The Question Everyone Wants to Ask but is Afraid Too

First off, I must thank you guys for the continued support of this blog. It means the world to me. Second off, I’m writing this blog because several people have asked me that they are curious about the issue. There are multiple types of disabilities but they can be categorized in two ways: disabilities developed at birth or disabilities encountered later in life. My one friend who works with the disabled population indicated to me that this is a hot topic for debate and also got me thinking. I have a family member who is going through similar issues at this point in their life.

I myself was born with a disability. I have Cerebral Palsy and it is a neuromuscular disability. It is basically like I have the ability to do everything but my brain does not know how to send the signals to the appropriate muscle groups. Due to my circumstance, I have had a long while to adapt to challenges and I have never known what it’s like to walk, even without the assistance of a walker or another person. I have never known what it’s like to work out like an able-bodied person and come home and feel exhausted. I have never even known the simplest pleasures in life such as being able to tie my own shoe. However, this does not bother me because I don’t know what I am missing. I cannot speak for others but in my opinion, it is better to have a disability which limits your functioning from birth rather than experiences both sides of life. I say I cannot speak from personal experiences however I do have friends that have undergone this predicament. I find that these individuals can be categorized into two types of people.

When one has their physical independence suddenly taken away from them it is no doubt mentally training and frustrating. I cannot imagine how my one friend felt when they were just about to go to school for diving and then the next thing they know they found themselves in a wheelchair. They have adapted greatly to their new circumstance and they do not feel society owes them anything because they are not disabled. I know others that never come out of what I have terms “the grievance period.” As I’ve stated many times on this blog before. I go to a college which has a high incidence of people I wheelchairs. The number of people in wheelchairs is equally split among people that have had their disabilities since birth and people that have grown into their disabilities. 

Apart from accidents, the most common form of “growing into one” disability is an umbrella of 40 disabilities known as Muscular Dystrophy. There are several common forms of MD but most show themselves during the heart of adolescence. MD itself is a genetic disorder that is not controlled by the birthing process. These individuals are not often cut down at their prime. When social development is extremely fragile in key. So I cannot imagine having to deal with losing one’s physical ability as well as adapting to new social settings and interactions. However, I find individuals that have MD seem to have a better acceptance rate of their new circumstance than people that find themselves disabled due to accidents. As I’ve said above, there are exceptions to this rule but in my small segment of the world, this is what I have observed. Perhaps this can be attributed to the way the support system around the individuals deals with the new challenges. I find that acceptance of one’s obstacles has a great deal to do with personal strength but also support around them.

In closing, because I do not have a disability that I was born into I feel that I could never do what half the people I know in the circumstance do every day. I look up to my family member who is going through it right now. They are one of the strongest people I know and they’ve always been. This is why I know they will get through it. What I don’t understand is how they can say they look up to me because even though we are in the same physical predicament now the way we have both gotten there is completely different.

People have asked me if there was a cure for my disability, would I take it? My answer is not. I would not. At this point in my life, I am at a comfortable stage. I have developed a comfortable series of physical care routines and a comfortable way of dealing with my circumstances. I would not want to go back to being a two-year-old just to be able to walk, run, or jump. One thing I would like the ability to do is to wipe my own butt. Not because it’s an enjoyable task by any means but simply to gain a sense of privacy that is not available to me at this point. However, when I look back on it all I am left with this question...do I really have it all that bad? One, I did not lose anything. Two, if I was an alien looking down and saw someone in my predicament who was having things read to him, food fed to him, his bathroom needs to be taken care of, I would think to myself  “these must be the kings of the world!” that’s just my unique way of looking at it. Just some food for thought.

Question: For those who are able-bodied would you rather have it and lose it? Or not have it at all? You can comment 

World Wish Day

Yesterday was 4/29/3013, just another day for most, but for a select group of people, that day meant the world to them. When we are children, we often let our imaginations run wild. We sometimes play games where genies grant us wishes from a lamp; in fact, Aladdin's popular Disney movie is based around this concept. However, life is a different struggle for those with terminal diseases. Those with terminal illnesses often do not get the same experiences as the rest of us. When they should be going to a high school football game, homecoming, or a prom, they can often be found, instead, in hospital rooms, battling for their lives. One organization decided to change that.

One Kid's Wish

They say that if you put your mind to it, you can do anything you want. For Christopher Greicius, there were many obstacles in his way, but he had a great imagination. Every day, the 7-year-old dreamed of being a police officer. His wish was only granted for one day, but it would help inspire an organization that would change countless individuals' and families' lives. On April 29, 1980, Chris was made into an honorary police officer. Sadly, he passed away the following day. However, in his seven years of life, he has made a more considerable impact than most adults do¹. Chris would help launch the world's largest wish-granting organization. To this day, the Make-A-Wish organization has granted more than 250,000 wishes worldwide. The organization is active in more than 50 countries—one of its key partners in the WWE.

Not Such a Fake Impact 


I will admit, I do watch professional wrestling. It is my man, soap. A lot of people knock it because it is pretty scripted. I like to consider it "athletic acting."  Last night, WWE did something that reinforces why they are such a good organization. The babyface (Top good guy) John Cena was part of a special ceremony coordinating with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and World Wish Day. Since 1982, WWE, formally the WWF, has helped grant 5,000 wishes. This, in itself, is a staggering number. However, even more staggering is that John Cena, himself, has personally granted 300 wishes. He is not a character that I like; however, I respect him and his work ethic, along with his charitable efforts. To find out more about what the WWE is doing and what you can do to help, please visit the link below². However, I am not writing this blog to be shameless to promote a television show I watch. I am writing this blog for three reasons. 1: To highlight a day of national celebration. 2: To highlight an organization's great charitable work on behalf of kids with life-threatening illnesses, some of which include that illness under the Muscular Dystrophy umbrella. 3: To highlight an essential issue in the disabled community. 

The Debate: For or Not For Jerry's Kids

When I was growing up, I was not surrounded by many other people with disabilities. However, I knew I was different. I knew I had a disability, but I did not realize that there were other kids with disabilities who had it worse than me until one year on Labor Day, I turned on the T.V. and started watching this funny little man talk about kids who needed help. A lot of them were in chairs, so I thought to myself, "Oh, that boy is like me." I showed the telethon to my mom and asked her what it was for. She said. "It's the annual Labor Day telethon for the MDA." The MDA is an organization devoted to curing nearly 40 different diseases that fall under the umbrella of Muscular Dystrophy. Those unfamiliar with the disabled community may not understand when I make the following statement:  Some within the disabled community are not too fond of the MDA. How is this possible? A lot of people with MD do not agree with the way the organization spends the money. One gentleman by the name of Rory M. once said to me, "If they would spend more of your dollar on research and less on lavish corporate headquarters, we might have a cure by now." I have no problem with the organization, myself, and seeing as how I do not have an MD; I feel it is inappropriate for me to take sides in this argument. While the debate may continue over organizations like the MDA, the Make-A-Wish Foundation is different.  

The Make-A-Wish foundation brings joy to countless kids each year. This group seems to have risen above the internal politics and debate of the disabled community to remind us that we should not quarrel over the little nuances of disability but to make each other's lives better, regardless if we do or do not have a disability. 

John Cena surprises Nick for World Wish Day

Make-A-Wish President & CEO


Footnotes:
1.http://neny.wish.org/about-us/history/
2.Make-A-Wish and WWE