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All about myself My name is Joana from the Philippines. I am 21 years of old now but when I was diagnosed with bone cancer, I was only 17 years old. I became an amputee because of an illness. It was hard for me to became an amputee, but because of the love of my family, I learned how to fight my illness. 💕 My parents love me so much and I love them too. They'll do all I want and all I need to support me so that, I leave a happy life. 😊

My Life with down syndrome My name is Riley @smiley_riley2014. My Mummy and Daddy have taken me everywhere. I regularly go horse riding, swimming, indoor soft play, I've been to the zoo, the seafront, theme parks and I also enjoy kicking a ball around with Daddy. I attend a performing arts school and I love to dance to music with my Mummy. I know loads and loads of Makaton signs to help me communicate, which is good because in September I started Primary school and I love my new teachers and all my new classmates. I have lots of friends which means I get to go to loads of parties. This is good because I like cake. I have even done some modeling. I'm Happy, I'm Cheeky, I'm Smiley but I can also be sad, or I can be a little grumpy when I'm tired or hungry. I have Down Syndrome. Can you tell? No, neither can I. I may have Down syndrome, but Down syndrome doesn't have me. I can do anything.

Female adaptive athlete-Above the knee amputee Born and raised in Arizona, I'm in my 30’s, and I have learned that life isn’t about the failed or missed attempts to succeed. That in fact failure is success. “I would have never learned or gained so much wisdom and strength had I not learned failure head on..” “Embrace your failure, Never let it stop you or define you.” Those are your chapters in your story book 📖 ” Never looking back I battled my whole young adolescent and young adult life thinking I was not worthy of success. That my story was to beaten to be shown as a success. My overcomings were unforeseen by the clouding of all my failed attempts to figure out who I was. I was missing in the key element to the right “mindset.” My life was filled with more mountains to climb and bridges to bare then most ever see in thier lifetime. Those moments were my defining moments in my life, and although I made the wrong turn or waivered off the beaten path. I made it to the finish line 🏁 I have competed in many different platforms of fitness. I have become a strong successful entrepreneur and business owner. Knowing my obstacles was knowing my gifts and now I can continue leadership with young girls battling cancer and or body image issues. I am honored and blessed to have been given each day of my life to continue to share my story and give back. Bone cancer survivor (osteogenic Sarcoma) Above the knee amputee Living life and never looking back. Recently in the past 5 years of diagnosis, fighting a rare genetic kidney disease. This to inspires me to show anyone anything’s possible. Never say I can’t and always tell yourself you are someone else’s goal! Be the greatest you can be in life.. You are not promised tomorrow.

how i recover from my spinal cord injury I had a car accident 11 years ago. I sustained a spinal cord injury level c5/6. In the beginning, I was confused and sad because my life had changed completely. I was happy to be alive and share more moments and time with my family. I didn’t really understand how my life was going to be after the accident- if I was going to finish college, if I was able to keep traveling, going out with friends, etc. However, some time passed by and I realized that I could do anything I wanted. The only thing that changed is that I’m using a wheelchair and need help for many things, but it’s not too bad if I think that way, otherwise I will be missing the wonderfulness, and beautifulness and how life has me blessed. I always think, I am the luckiest person for another life opportunity. Sometimes when you think, you could never do anything, move or even feel, yet you see little changes and your body gets better with rehab. That was one of the best things that could have ever happened because it gave me strength, motivation and mostly it gave me hope. I have to say I’m an architect, I finished my career in a wheelchair and not too long ago, I traveled out of the country, and started doing what I always love and like, painting. Now, I know that I’m able to do it by myself, with my own hands and I’m doing it better than I ever did, especially with my left hand, because my right hand isn’t strong enough, so when I see a finished painting I say to myself: “Oh my God, I did it”. It's not easy and takes time for me, but I do it with so much love and passion and that’s one of the most important things in the world. ALWAYS DO THINGS WITH LOVE AND HAPPINESS, GIVE THE BEST OF YOU AND DO IT WITH THE BEST YOU HAVE... no matter if you are in a wheelchair or not. Life can change completely in a good perspective and beautiful things will came. PAU FLORES

