Last week I was on my way to a hospital to consult with a neurosurgeon. The hospital is a little over a two hour drive from our home, so I had some quality car time to listen to podcasts.
I had an idea of what was ahead of me, a suggestion of uncomfortable change and possible hardship. Preparing to hear that, I had been trying to improve myself in the areas I could control which sometimes includes listening to "We Can Do Hard Things".
The same day as the appointment they released the first episode of the new year, in which Glennon had received some uncomfortable news and was still very much going through it, but at the advice of her therapist decided to share it with her listeners. She said often we share what we've been going through after we've been through it, so we can present it in the way we want to, leaving out the unpleasant days and bits. Glennon called it "the messy middle" which is exactly where I am right now, and I felt compelled to document my journey.
I think capturing this messy middle will help me mentally and emotionally prepare for what's to come, and although my story isn't unique to individuals with dwarfism, perhaps it will educate others that dwarfism has more complications than height. I remember years ago talking to someone who told me that I did not have a real disability, that I had a cosmetic disability. It still stings and sadly I didn't say anything in return. If you were to do a quick Google search on achondroplasia, the previews may lead you to believe it is cosmetic and appalling. However the complications with achondroplasia can include respiratory, ear and dental issues, but the chief being spinal stenosis. Which is what I am now experiencing, and because of it a decline in my mobility. The scariest thing to me is that since it is the spine, the spine controls every part of our bodies, so if my spine fails, other functions or organs may fail.
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Anyways, here we are, thank you for meeting me in the middle and hopefully accompanying me to the end of this.
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