Understanding disabilities

Hey, some disabilities you can see right off the bat. Some you can’t. I had a class that was called this when I was in ELEMENTARY school. That’s how young you start teaching children good manners and that not everyone is the same as you are.

You take one look at me all dressed and ready to go and think, this girl is totally fine.

Would you guess that she has hearing aids in and has extreme difficulty hearing? Would you guess that she’s missing her voice? Would you guess that she’s missing half a lung? Would you guess that her esophagus has been removed? Would you guess she has nerve damage in her legs from ecmo and can’t walk well? Would you believe she had to learn how to walk 3 different times last year after losing all of her muscle mass? Would you believe she had to learn how to eat again after being on a feeding tube?

No. You wouldn’t. And neither would I. I see a picture of myself most of the time and I just see a girl who’s happy to be here! But some days it‘s hard. Some days you get mocked by adults because of the way your voice sounds. Some days you want to crawl under your blankets and hide. But guess what? This girl isn’t hiding from anyone. Here I am. Take it or leave it.

Be kind to people.

xo