Extra Credit: This I Believe

Everyone in this world is born perfect, right? We all fit the mold and conform to what we are told, am I right? Of course I’m not. Think of all of the millions of disabled children born every day in this world. My sister and I are two of the 140 million disabled children in the Country. I will only talk about my sister’s story, but the principles of mine are the same. Her due date was late January but my Mom went into labor in early November. She was finally born on November 16th, small but a healthy little girl. She had to be connected to a respirator, which the hospital turned too high and she continued to pull it out, she always was a fighter. Finally, they strapped her arms down and turned it on again, but this time she couldn’t pull it out and it blew out one of her lungs. By the time that they caught this, she was completely blue. They saved her, but not without some brain damage, which caused the Cerebral Palsy. She has a less severe case but she still will never be able to run, play sports, and dress herself among many other things. But, she is continuously ridiculed at school. No one will talk to the “Freak”. I am her only friend and she has a terrible outlook on this world, and with what has happened to her, I don’t blame her.
I know I continually hear people say “Retarded” every day. They use a disability as a slang term, but it doesn’t only insult the person intended, it also insults me and every other disabled child, every one of the 140 million.
I believe that everyone one is equal, not matter how different they are. I chose to share this story with you because I have a disability of my own. I know that my sister’s story is her own, but my story is not much different. I did get to live a normal life for about 12 years, while my sister has yet to experience a normal day. I was diagnosed with many illnesses around 12, but the most impacting was when I was diagnosed with Chronic Pain Syndrome at age 16. It is difficult to move, let alone do everyday “normal” tasks. Since then, I haven’t had a normal day and this is how our stories relate. I have dealt with excruciating pain every single day since that October.
We are the same in one way but different in all others. All I can ask is you look at yourself find one thing that you don’t like, and think how would you feel if some used that to humiliate you, even if it was not intentional. I hope that you will carry that thought with you for the rest of your life as every disabled child does every day. Give every person the respect they deserve.