Ulcerative Colitis Diagnosis At 16 years old, I was worrying about normal teenager things: school, boys, clothes, and exams. Never did I think at 16 I would have to worry about staying alive. As June of 2016 was coming to an end, I began to get sick. At first I thought it was the flu, or stress, or maybe just food poisoning, but after close to two weeks of blood in the toilet and abdominal pain that brought me to my knees, I knew something was wrong. I was too embaressed to tell anyone that I was going to the bathroom over 15 times a day, so I made my appointments and went by myself. That was my first mistake. The first doctor told me I must be constipated, and prescribed me a laxative. The second told me I had hemmoroids. It was not until I was vomiting blood, and unable to control my bowels that my parents finally took over and took me to the ER. After two more weeks, and one colonoscopy I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Colitis is an autoimmune disease causing inflammation in the colon. My doctor told me that many people live normally with this disease, aside from being on medication for the rest of their lives. So here I was at 16, going from perfectly healthy to a chronic illness within the duration of a month. I stayed in the hospital for 11 days, and in those 11 days I started on prednisone, lost 25 pounds, and became nearly unrecognizable. On the day of my discharge my mom asked the nurse, "What is the worst case scenario with this disease?" and my nurse answered back, "Well other than death, a total colectomy, but your daughter is so young, she won't need to worry about that." I don't know if it was negativity or fear or even just fate, but as we walked to the car I told my mom that I had a strong feeling that's what would happen to me. How I Came to Lose my Colon Fast forward 4 months, daily prednisone, 10 hospital admissions, 9 blood transfusions, 6 doses of remicade, 4 iron infusions, and 2 ambulance rides, and my body was deteriorating faster than my doctor had ever seen. She transferred me to a new hospital, and as she spoke to my mom I heard the word "surgical". I lasted one more month without surgery. The first two weeks were amazing. Then C. Diff destroyed what was left of my colon. I tried to go to school, but my body gave out on me. In October of the same year I was rushed to the hospital. After one night of no sleep, and excruciating pain, a man in dark blue scrubs walked into my room, and I had watched enough TV to know who he was. He told me I had run out of options, and I don't know if I was mentally ready or just sleep deprived, but I begged him to take my colon out. When I woke up it was like I was alive again, I was in tons of surgical pain, but my body felt as if it had been cleansed of all its toxins. My surgeon told my parents that if I hadn't come to the hospital that day, my already perforating colon would have exploded inside me. I might've died. In that moment, I was so grateful to be free of that evil organ that I actually laughed. My surgeon told me I was as good as normal, that I could start living again. What Ulcerative Colitis has taught me Since then I've had 6 surgeries. Most were to get rid of my ostomy, as I was 16 and afraid of people's judgments. Each surgery was brutal and each time I reminded myself of the end goal: I would finally be "normal". Finally I have the reversal surgery and I managed to last 3 months without my bag. By the end of those three months I was back to where I was when I had my colon, nearly lifeless. The day I got it back was the day I realized that life does not stop because I lost an organ, or because I have an ostomy bag, or even because I have a chronic illness. I keep fighting, because this ostomy gave me the opportunity to do so. So whenever I think about my battle with UC, and whenever I grieve over the loss of my colon, I think about how far I've come, and how far I plan to go. Even as cheesy as it is, I think that for someone whose gutless, I sure do have a lot of guts!

