The below is part of my blog post titled, “The Unlimited Spirit” on March 14, 2018.
Please check back again in July 2018 for an update on my progress!
……
The Blogging Experiment
Part 1: Blogging honestly
Like so many, my weight has fluctuated throughout my teens and adulthood. At the beginning of University, I was extremely active (I tried rowing on Lake Ontario and went to the gym six days/week), weighed about 120 pounds (at 5’5″), and my goal was to ‘have abs’ once in my life. (I graduated years ago, and this goal remains unrealized.) The vain part of me (small, but present) would still like to have a visually appealing midsection (though, would I ever really show it off? I don’t know…), but my goals have changed drastically.
Mobility Forever, Wheelchair Never (again)
Truth 1: I have (mild) cerebral palsy.
You would never know it, but I was born 3 months premature, and weighed one pound and three quarters (1.75 lbs.) at birth. My parents were told everything from, “she may not survive” to “she may be deaf/blind” and “she probably will be in a wheelchair.” Fortunately, I survived and I enjoy the use of all five senses. Because of the care I received from the hospital staff, and the endless hours of physiotherapy that my mom completed on me when I was a baby, I learned to walk (a little later than most, but still…).
Before (and after) University, I loved yoga (I was utterly terrible at it, but it was fun).
I completed my post-secondary education in Toronto, ON. Like my peers, I walked, and walked, and walked some more. If I could meet up with you using the TTC, I was there. Life was good!
Truth 2: A tiny tear with big consequences
Working in the financial industry on Bay St. in the summer of 2014, I started feeling pain in my hip. Slowly, I suffered from more and more pain, which caused me to rely on a wheelchair whenever I left the house for many, many months.
It took over one year to find out that I had a labral tear in my hip joint likely caused by abnormal wear and tear (I’ve always compensated for weakness on one side of my body, so my “strong” side bears more weight than its fair share. The labrum in the hip joint on my “strong” side tore).
Prior to seeing a specialist, doctors told me that I may have to get a hip replacement in my 20s (though, I should withstand the pain as long as I could, as hip replacements don’t last forever).
I was devastated. My life (work, social, everything) came to a grinding halt.
Damn.
Truth 3: Knowledge is power
It’s cliche, but true, nonetheless. I spent hours looking online at exercises and rehabilitation programs. I spent even more of my time at doctor’s offices, and fortunately found some relief through osteopathy. I started walking with a cane (which was wonderful, as I no longer needed a wheelchair) to get around. My mobility was very limited (I joyously celebrated walking one kilometre with a cane for the first time two years ago).
At the beginning of 2017, I read Norman Doidge, MD’s bestseller, The Brain’s Way of Healing.
My breath caught when I read about instances of Dr. Kahn’s laser therapy healing cartilage (the labral tear that caused me great pain is a cartilage tear), and when Dr. Doidge mentioned Philosopher’s Walk (a well-known walkway at the University of Toronto), I googled Dr. Kahn. I found that Dr. Kahn was still practicing.
I lived in Toronto at the time, so I held my breath as I called their downtown Toronto clinic. I met Dr. Kahn within weeks of that call, and I felt a difference in my stability and a decrease of pain quickly.
Truth 4: I didn’t know what the next year held in store, but I was excited to find out
I have not walked with a cane since July 2017. I get weekly massages (for maintenance, more than relaxation), and continue to get BioFlex Laser Therapy treatments as needed.
Truth 5: Redefining ‘normal’
I don’t know that I will ever run a marathon, but I am hopeful that (if I continue to be curious of new treatment options, and commit to moving and strengthening my body) I will NEVER need to rely on a wheelchair ever again.
The Challenge
I will use this blog as a platform to help fight the stigma associated with disability.
I was labelled “disabled” at birth, but I spent my childhood, teens and even early adulthood running away from this label. I never felt disabled- until I did. I hope that (even though I am recuperating), this blog can serve others struggling with disability- visible or not, mild to severe.
To start, I will update you on my progress once per month beginning in July 2018. I will detail which exercises I have done, the therapies that I employed to keep myself standing and explore any interesting therapies or professionals I have read about or spoken to.
Why?
- Selfishly, I want to remain standing, and by committing to writing about my successes and failures, this blog provides me with the motivation to keep looking for ways to succeed.
- Foster a safe online environment where people can share their own knowledge and experiences, as they so choose.
- ‘Disability’ is not a dirty word. I have come far since my days in a wheelchair, but (assuming it’s never repeated), it is not an experience I will ever forget.
My work may not lead “to a turning point in the history of modern physics,” but we can all achieve greatness in our own way.
I agree with Dr. Hawking. A man who was confined to a wheelchair knew that the human spirit has no bounds.
Give your life the green light. It’s A Go!
Amber Green