Living with Becker Muscular Dystrophy means adapting to your changing needs. In my case the biggest change was needing to stop working after suffering an on the job injury. It was a huge direction change in my life that led to a bit of frustration but eventually it turned into an opportunity one which led me to start sharing what I like to call My Beckers Story.
Change can lead to new opportunities
As we all know life can change quickly leaving us with no other option but to adapt. Being one not to give up even though I was no longer working, I couldn't just sit around. So I started blogging. The idea was just to share my diagnosis story but immediately I started connecting with others from around the world. At the time I didn't know anyone else living with Muscular Dystrophy then when I started sharing my story that changed instantly. It certainly led to many new friendships and best of all an opportunity to raise awareness & understanding of the lives we live.
Learning to Adapt to my current needs
Recently I started using a mobility scooter which has been a real life changer for me, just another part of adapting to my changing needs. See often change isn't easy to deal with but like everyone else we are learning as we go. Like I now know that when needing to use a mobility scooter when transporting it, having the right vehicle matters. That is why I am currently raising awareness of the need to plan ahead especially for those of us with changing needs. In my case now I need to get a vehicle capable of handling my current and future needs. Something I learned the second my mobility scooter arrived and it wasn't able to fit in our current vehicle. Which led to me starting the #HelpFundBradsMinivan fundraiser with the hopes of soon being able to get a minivan or SUV capable of transporting my mobility scooter.
As you can see adapting to our changing needs isn't always easy but it can lead to new opportunities. In my case it led me to sharing my story and eventually the founding of LAPS4MD. When it comes down to it our community is never one to give up, and through my recent challenges with not being able to transport my mobility scooter I've learned that an important part of being able to adapt is planning ahead as this allows us to be better prepared when the changes come.
