Spina Bifida is a part of who I am and I’m finally going to tell anyone who will listen!

I married this handsome fella almost two years ago.  I remember when I met him I was shy to tell him about Spina Bifida.  I guess I was afraid that telling him about it would make him like me less.  Which is ridiculous because no one has ever loved me less for it and all my family and friends have been nothing but supportive.

Well to my surprise, once I told Matt about SB he wasn’t shy at all to tell his family and friends about it too.  He would come home from visiting friends and be like, “I told them about Spina Bifida!”  Almost like he was proud of it!  I thought he was crazy.  In fact he came home one day from work and said, ” I wrote a blog post about you and Spina Bifida for everyone to read!”  It was the sweetest blog about women in his life that inspire him.

I’ve never thought of my disability as inspiring. In fact, I wouldn’t even tell people about it unless I had to.  I would try to hide it.  I wanted to be “normal”  (whatever that is.)

Well here I am now, in love with this guy who tells everyone about me and all my insecurities. Which at first, I’m sure you can imagine, was uncomfortable for me. The more he did it the better I felt.  It was like a weight had been lifted.

So, I wouldn’t call them insecurities anymore. Finally I call it ME! Character if you will!  It’s who I am. Unfortunately it has taken me WAY TOO LONG to be proud of it. I’m a true believer that people are brought in to your life for a reason.  There are a million reasons why Matt is here and this is one of best reasons!  Thanks babe 😉

So, I’m going to continue this journey I’m on with living Spina-Beautifully in hopes that it will inspire other people to embrace who they are.  You should be proud of everything you have overcome and all of your differences and continue to take on Spina Bifida (or any disability) with a brave face and rockstar attitude!  Tell people about it because it makes you unique and inspiring! Go ahead, try it!  You’ll be surprised. Live Spina-Beautiful!

 

Pic: Jess Jolin Photography