Welcome to Your New Life Courage. Bravery. Strength. None of us really realize how much we’re made of until we’re put in a situation where these characteristics make themselves apparent. My name is Megan, I’m 29 years old. I didn’t know I had these types of characteristics in me. I knew I was strong because I was an athlete, but I’ve learned there’s a huge difference between being physically strong and mentally strong. In Sept. 2005 I was 16 years old and I landed wrong on my right leg after jumping up to catch a football. One decision to jump changed the course of my life forever. I traded a life of athletics for a life of surgery. It’s 13 years since that bad landing and I’ve had 34 surgeries, and countless tests/procedures. I’ve needed surgery on my ankle, knee, hips, shoulders, shoulder blades, and almost all my spine just to hold my body together. Why So Much Surgery? Now, if you’re like many people I’ve met you’re probably wondering why I’ve had so much surgery on my body. How can one fall cause so much damage? Well, for years I was in denial, but I wondered that very same question. In 2007 I was evaluated for a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) which causes faulty collagen in the body, which can lead to joint dislocations, subluxations, and a ton of other issues. In a span of 18 months I had surgery on my R ankle, R knee, both hips and was awaiting surgery on my shoulder blades due to muscle detachments and instability. Despite any sort of underlying connective tissue disorder being ruled out something didn't add up. Fast forward to 2015. I had had 19 surgeries between both shoulder blades and shoulder joints, was experiencing a ton of neck pain with neurological symptoms, was with a new orthopedic who said I had EDS and I finally saw a new geneticist after a 22 month wait. My orthopedic told me my neck was extremely hypermobile and there’s a problem. When I met with the new geneticist, he diagnosed me with EDS and referred me to a neurosurgeon. We Don’t Want Your Head to Pop Off In December 2015 I met with my 10th spine doctor. He evaluated my neck and said there’s a serious problem. A movement fluoroscopy was scheduled to see what was happening when I would move my neck. The test revealed my neck was subluxating at C3-C4, C4-C5, dislocating at C5-C6, C6-C7, C7-T1, and subluxating at T1-T2. I was told we didn’t want my head to pop off. On April 5, 2016 a halo brace was screwed into my skull with 4 screws to completely immobilize my neck. The halo gave me the ability to say more or less traction. My surgeon found the sweet spot on the first try. For the first time in 4 years I had no pain in my neck. On April 12, 2016 my neck was fused from C3-T2. I was supposed to wear the halo brace for only 4 months but come the day of my halo brace removal there was a serious problem. My Skull Slid into My Throat On August 25, 2016 I went to my surgeon’s office to have the halo brace removed. When the front two bars were loosened I felt my skull-C2 slide into my throat. I immediately started gagging and pushed my chair on its hind legs to let gravity move my skull back. Every time I brought my chair forward I started gagging. I couldn’t walk, let alone stand on my own. I had neurological symptoms down the right side of my body. The halo brace was immediately tightened back on and I was diagnosed with Craniocervical Instability (instability from your skull-C2). Five days later I was in surgery to fuse my skull-C5. The surgery went well. Four months later I showed up to my halo removal appointment decked out in Christmas decorations. After the halo was removed I wore a brace to immobilize my skull and thoracic spine. Spine Problems Continued I wish I could say that was the end of my spinal journey; being fused skull-T2. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. At the beginning of 2017 I started to develop scoliosis and my spine was becoming unstable below my fusion. In September 2017 I underwent a 16 hour surgery to fuse from C6-L2. This means 22 levels of my spine is now fused. One week after I was discharged from the hospital my neck broke at C5/C6. In October 2017 I was put in a halo brace for a second time to stabilize my neck because I had, “Dangerously life-threatening instability. I then had surgery to stabilize C5/C6. I'm told I'm a, "Walking Miracle". Unfortunately, the surgery failed. I was in surgery once again in November 2017 to revise C3-T3. I was in the hospital for 2 months last fall. Life 2018 If you made it this far, things stayed well for a few weeks but then issues started again. Currently my skull is moving over the hardware at the back of my skull, my titanium rods are bending forward, I have neurological symptoms and I need surgery to revise my fusion. It’s not an easy journey. There are a lot of bad days, but there are also a lot of good days. I know there is somebody out there to help me. Life with EDS isn’t easy. Evertbody needs to know they're NOT alone. Every day it’s a goal to find daily joy. Every day it’s a goal to not lose hope. It will get better. I know it will. My favorite quote is, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning to dance in the rain”. If I hadn’t been dancing in the rain and put my life on hold I would have denied myself 13 years of amazing experiences called life.

My recovery at the hospital from a Spinal Cord Injury My name is Francesca and I am paralyzed from the waist down after breaking my back and damaging my spinal cord back in 2016. The last thing I remember from that day is having a mask over my face and going under for surgery on my back - the next few days were a bit of a blur from all the drugs. All I thought was 'right, this has happened to me. I just have to get on with it'. The next 3 months I spent in hospital having physio and learning how to do all the simplest of things in life: e.g how to sit up straight, how to dress, how to do day-to-day activities in a wheelchair, bladder and bowel management. It was like starting from the beginning all over again. After 3 months of hard work, I was allowed home. Adjusting to life back at home after my spinal cord injury My friends and family have been amazing and without their support my recovery would not have been as easy at it was. My friends dragged me out to get my social life back and we went on holiday together. Within 7 months of my injury I was back at work, became ambassador for RGK wheelchairs, I've been up Snowdon in my wheelchair, I've started Para Powerlifting where I have gained a gold medal in the Welsh Open, and a silver medal in the British Championships and another Silver in the Autumn Open. I also play Wheelchair basketball for Anglesey Hawks, Knights 3 and Women's Basketball Team Knight-mares. I have achieved things that I never thought I could and having this injury has opened up so many doors for me. It has made me a stronger person. I can only comment on my own experiences with an SCI as everyone's journeys are different, but I have never dwelled on the fact that I am in a wheelchair. This happened, this is my life, I will make the most of it.

