My disability doesn’t define who I am. Or who God made me to be. That’s something that I like to say a lot and in the videos on youtube that I make. Because it’s true. Because of my disability and how God made me and everyone else who has one our disability isn’t a mistake. God didn’t accidentally give it to us, the Lord gave it to us for a reason. I have been around a lot of people in my life with disabilities and I see them just as everyone else and I know without a doubt God sees them in His eyes very special. I am in a class where there people like me who learn differently, but still can take care of themselves. People who have dreams, who want to be successful in their school, who come to class with eagerness to learn just like any other student. They just all want to have that experience and to be in some way independent. All the people I have met like that are very nice and sweet. They help other people and some are attuned to how others feel when they’re around other people. God has put it on my heart to have a passion for these people. I want to help them and help them to see that they can have the kind of life they want if they can see themselves as God sees them. I completely understand how hard it can be though, I know the struggles that you have to face. Sometimes situations can seem impossible to push through but did you know God can help you through all of that if you put your trust in him? God has helped me a lot in that area. I felt like because of the struggles that I personally deal with I felt okay maybe I can’t do that. But it’s not us who get ourselves to do what we can do it’s God who enables us and helps us to get through everything. One of the scariest things I have been through is surgery on my soft palate. A lot of people with 22q have problems with speech and that’s one of the things I had trouble with when I was younger before I had my surgery. After my surgery pretty much ever since I have been sure to use everything that I have for God. That’s why I use my youtube channel too. Before I went through surgery I was really scared and nervous because you don’t know what could come of it. Before I prayed a lot I remembered and my mom was with me and was just trying to distract me from my nerves. I remember reading bible verses that might have been able to calm me down and that helped a little. I forgot to add that I also cried before the surgery because I got so scared.
I remember when they came to get me and my heart was beating fast I remember going into the surgery place where they were going to do it and I remember them putting the mask on and they when they put anastasia on me and were counting down then I was out. When I woke up I barely remembered where I was for a couple minutes. There was a procedure after that I had to go through that I’m telling you was the WORST thing I have ever had to go through. They had that camera tube down my nose in my throat… and they had to pull it out. It was honestly the worst feeling. I won’t go into complete details because I don’t want to gross you out and have you stop reading. But I want you to see what people with 22q have to go through. It felt like when they were pulling it out that a chain was going out through my throat and some of it got stuck and I just wanted them to get it out desperately. It was scary. That’s one of the hardest things I had to go through. For me I do not like going to the hospital or doctors because I get nauseous before I even go and I bet a lot of you guys do too. But sometimes we have to get through all this stuff because it will help us get better.
22q is a disorder caused by the missing piece of the 22nd chromosome. The tiny missing portion of chromosome 22 can affect every system in the body.. Some of the signs and symptoms of 22q are 1.Feeding difficulties (which I have had a lot) 2.Gastrointestinal problems 3.cleft lip and palate 4.And surprisingly Autism. Also, anxiety is another big issue for people with 22q. So I want to share because before I was feeling really sick I want to add in we found out why I was feeling sick and it was not any of the doctors that we went to but my mom had me go on a gluten free and dairy free diet for a week to see how that would help. Trust me I didn’t think it would work LOL. But as time went by I was sad and crying all the time because I said in one of my other articles I thought God forgot about me and that there was nothing in store for me. Can you imagine if you are a parent and your kid was going through that and you didn’t know how to help them? You would feel bad, right? What is really interesting as well that I have noticed. A lot of people who have my disability have stomach problems. Bad stomach problems. I’m friends with someone on Facebook who has 22q and says that he is also gluten free and dairy free because he had a lot of the same issues as I did. Maybe as we go through this journey maybe we can find the reason why people with this disability don't feel good and go through all this stuff. My passion is to help people with my disability because I know what they are going through because I have gone through much of the same went by and as I was trying it eventually I started to feel much better especially by the second week. We noticed I stopped throwing up as I did every morning. Before any of this happened my parents said that I was losing a ton of weight and lost about 12 pounds in just a few weeks. My friends and family could tell I looked different. I was sick in bed and was starting to turn pale and I couldn’t eat. It was scary stuff. There was a time when I was sick that I say I got depressed but I wasn’t completely diagnosed with depression but it felt like it and it lasted for about a month. I would not have been able to go through any of this on my own if it wasn’t for God so I thank him for helping me through it all!
http://youtu.be/3DRPxLrVEZE