A little known fact about birth defects (or perhaps it’s a lot known) is that they don’t happen to you in an instant and change your life. It’s not like that moment in the womb when your spine didn’t close properly was so monumental that you immediately became depressed and were born a mopey baby who could never again have a cheerful outlook on life. We would never criticize those who became disabled through an accident, or event, or disease. But since we didn’t, all we can comment on is what we know, which is being disabled from birth (hence “birth” defect) or gradually deteriorating from a condition from birth.
So let’s get one thing straight-nothing monumental “happened” to us. Just like you were born with red hair and short arms, some of us were born with Spina bifida and muscular dystrophy. Though it’s not exactly the same, we developed our disabilities in the womb just like you grew fingertips. It wasn’t something we witnessed happening to us. So unless you’d like us to ask what happened to you to make your nose look like that, don’t ask us what happened to us. Not only does it imply that we’re less than our generally perfect selves, but it also will only disappoint you when we can’t give a quick explanation and have to go over what nerve damage and death of muscle tissue is. It really kills the impact of the question, we assure you.
Continue reading What happened to me? What happened to YOU?
In many online discussions, I have seen a very interesting and disturbing trend when disabled people bring up the lack of accessibility in venues, parking lots, buildings, etc. The discussions never take off until someone mentions how they can help 
