Life, what about life? Life is a big changing experience. You need an education, you need a job, you need a car, house, and money but with a disability, where do you start? Many kids live their lives in a lot of different ways. Some people live their lives normal and some do not. Actually, nearly 50 million Americans live their lives with a disability (Freedman). The millions of kids with a disability fight through rough and tuff patches everyday throughout their lives. The disability rate goes up every year (Freedman). A good reason why disabilities go up every year is head injuries and much other oncoming illiness. One popular head injury is a concussion. Many young athletes’ brains are more vulnerable than adults. All it really takes is a helmet-to-helmet in football or a soccer ball to the head to cause a concussion and there are many different ways you can get other head injuries (Hill). Just a simple concussion could affect your whole life and nobody realizes that. That is just an example of a small disability. Imagine those with a bigger disability. Wonder what they go through everyday? People do not realize what these kids or adults have to go through everyday with a disability, and the people without a disability do not even care at all; they could care less. They think “Oh, I’m fine!” and then they are not. Well that is unfortunate for them when they have no idea what people go through with a disability. People do not get the concept of those with a disability and the challenges they have to overcome or go through before they can even come close to a normal life. The ones with a disability go through so much in their lives, and the people that do not have a disability and look at those with one and don’t care about them should, because those with a disability cannot live a normal life and people should stand up and help them because people have not even the closest idea of what a disabled person goes through everyday. Just imagine, if you couldn’t have a normal life you couldn’t do what all your friends could do. Put yourself in the position of those with a disability and just think, “What if I had to go through those rough roads of living a non-normal life?”

Those 50 million Americans and counting with a disability have to fight and overcome rough roads to make it through each day with a disability. Many people have to overcome really rough obstacles in their life. No matter what, many people with disabilities overcome many challenges in their life to come close to a normal life. To give an example of the rough patches in somebody’s life and how they have to overcome things, is very well explained by an article about a guy named Tommy LaMotta who faced a rare disease called Dystonia (Deckard). Tommy LaMotta has a disease that causes his muscles to jerk; kind of like cerebral palsy. Tommy has troubles talking and most of the time, one of his different parts of his body are out of control. Tommy has to overcome many challenges in his life everyday and one of his sayings is “I have no reverse” which means he will never go backwards and never stop fighting (Deckard). Tommy was in the carnival business and that was his job for his life. He couldn’t have an actual job like the “so called” normal living person. Tommy was eleven years old when his disease struck him, so he fought pretty much everyday of his life. He had to overcome different tasks to accomplish a somewhat normal life. Tommy’s dad had to push him very hard so that Tommy wouldn’t have to lay in bed the rest of his life. Tommy’s dad kicked him out of the house for being lazy and since Tommy’s dad pushed him, Tommy was able to realize that if it wasn’t for his dad that Tommy would be nowhere right now but in his bed. After Tommy’s life experience, he helped others out in life to make other people’s lives easier and better. (Deckard). Tommy’s life is a good example of how disabled people have to overcome challenges in their life and it shows people that waking up everyday and complaining about their life is wrong and they should think twice and realize there are other people out there that have it worse.

People with disabilities don’t only have to overcome challenges in there life, they have to go through getting picked on everywhere they go. They get stared at where ever they go, they can hardly get a job anywhere because they get discriminated against, and they have rough lives unlike the “normal” human being that believes that they have it rough when they don’t even have the slightest idea. One big challenge of a disabled person is getting a job. Many employees discriminate against those with a disability and will not hire a person with a disability (Rampell). The people without a disability can work pretty much where ever they want and it’s understandable that it’s hard for anyone to get a job but people with no limitations do not get discriminated against and they can do almost any job. Those with disabilities get discriminated against and they have limitations making it actually four times harder for a disabled person to get a job. It’s even harder for a person to get a job if they get a disability at a young age and have no working experience (Rampell). It is even hard for people to get Disability because in order to get disability you need a job first and those with disabilities that get discriminated against at a young age cannot get a job so those with a job that discriminate those with a disability should think twice and realize how hard it is with those with disabilities. The discrimination against those with disabilities goes up every year and is increasing (Rampell). It’s sad to those with a disability who try and get a job and they can’t because of the discrimination against them and many people just sit back and let it happen it should be more of a bigger deal that what it is talked up to be cause it’s a big deal. Bullying is also a very huge thing that people do to those with disabilities and it shouldn’t happen because of somebody that looks, acts, and does things differently. Studies show that people with disabilities get bullied three times more than those without disabilities (Pacer Center). Bullying needs to stop period but especially against those with disabilities because honestly it is just not fair.

