Today’s post coincides with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, so it’s fitting that today I express my gratitude that I live with Becker Muscular Dystrophy.

Without BMD, would life be less difficult? Perhaps. But it would certainly be less interesting. I owe who I am, the work I do and the life I lead to this muscle wasting disease.

When I was younger, my “friends” started fights and got into trouble. The difference was that they could run away when things got real.

I couldn’t, which prevented me from engaging in this nonsense for much longer.

As I couldn’t get involved in these shenanigans, I didn’t. I played fantasy video games, read books and developed an interest in writing. This kept me out of trouble and allowed me to grow.

I made other friends in time, but BMD meant my life took a different course. It shaped my personality and best of all, it made me the person my wife would choose to marry.

My interest in writing and lived experience empowered me to start writing as Dystrophy Dad.

Through my blog and my social media pages, I’ve been able to support the newly diagnosed, parents of children with MD, build a community and hopefully show that life with MD is a life worth living.

My goal is to make a difference in the lives of others, so much so that I’m taking part in a clinical trial to help find a treatment for others with BMD.

It definitely hasn’t been plain sailing. I’ve struggled with my mental health, coming close to that final step as I tried to adapt to a world that wasn’t built with people like me in mind.

That experience taught me a lot. It showed me how easily people could find themselves feeling that way, and it gave me a lesson worth sharing.

I’ve performed poetry about mental health, spoken at events on various subjects and had many opportunities that I would not have had without BMD.

I owe who I am to my disability. And I like who I am.