A rising star falls I was born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita and scoliosis. Since my tiny years I have been singing, acting, dancing, and putting on shows for my family. When I was eight, I was invited to dance with a company called Def Dance Jam Workshop in Harlem. This gave me the impression that dance was for everyone who wanted to dance (spoiler alert: it is) and I became trained in West African styles, hip hop, modern and jazz. In high school, I tried out for musicals and the dance team, but could tell that my skin color and body and mind didn't match the ideas the Musical Director and Choreographers had about who should be on a stage. Discouraged, I informally quit performance art when I was in sixteen, and although I got cast in plays and dance performances in college, a part of me always felt like being an artist shouldn't be an end goal. I had internalized the idea that I wasn't truly performer or artist material, and that any success I received would be because of pity or tokenism. Back in the game and making it my own While it's not untrue that I have experienced ableism, racism, and queerphobia in my official return to the stage in my mid twenties, moreover I have discovered that most marginalized stars and illuminators are and have to be self-made. I am lucky enough to have disabled (crip), queer, and Black community backing me up- never let anyone tell you that your experience exists in a vacuum: You Are Not Alone. And you don't have to wait to be discovered either! Envision what you want, ask for help, and start breaking off little, chewable chunks till you devour and realize your goal. This year alone I joined the Board of Directors of an up and coming arts, events, and media production company and crew PlayThey, became a NASM certified personal trainer, and had the privilege to be nurtured in Axis Dance Company's Disabled Choreographer's Lab (directed by Marc Brew), Intiman Theatre's Emerging Artist Program (directed by Sara Porkalob), and am currently choreographing for three shows, and playing a featured role in Seattle Musical Theatre's Legally Blonde the Musical (directed by Megan Brewer). It is my eventual goal to start a dance school with its own resident dance company and an animal sanctuary in its yard. I have moments of doubt all the time, but then I imagine not doing what I love, and that is infinitely worse than the possibility that I will fail by someone else's standards. To join me on my journey and or to see about virtual or in person personal training or creative consulting, visit nevebebad.com. *Photo credit for cover photo: McKenna Jane *Makeup in photos: @makeupbydivadoll

I am what i am I was born different, without my right hand. Nevertheless, thanks to my family and thanks to my entourage, I am someone who is normal- I just have no hand. I often say that my best asset is my handicap. Quickly, from school years to later during my studies, in my professional life or my encounters, I realized that it raised questions, provoked dialogue, and it is the fact of taking upon myself which immediately facilitates what we call « inclusion ». My graphics (@pmeaume on Instagram) and products are about people like me, about people who do live normally with their disability; let us be proud: www.normal-persons.com.

Raising twins when one has Down syndrome Throughout my pregnancy we did not know Harper (Twin #1) had Down syndrome, it was not until 30 minutes after giving birth that the doctor gave us the news by says “I’m sorry” a term that is often used when discussing Down syndrome, but I really believe that there is nothing to be sorry for! Harper is a beautiful smiley little girl. She has the biggest dark blue eyes that melts my heart every time she looks at me. Harper is happy and healthy, she does have a heart defect that is associated with the condition and this will require surgery in a few years time, but we take every day as it comes and focus on the positives. I try to show the world that there is really nothing to be down about. Harper is 6 months old now and is meeting all her development milestones and surprises me every single day. Harper has a Twin sister Quinn it’s very rare for one twin to have Down syndrome and we have been described by medical staff as a one in a million case, so I am definitely one of the lucky few gang.

You'll never win if you never start- my paralysis story July 2014 was when my life changed forever. I was on holiday with friends. I dove into a swimming, hit the bottom resulting in breaking my neck at C6/C7. Previous to my accident I was very sporty playing a lot of rugby, hockey and skiing. I knew that I had to get back into sports somehow and had my heart now set on competing in the Paralympic games. As soon as I was able to I got back on the ski slopes and learned to ski. Within a year of starting I was competing in international races across Europe, and became the British Giant Slalom Champion. Winter sports are great, but I needed a fix for summer sports, so I started training for a triathlon. I completed my first triathlon in October 2017 with a friend and my father. Now, it's September and I'm part of the British triathlon squad aiming to compete in Tokyo 2020.

Life and sport with a spinal cord injury My name is Gary Cox, I am 31 years old and I live in England. I played sports growing up such as football and karate. After school I trained as a plasterer, I worked with my uncle and friends on different jobs. One morning, aged 19, while driving to work I had a car accident. I broke my neck damaging my spinal cord at c6/7 leaving me paralysed from the chest down with impairments in my arms and hands. I spent 6 months at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury where I learnt how to re-live my life in a wheelchair. This was difficult. During my rehabilitation I was able to try lots of different wheelchair sports which helped me with my recovery as I was able to meet people like myself and continue my love of sport. Since my accident I have played wheelchair rugby, wheelchair table tennis and wheelchair tennis. I have recently also been signed to a disability modeling agency (Zebedee Management). I am now married and have a son. It is important to me to show him that anything is possible if you work hard and believe in yourself.