I was recently interviewed by This Able Team, and I want to tell you about it. The team is a group of people with the motto Fostering a disability community one story at a time.

Here is a transcription of their first post about me. You can jump right to it on Instagram by following this link.

Please let me know what you think! And be sure to check out the stories about my friend Dr. Sean Dineen.

Post 1:

“After the DPT shot, I went into a coma as an infant. It left me having left-side hemiplegia cerebral palsy, which is being paralyzed on one side. My right hand functioned normally, but there was very little that I could do with my left. My right leg was also normal, but it took several years of dance training before I was able to walk on my left leg without a brace. On top of that, several years later, my mother found that I had dyslexia. That explained why I could learn when given information orally, but we found that I got all mixed up when I had to do the written word. 

I’ve faced a lot of challenges as a person with a disability. Despite having cerebral palsy and a learning disability of dyslexia, I have repeatedly done things that ‘normal people’ thought were impossible for anyone with a disability to do. I express my determination in many ways to make that possible for myself and to make the best life for myself. I became fearless and courageous, turning each and every experience into a positive affirmation and solution. Nothing was going to stop me from doing and adapting and being like ‘normal people’ in this world.

I found a seed deep inside of me, that said I wasn’t going to be defined by anybody, and that I was going to live my life just like everybody else in the world. I wasn’t going to sit in front of the TV and watch Popeye the Sailor Man. I wasn’t going to let anyone tell me that I was dumb, or stupid, or that I couldn’t learn, because that’s what they were doing. I had to prove to myself that I could take on the challenge and overcome every single obstacle in my path. And that’s exactly what I did. I tuned everything out around me, and every person who told me that I couldn’t. I came up with my own mantra: ‘You tell me I can’t, and I’ll show you I can.’

I have always felt grateful for my disability. I could have been far worse off. Thus, I remember every day that this is just a mere inconvenience. I always believe that my disability is a reminder to be an instrument for good in the world and a shining light. It has become my source of good to help share my voice and experience with others.”