leaving my home I’m pleased with what I see 😊 Many people strive to get ‘the perfect body’ in hopes of getting to look like the models in the magazines or the influencers on social media. They will do anything from extreme workouts to surgeries to get it. Obviously, the workout isn’t possible for me - I will never be able to get toned or defined legs or arms and I don’t mind. I could pay for surgeries to get a breast or butt implant but why 🤔 I’d still look like the SMA woman I am, just with bigger whatever. Due to the fact that I’ve always known that I can’t change my body, I’ve spent more time learning to accept myself and my body than chasing society’s ideal of the perfect body. I think this has brought me to a place where I’m more at peace with my body than most people 😊 I won’t lie; obviously there are situations where I have insecurities about my body, but it’s not something that fills my mind. There’s no such thing as perfect, but if there was; it wouldn’t be my body. But I accept it just the way it is and I think that’s the most important thing 😊