So are all these facts true about jobs, bullying, discrimination, and overcoming challenges everyday? Well they are and it’s proven by a life changing experience in a young boy’s life when he was 14 years old and came down with bad disease called Gillian Barre syndrome. This boy was me. I was living it at I raced dirt-bikes, played football, basketball, baseball, and lifted weights everyday till something went wrong. One day on a Thursday night playing a football game being running back and linebacker doing good my legs started to hurt and I ignored it thinking that I was just tired till the next day when I woke up and could not move. I was scared and my mother I told the night before to go to work but she did not and she walked in and found me laying there as the disease was moving through my body the disease moves from your toes to your head killing every muscle so it was a matter of time till it would hit my lungs and heart and if I did not have the proper equipment I could die. I got rushed to Albany medical center where they treated me then I was transferred to Sunny view Rehabilitation center where I started my road to recovery. It took me six months to even get back home I was in rehab everyday working my but off for a total of four hours everyday. Before I got sick, I weighed 156 pounds. Then, after I got sick, I weighed 96 pounds. I lost everything. When I finally came home I was stuck in a wheelchair for a year and worked my way to a walker to a cane then braces and now I can walk ok now but not the best. I have to overcome many challenges everyday to make it through the day it’s hard and on top of things I have school and therapy everyday. I get picked on almost everyday and it hurts people thinks it’s hilarious because I walk different even though I can’t help it they think it’s my fault when it isn’t it’s something I cannot help. Whenever I go out into public people stare at me even little kids and they will ask there parents why I walk so weird. I go and look for jobs and workers will ask why I walk so weird and they will be like well we don’t want you to get hurt and stuff so I still battle life everyday with no job and I go to therapy and stuff and deal with many challenges, I wish people understood.

As you can see that in life you need an education, a job and many other things. People with disabilities wake up everyday going through through challenges in there life, while those without disabilities sit back and do nothing except for a chosen few like those with facilities for disabilities and things. There are some nice people out there who help those with disabilities and with different things but all people should realize those with disabilities and people should realize how hard it is on people with disabilities. People with disabilities shouldn’t have to go through each day with getting picked on discriminated against and people should realize how hard it is for those with disabilities and those without a disability should be thankful and help those with a disability. So remember when you’re out somewhere and see someone struggling take a minute and ask them if they need help and don’t discriminate those with a disability.


Works Citied
Deckard, Linda. “Handicap, imagination help LaMotta overcome life’s
obstacles.” Amusement Business 6 Dec. 1993: 5+. General OneFile.
Web. 9 May 2012.

Freedman, Vicki A., and others. “Disability in America.” Population
Bulletin. Sept. 2004: 3-32. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 May 2012.

Hill, Mary Frances. “Head Games”. Ottawa Citizen. 17 Mar 2012: J.4. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 16 May 2012.

Rampell, Catherine. “More Workers Complain of Bias on the Job, a Trend
Linked…” New York Times. 12 Jan 2011: B. 4. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 May 2012.

Zvirin, Stephanie. “Easy for You to Say: Q and As for Teens Living with chronic illness or disability.” Booklist 1 Nov. 1995: 462. General OneFile. Web. 9 May 2012.