Every person with a disability has a story. Maybe they were born with a disability or they became disabled due to an accident or were injured serving their country. Maybe it was something that was dormant, hiding and waiting until they got older when the symptoms and disease presented itself. Maybe it was hereditary. Maybe it was linked to other health issues. Maybe diet, exercise, drugs, surgery or therapy helped; maybe nothing did. Maybe it was degenerative or life threatening. Maybe it was simply annoying. However someone becomes disabled, it is life changing for the person and those around them.
My particular disability snuck up on me. I had never been athletic or overly coordinated, but I did exercise and I enjoyed dancing and long walks. In my early 30s I started having a slight hand tremor. I went for tests and tests, and was diagnosed with a benign tremor. I was able to hide it for a very long time. I tried some medication but didn’t like how it made me feel. It finally started to become more prominent when I was nervous or performing, or when I was writing. Sometimes, it was hard to read my own handwriting. That was rather frustrating.
When I adopted my daughter, I had several doctors sign form after form indicating that my condition was not serious; I had benign tremors. That is what I was told. That is what all the specialists thought. Fast forward several years and I was at the gym trying to work off those few extra pounds and build up some strength to keep up with my 3 year old, active daughter. I hired a personal trainer, worked hard but noticed that certain exercises related to leg strength and balance were not improving. Back to the neurologist for more and more tests. I went for another MRI and I sat through an electrode, zapping test. I was finally diagnosed with CMT – Charcot Marie Tooth, a form of muscular dystrophy.
Besides having a weird name, Charcot Marie Tooth, was explained as a degenerative disease but not life threatening. All of a sudden I had a disability, a label, a condition that had no cure. Definitely life changing. Timing is everything though. I am not sure if my symptoms presented themselves earlier and I was diagnosed with this annoying degenerative disease, I would have been allowed to adopt my daughter as a single mother. I am grateful for the small blessings, and in this case, a delayed diagnosis. And that led to one huge blessing, my daughter! That is my story….or at least part of it.
Finding Abilities 