The reason I share my story is because it's necessary. How many people do you know with a visible disability? Maybe you have a family member or maybe you don't know anybody.
I didn't know about disabilities until I got an accident which changed my life.
It's necessary because people with disabilities are not includes (enough) in society. I experienced that myself.
Learning to live with a disability is so complex physically and mentally. From being a young healthy and fit woman to being paralyzed from the chest down is a traumatic experience. I started to share my journey on Facebook and Instagram initially to not having to repeat what happened hundreds of times. I used social media as a platform to communicate in an effective way. And after a while I was looking for inspiration myself, looking for other women in a wheelchair with a similar injury. I could not find much and the few girls I found on the Instagram, they helped me a lot. I wanted to become one of them. A powerful and beautiful young woman who is not letting a spinal cord injury keep her from a life worth living.
Everybody is looking for role models in some form.
I escaped death this time, the surgeon thought I wouldn't make it, but I did.
That I'm still here is a miracle and the next time, If I do die, I would like to leave the world a little better.
Sharing pictures of myself in a wheelchair was not a thing I ever doubted to do. I didn't like what I saw but it is the real situation. I would say, I don't mind being open and sharing my story because only by doing that, you can create understanding. My goal is to keep sharing my story until I get heard by a bigger audience and I believe only If I reach that, I can use my voice to help others in a similar situations. I've had a really rough time and I see many possibilities on making things easier for others like me in the future. I've seen many others around me that had to deal with unbelievable situations. From lacking government support to medical equipment that is making situations worse, when it shouldn't be happening.
The problem is bigger than just financial support, it's also the lack of understanding. Those who need help need to be heard. I can't wait for the world to change, I will have to be the change myself.
