An Open Letter To My Cerebral Palsy.

Since March is quickly coming to an end I decided to write one more article about Cerebral Palsy, and all the things I wish I could say to it, but, really can’t. I hope you find some humor with the content you read in this letter because I can promise you every word written is meant with a lot of humor, and zero sadness. So with that in mind, I hope you enjoy this week's article.

Dear Cerebral Palsy,

It’s been a fun ride between you and I so far. You came into my life when I was an innocent one year old, heck you’ve probably been with me since I was born, but you didn’t want to show yourself until you were ready.

Next month, I’ll be 21, which means we’ll have been together for 20 years. That’s a long time don’t you think? By far the longest relationship I've ever been a part of. Congratulations.

There are times where I wish we could break-up. I never regret having you in my life, but sometimes you make life hard. Sometimes you make life harder than it really needs to be. Nevertheless, you have also given me so many great experiences, and let me meet even greater people, so for that, I am grateful.

I guess you can say we have a love-hate relationship. I love you for everything and everyone you have given me.

But at the same time, I hate you.

I hate you because of everything you kept me from. I hate you because of the amount of planning I have to do to go out somewhere. I hate you because sometimes, no matter how many people I surround myself with, I still feel alone. There are so many more reasons to hate you, but if I think about them, then you’ve beaten me, both mentally and physically.

And I guess, you hate me too.

No matter how hard I try to put on a brave face, at the end of the day, you win. Most of the time, the pain is unbearable. Yet, I manage to smile and laugh through it all. So, jokes on you I guess.

A lot of people ask me if I had the choice, would I choose to get rid of you. Most of the time, I never know what to say, cause after 20 years, it’s kind of hard to picture my life without you in it. You're impossible to live with, but somehow I've been doing it for two decades, and plan on doing it for a lot longer. You make people think I can't do things I'm 100 percent capable of doing.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you're the best friend I never wished I had.

Signed,

The person who loves to hate you, and hates to love you.